The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1869-10-16
THE LIBRARY QUESTION.
Ehe socInl Aspects or the Rush nennert.

- The soclnl Aspects Of the Rush Request
40 the Editor Of The BUelifg Telegraph.
suppose those of your yeadcrs who have no spe-
eai interest in the Philadelphia Library are getting
pretty tired Of the discussions in your columns and
those Of the other newspapers in this city on the
hush question: and are glad that there only two
or three days left for the purpose. There is, how
ever, one aspect Of the subject in which the whole
community is interested, on which l beg leave TO
touch briefly.
The Philadelphia Library was founded by Frank
lin as lending or circulating library-an unknown
thing at that time, though now, of course quite
common. He saw that while public libraries as
then conducted were useful to professional or anna
teur students who could spend whole days within
their learned precincts, to the mass and especially
to the young, the busy and the infrn, they were
practically closed. sTThe idea was, and for more
than a century it has been faithfully carried out
TO have a collection OF useful and attractive books
which could be taken to the counting-house the
workshop, OF the home and read in the intervals OF
labor or the periods Of rest That vast benefit has
been thus conferred on our city there can be no
doubt If it has created for no eminent scholars
IL has di1used among the people at large an amount
OF general knowledge and an acquaintance with
rent literature and science unequalled believe in
any other community. And how much incidental
good it has quietly done How many;young men and
women has the home use OF the library kept from
the haunts OF dissipation and vice! For howAmany
OF the sick and aged has the enforced seCluson o
the chamber been relieved and frightened by its
cheerful literature; how many in their solitude and
grief have found companionship and consolation
during ''sow, sad hours Of the night in its graver
books. For its silent help in all these several ways
to mysell and others dear to me- l. fer one can
never be too grateful; and the day which will see
the final closing OF its venerable DOORS If 1t occur in
my lifetime, Will be one of the saddest in it.
To choose wisely for such varied purposes and to
satisfy such different tastes as have above alluded
to, is matter whch'requres the exercise of a con-
scientious and careful judgment on the part of the
librarian and directors. They feel believe, that as
their shelves are open to ALL they ought not to per-
NIT in their collection works that parents would not
desire in the hands of their sons or daughters Not
that there has been any wish to exclude books from
sectarian prudish motives, but the directors
have acted on an honest desire to deserve the con-
hdence reposed in them by the shareholders, even
whose prejudices they are bound to respect
Now find, on reading DR.. Rushs will, that the
library he wishes to endow departs very much from
the characteristics. of our own. Among the condi-
tions which we are to take the devise, and the
nOn-observance Of which by us would create a for
feiture, / find some of Importance in this respect
He directs tile rejection of "epheme al biographies
novels, and works of fiction or amusement, news
papers or periodicals, which form so large part of
the current literature of the dsy"(p 13 Of willy and
in another place (p 27), "every-day novels, mind
tantlng reviews, controversial politics. scribbngs of
poetry and prose, biographies of unknown Names
nor for those teachers Of dsiointed thinking, the
daily newspapers" / fear this would drive away, if
acted on, most of our young readers, and many of
the older ones, too. on the other hand he says (p
1911 do not wish that any work should be eX-
Cluded from the library account of its difference
from the ordinary or conventional opinions on the
subjects of SCIENCE government, theology, morals
or medicine, provided 1t contains neither rbaldry
nor lndecency."
Yet fear that parents may think that good deal
of harm may be instilled into their chidren's mind
without the actual use of 'ribaldry lndecency."
Prussic acid is believe, much more agreeable to
the taste and smell than sasSaf9dita, yet it Is not
the less dangerous to leave about. AS observe
the list of shareholders the name of the Sunday
School Union, and OF several churches, | hardly
hardly think this will be agreeable to them either
II it is clear that the library to be bought with Dr.
Rush's money can be lawfully kept separate from
our own, in separate buildng, OF course should
no objection to our library company acting as its
mere custodian Its location will be such as to put
it out Of the reach of harm to our young readers
and to mere students little less free think
ing and berality Of ethics will not be of Importance
But If the two collections to be into one, and
boys and girls to be allowed to range at Will
the atitudinarian aggregate | do most certainly
object, both as a shareholder and as CITIZEN.