The morning star and Catholic messenger. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881, 1873-05-04
corrupting the youth-whero is the Remedy
From the Buffalo n. Y. Catholic Union


We referred last week to fearful moral
pestilence which afilicts our nation, pesti-
lence more to be dreaded than the most viz
ulent form of the plague, the small. pox or
the cholera, and one which should rouse
our people to greater exertion than II elth-
or of these epdemics had begun its raw
ages. We refer to the fact that obscene
literature is largely circulated among our
youth, and particularly among the children
in the public schools and the higher edn-
cational institutions of tho Uniou. Is this
come tion we desire to thank our coptem-
porary the Commercial Adrertiser of this
city, for its editorial expose, i'll it's issue OF
March 18th, Of the almost incredible extent
to which this hel!ish stuff has been spread
broadcast among the children of this coun-
try, and for its appeal to "the virtuous
portion of the community to meet this evil
and crush it out of existence" A Mr.. AL
vim Comstock, of New York city, has dew
oted himself to the most laudhble work OF
hrinSng to an end the circulation of vile
books, pictures, etc, that have, we fear,
already ruined the souls aud bodies OF
thousands of our youth.
May God reward him. From informa-
ton furnished by Linn, and made public 10y
Hon. Mr.. Merriam, of this State, in his
speech in Congress in favor of some posi-
tive aud thorough action by that body for
the suppression of the publication and cir
culati0n OF this kind of reading matter, we
are told that seizures have already been
made by Mr.. Comstock, of more than fire
tons of obscene books and pamphlets; of
obscene letter press in sheets, more than
tuo tons and that of vile photographs,
charms, playing cards, ETC., also seized, TIE
! numbers are to be estimated only by hun
dreds of thousands Unjust be remember
ed, in the connection, that MIR. Comstock
has confined his operations almost exclu-
sively To the city of New York and vicin-
ity and that in every other city of the
| T,i@ -, inf al 10 in ia
carried on to an extent proportioned to its
population-our city not being exempt. In
the crpose in the Commercial we read.
mir Merriam had returns to show that
the filthy books-and they are filthy be-
yond the limits of the most impure imag
ination-had found their way into the best
schools of New York city and Brooklyn,
in the colleges of Pennsylvania and
in the colleges and seminaries of Ohio. No
State or Territory is exempt from the pre-
sence of this pernicious influence. Among
| the seizures made in New York are found
twenty separate orders recorded on the
book of a dealer, coming from the librarian
of public school in one of our proudest
| Western States"
We have extracted this paragraph from
the Commercials article in order to give
our reaCers an idea of the extent Which
| this pestilence has reached but we wish
| to draw attention more particularly to the
fact that the public schools contribute
largely to the spread of this obscenity. 1t
is true institutions devoted to the higher
branches of education are, to some extent,
affected by this corrupting literature but
there is nothing to show that these latter
are of the class where religious instruction
| is made part and parcels OF the ddtty rout-
| ine of study. They are, rather, we take
institutions based on the same principle,
| in this respect, as the public cfo"ls them
selves, where either religions instruc~
ton is given at all, or else, what there is
| of it, is confined to q Sunday sermon on
some general religious topic of no particu-
lar application to that condition OF life
! in which the student finds himself. But
that the evil has entered the public schools
and deeply-is a fact beyond all ques-
ton. The sentence we have italicized in
the above extract speaks volumes in this
respect. Let US not be misunderstood,
however. We have no desresto intimate
that the teachers in those schools, or the
superinten dent and educational boards in
the various cities have been privy to this
horrible condition of things or that they
do no deplore it heartily and earnestly,
now that it has been exposed. God forbid
that we should harbor such thought ]
But, from the expose that has been made,
we feel ourselvesswarranted in drawing an
argument in justification of the position
that Catholics have ever maintained, and
in which they are supported uy the pest
and purest men, both clerical and lay,
among IIle -LLNauStilCai 5CStS. AhNo
bly, Catholics have contended that the
mere instruction of the intellect, leaving
the heart unframed, is no education at all,
butthe conveying of superficial knowledge,
which gives no assurance that the pupil
thus specifically instructed will, when ar
rived at manhood, be mindfal ofeither his
moral or civic duties. We know something
of the course pursued in Catholic schools,
colleges, academies and seminaries, and,
without being acquainted with the minuti"
of tho s'returnsn in tie possession of Mr..
Merriam, we bodily assert thatan lnvesti-
CATION of them will not show that these iu-
Situations are effected by the poisonous in =
fluence to any marked extent. We would
not undertake to say, however, that Cath =
olic educational establishments can be kept
free from the contagious influence we allude
to were they simply Catholic in name
were tho students therein never taught the
necessity of frequenting the sacraments,
and not nabtuatcd to bend the knee in the
tribu.ai al pPuance for only through the
sacramruj>. channels of Divine grace,
can we acquiI" strength :" reduce our pas
sious to the uu,.tiience OF reason, and al
ways aud in all things subject ourselves
to the holy will of God. Bat from the fact
-tf1is-yery Instruction is made the