The morning star and Catholic messenger., 1878-08-18
New York Tribune.

|
| New York Tribune.
1t is related that when the four little
buys who recently placed stones on the
New York Elevated railroad, were in the
TOmbs awaiting examination, they sho W ed
much anxiety about their record as ''nice''
boys. When questioned one day by a
| visitor as to the books they read, the
three largest at fret declared that they did
| not have much time to read, they bad to
study 80 hard bat when further pressed
they finally admitted that they OCCASION
ally did read Sunday school books, il
| allowed to sit up few moments after $3.50
O'Clock iu the evening, No farther con-
cessious could be obtained. They stoutly
maintained that Sunday school books
formed their sole literary relaxation. These
three boys, it will be remembered were
about thirteen years of age they claimed
also to have been melted to the deed by q
| little fellow only nine ears old. This last
was a bright, frank boy. When questioned,
he said he could read all but the big words,
that he liked best The Police Gasette, The
Boys and Girls Weekly and such family
papers.
These facts and the story published in
Mondays Tribune of the small boy who
has run away from Buffalo 80 many times,
but who also declares that he reads no.
thing but Sunday school books, indicate
perhaps that the boys themselves are
beginning to understand that mach of the
Juvenile literature of to- day is unfit for
them" Ia speaking of these matters yes
terday, Superintendent Jones, of the House
of r efuge on Rsudall's Island, sa,d-"The
boys that We have here do not, however,
often deoy their taste for that sort of
reading. If they are allowed their choice
they almost always express a desire TO get
hold of The Boys and Girls Weekly, The
Boys of America, The Police Gazette, or
,kNl, -.
papers are sent to them by friends because
they can be purchased cheaply. We stop
all such, however. There ia q library in each
schoolroom here, and the interest of 81 900
ia appropriated each year to making add
tioDs to these shelves. The books are
books of history and travel, with come
fiction. When they can't get anything
else the boys will read them finally they
grow fond of them. Wild, thrilling tales
unsettle their minds and hinder our efforts
to teach them the lesson that they must
work faithfully and carefully if they ex-
pect to succeed in the world. Such boys
are constantly expecting something start
ling to happen to them"
"Could you tell," asked the Inquirer.
"what boys read this bad kind of juvenile
literature Z"
"Witbout any trouble" was the reply.
"Such readers have vivid and unhealthy
imsgipatioHs. The most ordinary incident
10 eO COIoTou ny Lueu CDAG Tue CTuCu can
hardly be recognized. They are incapable
apparently of stating facts as they occur.
With them convicts are heroes; fathers,
mothers, and keepers of any kind are
tyrants. The stories they relate to each
other are something wonderful, aud bear a
strong resemblance to the narratives in the
weekly papers.
"The effects of such reading upon the
community may easily be traced in the
statistics of public institutions. Twenty
years ago, when such papers were fewer in
number, most of the boys sent here had
been arrested for pilfering. But of late
the number of vagrants is much increased. |
In my mind, this is one of the most note- |
worthy effects of the food of bad books |
and papers. All these stories, directly or |
indirectly, teach that obedience to parents |
is unmahly. The "boy who is a boy"
scOrns all control, escapes from boarding |
school where the table does not suit him,
or aids a convict to escape from prison |
and wins undying gratitude thereby. The
reader follows the example so entertain
lngy set for him. He seeks oDpany in
the streets; runs away from school de-
ties his father and mother, teachers aud
masters, becomes a vagrant, and eventu
pleasant institution. You would be sur
prsed at the great numb of very young
.remps whom we receive. They come
often from distant cities-Buffalo OF Cieve-
and. Generally they are not more than
sixteen or seventeen years old, but they
always have one of these abominable pa
,ers in their pockets. What the result of
such an iLhuence in the community will
% eventually, unless it is arrested 10 some
way, is hard to tell. The evil ls certainly
crying one and calls for some remedy"