San Marcos free press. [volume] (San Marcos, Tex.) 1877-1892, 1878-09-28
What Our Daughters Read.

preston of Vice:
Readers Of newspapers have noticed
the increase In the reported cases of the
deluding of green, or romantic, or adj
venturous girls from respectable homes
and affectiOnate parents, and from the
ways of sexual virtue, by some Of the
great variety of wiles which have come
in with modern facilities. In many
cases where respectable parents sud-
denly awake to the distressing fact that
daughter has been deluded and has
disappeared, or is left on their hands
blighted and crushing shame, or has
secretly married some fancy scamp, or
some tramp who goes around marrying
in this way, they find that the means by
which this was started was by clandes-
tine correspondence in answer to seduc-
tive advertisements. In other cases they
suddenly awake to the fact that daugh-
tiers whom they think they have brought
up in purity, and have kept from the
contact of vice, have developed full ia
miliarity with it, and have knowingly
plunged into it. And the public re-
ports are constantly telling of new ways
by which daughters of respectable fam
lilies are drawn into bad courses.
Reason tells that the increase of these
domestic calamities in modern times y
not without cause. Human nature is
no worse; parental affection and train
ing are as effectual; moral and religious
influences are as potent; therefore the
modern increase of these instances must
have a special cause which has arisen
in modern times. There are adages
about the corruption of evil commune
cations, and about vice losing its hide
Gus mien by familiarity, and about
handling pitch without defilement,
which are accepted as wise, but are lit
tie needed. Or that familiar contact is
admitted in one shape which in another
would be revolving. Respectable par
ents would think it utterly abandoned
to expose their daughters to contact by
sight and sound with the lasciviOus vice
that is daily exposed in our police courts
and police arrests. And if their daugh-
tiers should show a desire to witness
these exhibitions of depravity in the
court, they would think them depraved.
Yet they think it no harm to bring into
the family the newspaper reports OF all
this, and to give preference to those that
riot in all the indecent details, and make
them sensational by expansion and
fancy.
Suppose they try to define the differ
ence in the effect on the minds of these
girls, from seeing and hearing these
things, and from reading about them.
Suppose they take into the question the
circumstance that seeing and hearing
would have vice in its naturally hideous
mien, while reading has it tricked out
with sensational attractions. Or sup
pose they consider none of these things,
and take it simply on the ground OF
familiarity with lascivious vice. Are
the mothers careful protectors of their
daughters who seek out the papers
which revel most in the vice of the
community and serve it up in most ex-
banded, sensational and attractive form,
and set them the example of reading it,
and call it "newsyP" Can the females
of the family be expected to have any
taste for wholesome literature who are
fed daily with this sensationalism of
vice? Can they remain indebted who
continually dabble in this social pitchp
The women of the town are not more
familiar with the towns vices than
they. When, now and then, a daugh-
ter drops into the abyss, is there no re-
sponsibility in those who have made
them familiar with the wayP
The most careless parents would try
to keep their girls from the approaches
of the known and professional seducer.
And if he were to send his letters elan
destinely to them they would think it
cause for very positive measures to
guard them and punish him. But there
are many who think nothing of bring
ing into their families newspapers con-
tanning the broadcast invitations of the
seducer; papers which give to every
man and boy an instrumentality by
which to play the seducer with impuni-
ty; papers which offer temptation to
hardened sinners and green boys to enter
into this rascally work, and to every
green or ripe girl means OF entering
into intrigues with strange men, unbe-
known to her friends. If we hear with
growing frequency of daughters OF such
parents victimized through this agency
of seduction and intrigue, is it without
adequate cause? And can we nationally
suppose that the cases thus made public
are a 1.-THE of the whole IN which girls
have been depraved by this means and
have escaped publicityP
Somebody is responsible for this.
Does not the mother who enjoys the
reading of this stuff corrupt her family
end open to them the broad road? Can
the father who brings this virus home
to his wife and daughter be thought 10
have any nice sensibilities as 10 their
purity? These women of weak minds
and morals weakly throw the response
bility on the newspaper publisher. But