St. Landry democrat., 1879-12-27
The Effects of Dime Novel
Reading.

Willie Elliott was his name. He was
ten years of age and lived in New
York. He was IL bright boy, fond OF
reading, and thanks to the carelessness
or worse, of his parents, he WAS able to
read ali the dime novels he could find
Filled with the spirit of adventure
naturally excited by such thrilling liter
aturU, he ran away from school one day
last summer and disappeared. At night
he did not come home. Search was in
stitutcd and vigorously maintained FOR
two or three days, but no tidings were
received of the missing boy. The
police were notified, and the detectives
set at work to invent theories and i'm
agine clues, but nothing came Of it.
The boy had vanished us completely us
if the earth had opened and swallowed
him. His bereaved parents finally
gave up the search and mOurnod him as
dead
BY accident, not long since, the
mother learned that q little boy resen
bling hers had been arrested III Sep
tember for larceny: Investigation
sing child; and by following up the
been rraigncd in October for petty lar
ccny; that he made 10 revelation as to
his identity or that of his parents, and
that upon trial he pleaded guilty and
was sentenced to three months impris-
onment in the protecbory. There the
parents found him serving out bis sen
tCncc.
The story he told illustrates, in a way
that can hardly fail to reach the heart
Of the most Indifferent parent, tie
evils Of the literature referred to-.
When he ran away from school he met
some youngsters who persuaded him to
spend the night with them in a barn.
The novelty OF the situation attracted
him, and the subsequent proceedings
were so much like what he had read
about that he readily consented to all
that his new found friends asked Of
him. They were all older than he, and
had formed themselves into a band,
with Oatls, passwords, grips and other
paraphernalia of mystery and secrecy.
In this band they solemnly initiated
the little ten-year old lad, who was
then told that the objectof the organi-
zation was plunder. Being new mem
Der, he was given exceptional opportu-
mites of distinguishing hirM3elf; and it
was while engaged in stealing for the
society that ho was caught, with the
result dIicauy ud1IttCu. 1OuHS DIS Uo
was, and tenderly as he had been nur~
tured, he refused to betray his COM
panions, or to disclose the name of his
parents, lest by that means the "gang"
should be injured. With a pluck
worthy Of an older heart and a better
cause, he chose rather to go to prison
tllan-as he himself put ito ESQ neal"
The story might almost be accepted
as one OF the dime novel yarns, the ini-
guilty Of which it so strikingIy shows,
were it not for its having the hero in
prison. In the genuine tale the hero
never comes to grief, but always to
glory or gain, whether his career is that
of hunter, sailor Or thief. 1t is this
feature OF the Infamous literature
which commends it SO thoroughly to
the Juvenile imagination, and secures
for it such enthusiastic perusal. In its
baneful effects upon the community,
and especially upon the youth of the
country, it is worse, if possible, than
the literature which is receiving just
now such signal condemnation. And
it is so because it is read openly and
without any remonstrance from parents
or guardians, while the other, if read
at all, must be read secretly.