Brenham weekly banner. [volume] (Brenham, Tex.) 1877-1907, 1880-05-14
pERsicIous LITERATURE.

1lOS< VIII nav ~~
rising generation of boys can
hardly have failed to notice their
aptitude for adventure. Cases
have frequently been reported
where boys offrom five to ten
years of age have started off in
squads of two or more, in search
of adventures on their response
bility and of their own violition,
Boys of from IL to IS go %ay
from home for weeks aI T.
habs months at eei
exciting any remark
Of from SO
for the
g. This wild and
te1fing disposition is net By
any means natural; parents with
rare exceptions do not approve
Of it, it is nottaught at the fire
side, at the Sunday school, from
the pulpit, norby the secular or
religious press. The present
time is prolific of what may be
termed Flash" literature; that
which has the largest circula-
ton and does the most harm in
poisoning extremely youthful
minds is the class of weekly
papers published under the en-
ticing name Of Boys and Girl"
own; weekly, etc. Many Of the
publications are apparently res
pectable and to the Casual OBJ
server might appear harmless.
They are filled with thrilling
and blood-curdling adventures
with bears, panthers, snakes,
desperadoes, spiders aud In
dams; the hero of these adven-
lures is usually small boy or a
youth; the stories are read with
avidity, and by the young read
ers are believed to be as true
as holy writ. Such stories make
a vivid and lasting impression
on the young and unframed
mind. Youth is ambitious and
the the boy having read one or
more of those stories in which
the hero, a youth perhaps of
about the same age as the read
er, was always successful in
overcoming insurmountable OBJ
stacles and in conquering enc
mics physically his superior, by
quick wit and strategem, is lead
at once to emulate the example
Of the fictitious hero. In addi-
ton to the regular publications
mentioned, the market is food
ed with 5-cent and dime novels
of even a more pernicious char
acter than the Boys and Girls
papers, because in those there
is usually nothing of any inn
moral character. In the dime
novels the most vicious passions
are pandered to. Boys fire.
quently become adopts in crime
and vice by reading the illustra-
ted police gazettes, which are
circulated broadcast over the
land. Many men and boys buy
these illustrated papers and of
nights and on Sunday spend
hour after hour reading the dis
gushing details Of every crime in
the calender. Persons for some
unaccountable reason take to
such reading with as much de-
light as a duck takes to water.
One Of the most dearly priced
liberties Of the people is the
freedom Of the press, and al
though the laws of the land do
not allow obscene literature to
be carried in the mails or pub
licly sold, it is extremely diff
cult to draw a line of demarca-
ton, where legitimate publica-
tons leave off and obscene and
pernicicus literature or publica-
tons begins. There is but one
remedy and that is in the hands
ofparents and guardians. They
should watch closely the char
acter Of the books and papers
that fall into the hands Of those
under their charge. 1t is during
youth that the mind is most
susceptible of lasting impress
sions and according as the i'm
pressions formed are good or
bad, SO will be the character of
the man or woman in after life;
"as the twig is bent SO grows
the tree"
A "sPIELMARK" case was tried
in the United States circuit
court at Cincinnati recently and
the defendant was found guilty