The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1882-03-03
ND corrnrlers of Youlh.

lnB was lne Iltle " lecture DELIVERED
in New York on Tuesday night by An
thony Comstock, the well known Secretary
Of the New York Society for the suppress.
sion Of Vice. The occasion was the close Of
Mr.. Comstock's first ten years work with
the Society. His lecture was quite lengthy
but very interesting, and we regret our lack
Of space to reproduce it in full in the
columns Of the ISTELLIGEScER We con-
tent ourselves with the following extract
from it:
Take the weekly papers for boys and girls,
filed With stories OF reekinR crime and
sold everywhere. Through reading them
boys and girls are ruined and become
criminals and Migrants, and | have docu.
ments here 10 prove II. On January u two
girls, one aged ten and the other eleven,
run away from home 10 became gypsies,
and were away one night-the result Of
reading yellow covered literature. A few
days ago our energetic Inspector Byrnes,
second in ability TO none, arrested young
man, aged nineteen, for murder, whose
first remark was: "Pm tough now,
amt II" His Imagination had been fired
by reading Of his disreputable heroes. On
February Z young girl cruzed by
this kind Of reading committed sui
eide. In November last four boys,
not over sixteen, were arrested in
Wilkesbarre, Pa, who had formally organ
lied themselves into band Of robbers,
and prided themselves on being bandits.
| A ,,n,,sf, ,,,ap I nssnaIaI Il, gnntl Eeotp
ingham, Mass, for sending out the vilest
kind OF literature, said, pointing to pile
OF boys and girls papers In his closet:
''Thats what brought me to this" and
from q similar cause young man in But.
ialo set about robbing his employers safe,
meaning to seek adventures in the west.
In Brooklyn found that u boy, Crazed by
such reading, had led his younger brothers
on till they had robbed their mother OF
over twenty-five articles. There are three
publishers OF blood.and-thunde literature
here to-day, and they advertise GO publ
cations A few weeks ago young man
read the details Of railroad catastrophe.
lie thought he would like to see one and
tied log on the track while he lay in wait;
but he was arrested. In a Western State
two boys, one aged thirteen, and one III.
teen, wrecked train, killing the engineer.
This literature transfers the knife and
bludgeon from our hardened criminals 10
our boys and girls
Last year gathered the accounts OF boy
and girl criminals under twenty years OF
age. Thirty.three between the ages Of
eight and twenty we're guilty Of larceny;
twenty-five between seven and twenty.one,
OF burglary; seven between the ages OF nine
and twenty-One were guilty OF murder;
eleven, the oldest sixteen, committed high
way robbery; twenty-nine under twenty
were arrested for gambling, and two boys
and girls committed suicide. 1t is fine
employment for our stalwart policemen TO
clutch club in one hand and school
boy in the other. The figures for Feb.
ruary moro than bear out what say.
There have been thirty-four arrests, the
oldest only twcnty.one, for larceny; five
murders by boys between nine and four
teen, and one girl shot her father, and four
suicides are under eighteen. And these
are not all poor boys, but often from some
OF the best families, like the son Of a
wealthy Judge, who run away, stabbed an
adversary and afterwards died in prison,
coniessing that he used to spend his time
reading books Of adventure.
There are other dangers to children, and
one of the chief is that hydra.headed mons.
ter, the lowest kind Of literature, which
breeds lust. When your boy or girls name
appears in the catalogue OF school, it be.
comes so much merchandise, TO be bought
by sCoundrels who send misery and death
through the United States mails. The evil
cannot be overestmated. The head OF a
female seminary told me that some one
had surreptitiOusly obtained fifteen or
twenty catalogues. l tracked them to IL
dealer in addressed envelopes, and when
demanded them he brought out great pile
containing the names OF thousands Of boys
and girls. wrote to all the principals,
warning them, and replies came from two
female seminaries that the grossest matter
had been introduced there, and before the
year closed evil circulars and advertise.
ments were sent back to me from the other.
Does it pay to have this society? l say
it does, and all honor TO the men here Of
the Board q Control, who have suffered
abuse in silence for so long. When be-
gun, l65 OF the vilest books were published,
and while child could get them we called
no attention 10 them. We believed in
deeds, not words, and to-day these publ
cations are destroyed. Applause. II
polygamy were here among us believe
we could suppress it; not by talk, but by
enforcing the law OF the land. Twenty
four tons OF perncious literature have been
destroyed. In our possession at one time
We had ten tons Of books and plates, the
latter going to locomotive works after being
broken up, and the former being torn up
and converted into pulp in q paper mill in
my presence; this sale bringing us a pit
lance hardly enough to pay the charges OF
their conveyance.
There arc other parts Of Mr.. Comstock's
lecture almost as important as the above,
but what we have quoted is Of a character
to interest the general public. The flash
literature TO which he refers is sold broad.
cast in every city and town OF the land,
and has become one Of the great evils OF
our day. It's full effect upon the rising gen.
Grafton can only be properly known to sucn
men as Mr.. Comstock, or to those who like
him are giving special attention to its cor
rupting tendency on the minds Of youth.
VERMONT is emphatically an economical
State. Realizing the probability that its
representation in Congress would be cut
down under the new apportionment, and
having the expense Of special session be-
fore their eyes; the sturdy farmers OF the
L. = Il l. 4