The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1883-05-09
ANTHONY CoMsrocK,s ADDRESS.

The Evil Effects of Vicious Literature on
the Youthful Mind-How to Suppress the
Evil.
The address OF Anthony Comstock on "Traps
for the Young, or Foes to Moral Purity" was
delivered, under the auspices of the State Social
Science Association, at the First Presbyterian
Church. last evening, to fair audience. His re-
marks were simply in the nature of rambling
talk upon incidents in his eleven years. expert
ence in the attempt to suppress obscene litera-
ture, and those who went to hear lecture of a
highly intellectual character were unmstaka-
bly, disappointed He talked in pleonastic
phrases and the most commonplace language,
which came to him none too readily His re.
marks were barren of anything whatever
in the nature of ornamentation of
speech, and the ideas presented were
quite as commonplace the language used.
Mr. Comstock did not surprise his hearers with
anything striklngy new in relation to the reform
to which he has devoted eleven years OF indefat-
igable work. and it was not unreasonable that
something more than the current stereotyped
commen: should be expected. The good which
Mr. Comstock has accomplished in his reform
movement as Jack the-giant-killer of bad lit
erature has been solely by conscientious police
work, but he is not likely achieve any distine-
ton as public speaker In the course of his
remarks last night he stated that when he began
his reform work there were 165 obscene publ
cations Of the vilest character in circulation.
In eleven years he has succeeded in
suppressng 1853 of the number by de-
stroying the stereotype plates and arresting the
men who were circulating the publications
through the mails In speaking of the perni-
cious effects of tainted literature, which he has
not been able to reach account of public SEN
timent Mr.. ComstOck remarks that 'evil read
ing is the miasma of the moral atmosphere" and
compares the world TO grand hunting ground,
in which Satan Is the sportsman and the chill
dren are the game 1t is the cheap works of tic,
ton he says, which are not exactly criminal or
indecent, that captivate the fancy of the chill
dren and turn the student into day dreamer.
He denounced the stories of loathsome crime
published IN the daily newspapers injurious
in Its effects upon the minds of the young read
ers, in assOciating their thoughts with jails and
prisons Respectable men and women y he said
in a sweeping denunciation of the daily press,
"oan better do without the daily paper than al
low that paper to debauch the minds of their
children with its sensational stories of loath-
some crime" The pictorial weekly papers we're
vehemently denounced, and he advised parents
to "refuse to patronize newsdeaers as long as
they display such papers on their counters" ar
guing that by contracting the profits of the
business the evil could also be contracted. The
boys and girls story papers were equally as de-
basing in their effects. he said the sensation
al pictorial weekiies. Statistics showed that
nearly all youthful criminals were readers of
such papers, and numerous instances were cited
in which boys had been led on to crime
by the glowing variations of the
succession OF felonies through which the heroes
| of the story papers were made to pass. There
were men who made business, he said, of fur
nishing the addresses OF boys and girls. to whom
were sent circulars advertising obscene
publications, sending them even into the
colleges and female seminaries, where minds
were diverted from profitable studies.
Here in Indianapolis he had arrested
one man in whose possession had been found
the names of thousands of young people in In-
diana, and 10000 circulars Of the most obscene
character had been destroyed. In his eleven
years work Mr. Comstock said that he had gath
cred in and destroyed twenty -five tons of OBJ
scene matter. The blasphemous pub
locations which being circulated
without restraint telling the young that
there is no God, no heaven ana no hell is the
greatest danger which threatens the institutions
of the country. He believed that the re was not
| man or woman living who ever looked upon
| the pages Of one Of these books that had, un-
aided, broken the shackles or was as good as be-
fore. The decisions OF the Supreme Court bear
| ing upon the transmission of obscene literature
through the mails We're quoted at
some length. The conclusion of
his remarks were in relation to the1persecuitons
of himself. ~ am content" he said, "to have
the peace of mind that comes from doing right
In the eleven years of battling evil, although l
have been followed for my life, have been stab
bed and have had to. draw my revolver in my
own house in self-defense, have found my con
science and my trust in God the best reliance"