The state rights democrat. [volume] (Albany, Linn County, Oregon) 1865-1900, 1883-08-31
INDECENT HABIT.

railroad, at q depot not . thousand
miles from Albany, lady entered the
car and looked about her for a seat.
She held q babe in her arms and her
hands were loaded down with hand
satchels, band boxes, etc. All seats
were occupied bat one in front of us,
and We rnotioned her TO be seated In
that. but she remarked with an inde-
pendent, but disdainful air. that she
could not occupy that seat. We were
at loss to know what detained her from
taking the seat, but good department
prevented Us from being inquiaitiye, &C
we arose from our seat and asked her "a
DO seated in il, which she did with
many opsn, hearty thanks. or course
Il now fell 10 our lot to seek . seat, but
curiosity constrained US to look into
tho seat which the lady bad rejected
with so much disdainfal disgust, and
here We beheld the cause Of Il.
The floor i'm and around tho scat was
literally covered with tobacco juice.
Like the falneas Of tho sea II seemed 70
be swelling It's rounded proportions In
all directions. Great puddles Of. the
sickening saliva stood like double SEN
tinela on the tented iield, repelling the
approach ofall. No wonder that wo-
man utterly refused TO take . seat
there.
A carelessly conducted slaughter pen
or oil house would have been equally
decent and inviting to any woman anx-
iously desiring . seat. The question
arsse Immediately in my mind: Does
any man, (for no woman would do 80,
have . right TO thus render unfit for
use the property Of another Does be
not have equal right % break up seats
and render them unfit FOR use as be
does through his filthy hah;t Of tobacco
chewing ! We visited hall where q
public meeting as 70 be held. Three
men were sitting talking near q stove
where q Gre had been started. Two
were chewing and one was smoking.
They seemed TO be utterly oblivious Of
the comfort Of others who had already
collected in the hall, for the clouds Of
smoke arising from q wheszy, ten-year
old pipe and the tobacco juice burning
on the stove were sitting these others
aud actually driving them from the
hall. Do men have any right, human
or divine, TO thus impinge upon the
rights of others TO be comfortable in q
public place ! We visited court house
Ia court room--some time since, and
there beheld the foot prints Of him who
Is slave TO the tobacco habit. The
side ofa seat, the floor, the wall, were
all besmeared and bespattered with
tobacco juice sqnirted there by some
thoughtless, careless slave of the dis
gusting filthy habit Of tobacco chewing.
Does any one have any right to thus
soil and render UNFIT for use \ building
belonging to the. public and built BY
public funds We saw the seats, fiooi
and wall of church building and
school house which were in The same
filthy condition, made so by the nnfort
unate victims of tobacco chewing. Dt
theyihaye a right TO thus render public
buildingsas uninviting as hog pen
No ! No emphatically, Eoiii w,
were in post Office where larg.
number Of persons were waiting dis
tribution Of the mail. Three nice q
young men entered smoking cigars and
took positions in waiting for the mail
and continued their putting and whiting
until the waiting room was Glled with
. dense fog Of nauseating tobacco
smoke, compelling every lady in the
room, out cfrespect and sympathy fol
her nerves and stomach, to leave the
room and await such time as the mail
should he distributed to these young
men, when they might return and re.
ceiye their mail with q reasonable
degree of comfort.
Now there is no excuse for such con
duct. If men persist in the filthy, un-
natural practise Of chewing and smok'
ing, then We say they should always
keep out Of such public places as we
have mentioned, or at least refrain from
smoking and chewing while in such
places. Such conduct as we have above
described deserves the severest censur.
from all who love decent conduct and
gentlemanly department. In closing
ve have to say that the boy, who now
of his own motive, breaks loose from
the detestabie habit Of chewing and
smoking, will, when he arrives al
mature manhood, look upon it as one d
the proudest acts Of his life. We speak
what we know upon this point. Then
let every young man who reads this
article reflect deliberately and cody
upon the debasing nature Of sucL
and we feel reaaonably y sure thai
he will arrive At the above conclueion