Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1889-08-18
VICIOUS LITERATURE.

Iowa is mOuel Ctate LII some respects.
She has a strong understandable law upon
her statute books for the suppression of
obscene literature, and her people have
the courage to enforce it. OF no other
State, except Georgia, can this be said.
But it is full time that other communities
patterned after Iowa and Georgia in this
matter. As the Minneapolis Tribune well
says:
The dime novel is no longer the principal
curse of literature. 1t has been supplanted by
innumerable cheap pamphlet productions that
may be found on almost every booksellers
from the artistic filth OF lola down to absolute
and unblushing obscenity. Worse still than
this are the fiashy newspapers printed in New
York and other cities and which are filed with
detailed descriptions of all kinds of vice and
crime, illustrated in an attraciively Indecent
manner, calculated to allure the young. The
sale is immense, not only in cities, but in coun-
try towns and villages we'll Another class
OF periodicals is devoted to the lionizing and
heroizing of rutfians, priZe-fghters, thieves
train-robbers and highwaymen. Not content
with selling debasiDg reading matter, the news
vendors fill their shop windows with lewd pic
lures of performers who allow themselves to be
photographed in indecent positions for the sake
of the commissions and filthy advertising they
receive. Tobacconists and occasionally drug
gists make the same degrading displays to at
tract trade. 1t is easy enough to single out
what is filthy and what is not-what is injurious
to the young and what is not, to accurately de-
fine what is vicious and immoral, to suppress it,
and to frame legislation broad enough TO pre-
vent any new ventures of the kind. New York
city is the prolific and almost exclusive source
OF this degrading and dangerous class of publi-
cations. 1.-THE Legislature of that State should
do nothing more than suppress the illustrated
papers published in the metropolis which are
devoted to pictorial representations of vice and
crime, it would earn the gratitude of all decent
people; For years they have been doing more
public taste, 10 educate the young In crime and
TO encourage those who have already grad
uated.
These are very strong words, but true.
The publications complained of area fount
of corruption, the output 6f which is APP.
palling. Some day society will awake to
the full realization of the fact that the
present efforts to limit the sphere of GRIM
inal activity and youthful decentralization
arevery like the waterpourerint the allegory
of Christian and Greatheart in Bunyan's
wonderful work. The guide took Chris
tian into room that was insufferably hot.
A roaring fire blazed upon the hearth, and
there stood a man pouring water upon the
flames steadily from buckets supplied to
him. But the more he attempted to
quench the flames the higher they mounted
and the stronger they became, and the
greater the heat. Amazed at the result,
Christian asked his guide for an explaua-
ton. Thereupon he was taken back of the
fireplace where he discovered demon
pouring in steady stream of oil to feed
the flames. Society is bound to protect
the youth of the land from the demoraliz.
ing influence of vicious literature, and
some day it will do it, though Just now it
is content to declare against it, but does
not execute its decree upon offenders
Society in Iowa and Georgia is already
active in the right direction, and it is not
by either found nearly so difficult to sup
press the dangerous literature as has been
supposed. We want no limitations upon
the liberty of the press, but we do need to
check its license and abuse 1t was not
intended that the right to print and cir
culate ones thoughts in the form of news
papers, pamphlets, books, or posters should
be abridged neither was it the purpose
in establishing the guarantees of liberty,
to give absolute freedom to men to print
and circulate that which invites to crime
or debauchery, or that corrupts the sensi-
bilities or demoralizes the conscience. The
fair test for any man to apply, to deter
mine what is and what should be printed,
sold or given away, is for him to approach
any news stand window with its filthy pic
torial digplay of nude female figures in
coarse wood-cuts, of shameless representa-
tions of amours, of scenes in brothels and
hell-holes, Of pictures of crime and villainy,
supplemented by recitals and stories of
the most vulgar and suggestive character,
and of the filthiest order. Let him push
aside the crowds Of boys, and even young
girls, that congregate in front of these pic
torial exhibitions, and settle with himself
if there are any of these detestable things
that he will select for his home circle, or
purchase and place in the hands of his son
or daughter. Yet another is permitted by
the consent of our communities and in the
face of the law prohibiting it, to do for his
children that the father would not for
moment think of doing himself. 1t is to
be hoped that Iowa will continue her cru
SADIE and by her example stimulate the
people of other States to like activity
against one of the chief springs of crime,
debauchery and ruin of the young.