The Lake Charles echo., 1894-04-20
Cigarettes.


By Meta Lander,
Do you care to know how they are
made3 think l can enlighten yOu.
An Italian boy only eight years old was
brought before q Justice in New York
City as a YagTant, or, in other words, a
young tramp. But what did the officer
charge him with dOing' Only picking
mp cigar stumps from the streets and
cutters. TO prove this he showed the
boys BASKET, half full of stumps, water
soaked and covered with mud.
nWhat do you do with these ~ asked
his honor. What do you think was his
answer3 81 sell them to man for ten
cents a pound, to be used in making
cigarettes" Not n particularly agree
able piece of information, is it, bOys7
In our large cities there are a great
many eigar-butt grubbers, as they are
called. 1t certainly is not a pretty naH.e,
though very appropriate, for it is applied
to boys and girls who scOur the streets in
search of half-burnt cigars and Stumps,
which are dried and then sold to be used
in making cigarettes,
But this isn't all, nor even the worst
of it. These cigarettes have been an
alyZed, and physicians and chemists were
surprised to find how much opium is put
into them. A tObaccOnist himself says
in cigarettes is appalling" Havana
ilayOring" for this same purpose is sold
everywhere by the thousand barrels.
This tlaYOring is made from the tOnka-
bean, which contains a deadly poison.
The wrappers, warranted to be rice
paper, are sometimes made Of common
paper, and sometimes of the filthy scrap
ins of rag-pickers, bleaehed white with
arsenic.
Think Of it, boys, the next time you
take mp cigarette and drop it--as you
would a coal of fire. The latter would
simply burn your fingers; but this burns
up good health, good resolutions, good
manners, good memories, good faculties
and often honesty and truthfulness as
we'll.
A bright boy of thirteen came under
the spell of cigarettes. lie grew stupid
and subject to nervous twitchings, till
finally he was obliged to give up his
studies. When asked why he didn't
throw away his miserable cigarettes, the
poor boy replied with tears that he had
often tried to do so but could not.
Another boy Of eleven was made crazy
by cigarette smoking and was taken to
an insane asylum in Orange county, New
York. He was regarded as violent and
dangerous maniac, exhibiting some of
the symptoms peculiar to hydTOphObia.
What can we do, dear boys, to protect
You against this dreadful foe? How can
adequately set forth the Perils Of this
tobacco habit, to which you are drawn
not only by the example and the persna-
siOns, but sometimes the ridicule Of other
boys, and by various snaTes set for your
nnwaFy feeti
Would that could persuade yOm not
even to glance at the temptation which
comes in offers of pictuTes-if only Won
comply with certain miserable con-
ditiOns.
.fIfu
Will You not settle that "if" now and
forever with an emphatic no?
Will yOn not deliberately resolve; 81
will never tOuch another cigarette;
will never use tobacco in any form ~
This will be yOur best gift to u loving
mother and sister. And it would give
me greater pleasure than / can express
to receive such d pledge from You. ]
would put y0ur names down in book
and keep it always as a precious
memorial.