The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1894-12-21
As 10 the E-xpuraation of Public
Libraries.


The matter of the reading that public
libraries shall afford to the public has
been cropping up in the papers in a re-
markabie way in the last few days, and
we expect to see a crusade on the sub
ject launched by Mrs. E. B. Grannis,
Lady Henry Somerset, Mrs. Tabitha
Miaule or some other lady of neurotic
tendencies. When it comes, it will be
interesting, to judge from the forerun-
ners.
First of these was that somewhat re-
markable contribution by Miss Burdick
of our own Library to the Evening
Journal" in which she intimated that
the teachers-the women ones--of our
public schools displayed an anxiety TO
use their privileges to draw "erotic and
neurotic'' works in large numbers from
the Library shelves. She had to use her
sisterly care. all the time. she intimat-
ed, to curb their propensities in this di-
reetion. We rather expected that this
attack would draw fire. We thought the
against Miss Burdick's somewhat Sc
we're reflections. That the expressions
have passed wholly without notice
must be due TO the fact that hardly
anybody any longer reads the Jour
nal" But we also expected to hear of
jnternecine commotion in the Library.
The intimation from within its pre-
cincts that it has 'erotic and neEfotie"
works on tap, is certainly startling. We
may say, that, in any reasonable sense
of the term, we do not believe it is true.
We apprehend the works which Miss
Burdick has in mind are the yellow
Aster.' "Dodo,' "Ideala," Esther Wa
ters," ct id genus omme. These books,
for better or worse, make up the greater
part of the light reading of the day.
They are too shallow-except Esther
Waters which is in it's way an excel
lent book, quite as good as anything
of zola's-to do mtuchs harm. If this
is the class of books Miss Burdick al
ludes to. the terms she chooses to de-
sumes regarding their circulation show
how utterly morbid the exercise of CEN
sorship is apt to grow.
They have been having a Green Car
nation" spasm of a different variety in
Los Angeles. There, the ~clergymen-
or some of them-and other altogether
too good people nave been conducting a
movement for the Boodlerizing of the
Library shelves. In this case. the Lii
brarian, a young lady, is on the side
of liberality and common sense and
opposed to humbug and twaddle of all
sorts. The result has been that one truly
Christian minister has thought it proper
to offer prayer for her individually from
his pulpit, asking the Lord to SO re-
model her mind that she may be able to
see depravity in books which the mill
ion read with innocence. The young
lady has very promptly and most prop
erly sued him for $4,000 damages for de-
flaming her character in -dhe sight of
Heaven and of her fellow citizens. and
her friends have, besides. raised such a
storm of protest that you have to take
a magnifying glass with you to hold a
conversation with that minister, he feels
so very small.
But Philadelphia, good old Quaker
Philadelphia, takes the al for prud-
ery-the plum pudding in honor of the
season, as it were. According to the
Press of that city, a request was made
on Wednesday upon the Committee on.
Public Libraries of the Board of Edu-
cation that the novel .sTrilby'' be taken
from the public library shelves. Chair
man Henry R. Edmunds said to a
"Press,' reporter that such a commun-
ication was sent him by two Roxborough
ministers, although he refused to give
the names of the gentlemen in ques-
ton. Their ground, he said, had been
that the work was immoral and antag-
onistic to Christianity. I: did not go
into specific charges and was penned in
q few lines. The committee win hold
Its regular meeting tomorrow and then