Morning journal and courier., 1894-02-06
oomsToCK AT YALE

He Lectures Before she Divinity school on "Twenty. .two Ysars' War. fare Against '-Dissemination
 of Obscene Literature, Gambling
 and Drunkenness the Three Evils Consldered by Him Most RamPanr-
 Twenty.two Million Girls and B"ys
 In Amerlca-Let Us Keep Them
 Pure.
 Anthony Comstock, of the New York Society for the Suppression of Vice, leot- ured in Ma,quand chapel before the stu. dents of the Yale divinity school last even- ing at 6:45 o'clock, on "Twenty-two Years Warfare Against Vice." The chapel was filled with members of the university and Mr. Comatock spoke in part as follows:
 "Gentlemsn, It is with no small degree of embarrassment that stand before you young gentlemen here tonight. Every day you are being drilled in things which I have never had the advantage of. But perhaps can give you c few ideas in re- gard to personal hand to hand conflict in which have been drilled. The society which represent has been carrying on c national and international work. It has spread itself over four states and contra band goods have been seized in foreign lands.
 'I wonder if any of you ever thought that one third of the population of the United States is composed of girls and boys. Twenty-two million girls and boyi in our country! How many of you, too, are aware that there is Q businsss regularly and systematically carried on for the dis seminstion of impure influences. Volume upon volume of tainted pages are every day scattered broadcast throughout oul land, carrying their messages of evil. l, | is this influencs fo med in the hearts o1 children that you as ministers of the gos | pei will be called upon to combat. l ''I was recently called upon to go to 6 school of 140 youth, whence such 2 filthy and contaminating influence had been flowing to two neighboring young ladies' seminsries that had to arrest one young man ss an example. There were mol twenty five boys in that school who hai not been contaminated.
 l "This work began in March, 1873, ant the organization has gone on until the pres | ent time. One thousand nine hundred ar rests have been made and sixty-seven tom | Ok COAtIaohAu h4httoE bolE5O OiALk-octok | tons of the ssed of evil destroyed, but thu tons that have not been seizsd--thsse we d, not know. There are things, still going ol to-day in our best schools and seminsries which are more to be dreaded than small pox or foreign foes.
 ''In the heart of every child there is
 chamber of imagery, if you wish to cal it. Every tainted page that comes befor the mind of a child Is g filthy decoration on the chamber of imagery. An obscsn
 book Leaves stain that nothing but tn grace of God can remove. Some say ths
 there is no help for those whose mind
 have become tainted by the publications
 But do not believe that. I think ths tho grace of God makes possible al
 things
 "And there are other foes we are nov
 dealing with-foes of society, church an of state. Influences are being set u
 which are degrading our nation. Couple
 with the other evil is gambling. We hay
 been prosecuting the public gamblers o
 New York city for years. This evil enter
 right into the folds of the church. Onl
 this morning lady with sorro ~ful an
 downcsst look came into my office in Ne,
 York city almost with the air of one wh
 thought she was intruding. She aske
 me if 1 Gould not do something fo
 her. Her husband, member C 8 church, became possessed of th gambling mania. First he spent the none
 of the firm of which he was a member bringing both himself and his partner in ) to bankruptcy; then the home was nor
 gagged, and in 8 fast aot of madness he too
 $1 900 of trust funds, staked them and lot
 all. In order to relieve him and save hin self and family from disgrace, the $1, ,OC will have to be recovered. Wherever 70 find pool rooms, race tracks, policy roou and gambling in any of its many form you will 6nd courts hoodwinked, the p' : lice and judges bribed and public sent ) ment debsuchsd. In New York the gan blers, so 1t is said, used to pay $60, 600 fe . l protection.
 MT. Comstock then gave an account the crusade against the gamblers at Ssrl toga. Ia closing he spoks at length of th
 vital evil of saloons. and the liquor habi together with the ruin 1t Is bringing upo the youth of the country.