Herald and tribune. [volume] (Jonesborough, Tenn.) 1869-current, 1896-01-22


reading. The third, we have the re.
sponsive readings on the different de-
partments of work. Fourth Thursday,
mothers meeting. The public are cor
daily invited toattend any of these
meetings.
A committee appointed by the VIC
mans Christian Temperance Union
of Jonesboro, last week organized
among the boys of the school, and
others, what is known as the Anti
Cigarette Smoking League.
The members of the League signing
a pledge not to smoke cigarettes before
they are twenty one years of age. Such
leagues have been organized in many
of the towns and cities of our country
and should be organized everywhere in
all schools in order to help the boys as
much as possible, they also waited on
all the various men of Jonesboro and
received a promise from them that they
would not order more cigarettes. Now
there is n thing moIe that ought to
be done. The girls ought to pledge
themselves to help the boys in every
way possible to encourage them or if
necessary to boycott them. 1t has been
rumored that some of our girls have
encouraged the boys in this bad habit,
not only by smiling on 'them, but by
examples as well. Let us hope that
this is a mistake. Let u, hope that no
young lady would stoop to anything
SO unrefned, SO unladylike and so pro
ductive of evil. Is there not some good
men, or women, in every district, near
every school house to organize such a
league? To save the boys from this
most sedu ctive and most destructive
of all the snares satan has ever laid
for the young. .
The w. G. T. U. of Jonesboro will
gladly furnish information for organ.
'zing a league. A neat badge is pro-
vided to every boy who takes the
pledge. Let us have this county or.
ganlzed as soon as possible. Who will
be the first to form q league? Boys
you can form n among yourselves
and my word for it you will live to be
thankful that you ever did it.
TBE TOBACCO HABIT-ITs EFFECTS UPON
SCHOOL WORK.
After making a study of several hun
dred boys, running through a period
of ten years, | give only observed facts,
and neither assume the conditions nor
jump at foreordained conclusions.
l. Boys that begin the habit at an
early age are stunted physically, and
never arrive at normal bodily develop
ment.
2. Accompanied with the use of the
narcotic were certain d~isordered physi.
cal functions, such as indigestion, i'm.
paired taste, defective eyesight, dull
hearing, nervous affections and dis
eases of the heart. l have not found
a single case of early addicting to the
habit of tobacco using that did not
suffer with one or more of these direful
abnormal conditions.
3. Tobacco, used in any form. de.
stroyed the ability to apply ones self /
to study, and prevented his compre
bending his lessons. The mental facul.
ties of u boy under the influence of the
narcotic seem to be in a stupor. and
since depraved nerve power stultiies
and weakens the will power, there is
but little use for the teacher to seek to
arouse the dormant. paralyzed ener-
gles, or to interest and foster the tagged
desire. l have not met a pupil that is
addicted to the habit who will 90
through a single days work and have
good lessons. l have never had one
whose scholarship record was good, |
and in almost every case the deport-
ment was below the average standard.
AT the regular examinations for pro-
motion, nearly every one of the tobac-
co using pupils fail in doing the most
reasonable test work, even il this is not
the first time the work has been passed
over in class. | have had numbers of
cases in which they have remained in
the same grade for four successive
years, and then they were not ready to
be advanced into the uext higher class.
Actual Cases., A high school boy
who had always done excellent work,
was reported one term as not getting
his lessons. | had q talk with the bow
and stated the facts assuring him that
with his past record his poor work was
unexplainable, as he insisted that he
devoted his time faithfully to his
studies. He denied using tobacco at
all. His work failed from month to
month, and before the year closed his
parents withdrew him from school.
His father deeply regretted the failure,
admitted that q change had come in
the boys conduct at home, but as he
had heretofore been truthful and faith.
full, he could % think that the pre-
supposed cause was the true one. In
a few months the habit, thus far secret,
because more pronounced and more
public, and it was absolutely estab.
lished by the boys own admissions,
that 1t was begun several months be-
fore the trouble noticed at school, and
that no one knew it save the salesman
that furnished him the supply of the
narcotic.
2. -Four years ago a boy entered one
of my primary schools as a char. pupil.
Before the boy was four years of age
he had learned the habit of smoking
cigarettes and stubs of cigars. His
father taught him the use of narcotics,
and considered it sport to see his son
exhibit the habits and tastes of his
elders. During the four years he did
not complete the twenty four lessons