The evening tribune. (Pawtucket, R.I.) 189?-190?, 1897-05-17
PLETHORA OF BOOKS.
TIMELY HINTS AS TO THE DISPOSE
TON or THE SURPLUS.

Vast Quantities Of Pamphlets, Periodicals.
A Famine Of Reading In Various Parts OF
the Countrywide Deduction La Obvious.
Here is suggestion to city people that
y particularly timely, for now the thoughts
OF such are fixed on the country and 1t is
tie benefit of the rural folk that 1t con-
templates. 1t refers to n profitable dispo-
sition of the surplus literature accrlmu-
lated i'm city houses; tho books without
number or stint that come pouring in
gifts, loans, purchases, what not; tho
pamphlets that choke up the Railways.
A hundredth Of them are only to dust
and arrange and rearrange and provide
shelves for. The hospitals are Overladen
with them now. Could they not be sent
into the country and distributedY One can
fancy the delighted crowd gathered In the
rural railway station to greet a load OF
books and magazines.
1t seems worth while trying the expert
ment.
No one who lives in the thick of big
city on the regular route of the mail car
rier, and no one who has lived at the same
address long enough to be well established
at the postoffice has any idea what fam
inc of reading means. Not that the usual
influx of pamphlets, booklets, leaflets,
tracts, circulars, advertisements in literary
form can be digni1ed by the name Of good
reading, but they are better than nothing
at all to read, as prisoners and those
doomed to long waiting In dull spots have
found.
In the real country, the wilds, the poor
er classes, who do not subscribe for period
icals and have no library, suffer as much
from dearth of reading matter as we, buried
in worthless rubbish, do from surfeit. Those
who get no time to look over half the mass
of accumulating pabulum cannot appreci-
ate the time hanging on the hands of those
who, in long evenings or during long con-
valescences or seasons Of storms, have alb
solutely nothing upon which to regale
their impoverished minds.
Town libraries, where the districts are
thickly settled enough to afford them, are
many of them poor and unable to buy
enough books for the clamoring inhabit
tants. There are many such institutions
struggling on with large patronage and
adequate staff, but insufficient supply of
books. A shipment now and then would
be of great assistance, and would help
civilize, educate and amuse many an idle,
restless and reckless community.
Not long ago IA package of books was
dispatched, by way of experiment, to
small far western town, whose name was
selected at random from the map. The
freight amounted to less than 81, and u
postal card was sent the station agent, by
which was communicated the fact that 200
books for distribution among the people
of the village had been sent to his address.
A note received in reply showed the feryor
of gratitude with which the package was
received. "We have no public library"
wrote the agent, land it would do your
heart good to see how the farmers all round
here and their wives and daughters came
for these books. l posted up notice in
the depot, and in an hour after the bundle
was opened every book was gone. The
greatest demand was for the magazines.
Every body wanted these. There is SO much
in them on different subjects. These books
will be read and loaned until they drop to
pieces. 1t was real charity you did,
and one nobody ever would have thought
Of" t
This is suggestion, at any rate, of
something to do with superfuous books.
Burn up the sensational novels in paper
covers with horrid pictures in them, but
of those left there is hardly one that has
not an eager reader somewhere.
1t is simply astonishing how much in
formation-if you count yourself non
reading pcrson-can be CLEANED from even
the most obscure of periodicals. No mat
ter if half is reprint and half of the rest
not strictly original. There is no plagiar
ism for him who never saw the thing
which has been plagiarzed Facts about
writers, inventors, writings and inyen-
tions are real news to the pent, out of the
world tiller of the ground, miner or poor
shote who can't make a living or get out
of it. To "kDow what is going on In the
world is a boon TO thousands of the be-
nighted, even IL the items are not couched
in the most grammatical language and the
arguments and essays are not flawless in
which universal truths are discussed.
1t is n sad perversion Of justice 10y which
swarms of those who cannot read are glut-
ted with printed paper, while many who
would give their eyes to be able to use
them @ have nothing to use them on.
Think of the dwellers in out of the way
haunts in the backwoods, i'm struggling
settlements, where there are only weekly
paper, a weekly mail and yearly book.
"Send us booksr' these outcasts Cry. And
IL we selfish ones, pampered until we have
ceased to feel for others, would take lit
tie trouble we might Tighten the darkness
Of many bored existenccs, Intelligent once,
but cruelty debarred from remaining so.--
Chicago Times Herald.
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