The Roanoke times. (Roanoke, Va.) 1897-1977, 1897-03-09
BAD LITERATURE.

The subject of DIR. w. G. Campbcll's
discourse ut the First Presby terrain
Church last Sunday morning was the in
lucnce of literature on tine minds OF the
young. This WAS the occasion of the
Offering for the distribution of church lit.
crature and he said it had been his custom
for some time to speak of this subject, as
it WIS of great Importance and is apt to
he forgotten. He selected the 18th verse
of the 18th chapter of Acts. which speaks
of the burning of books, and among other
things Said that there We're few subjects
of more vital Importance than the effect
produced on the young by cheap litera-
turc of the variety 50 common OH our
streets, suggesting the immoral. obscene
and indecent, and its influence is daily
increasing and multiplying and that the
church had become alarmed and aroused
to attempt some device whereby this great
evil may be stopped Books and news
papers, he said, were the most powerful
agents for good and the most potent for the
dissemination of good and the reverse is
also the case and the bad thoughts and
false Impressions created upon the minds
of the young by reading the wrong kind
of literature and seeing the wrong kind of
pictures is the g,eatest instrument that
satan has yet devised to inveigle unsus.
pectng man into his clutches. He spoke
of the character of literature circulated
on our streets, even on Sunday: how it
VAS bought and taken home and that
there was the place to stop it, to have our
laws enforced and not allow such litera
ture to be sold and above all to keep it
out OF our homes. He spoke of the abund-
auce OF good literature and --tlic exceeding
cheapness, and that il child taught to
read good literature when it was young
of reading ami the other would soon he.
come distasteful He said there were
plenty of good publishers and plenty of
good editors who published and wrote to
elevate and not debasc mankind and that
Christian people should encourage this
class by tleherring the other from their
iiresides. lie then addressed his remarks
TO the young, and more especially the
youcg ladies, warming them against any.
thing questionable in this lire. saving
they could not he too particular. He
spoke of the theatres. mo young lady,
he said, would think OF stopping on the
street and gazing with eager undated
interest on the multitude of show bills
that adoin the fences, yet they go and
see those same pictures acted with all the
reality thats.careful training and talent
can paint them; that there they are brought
to see and become familiar with dark and
repulsive scenes and to look upon them
with less horror and contempt than those
which are familiar" He spoke of what
great readers children were; that there
never was q period in the history of our
country when there was so much reading
bv the young and that the child that could
not read and was not fond of reading was
the exception and not the rule and that
it was so easy to cultivate Il taste in chill
dren for reading good literature as bad.
He said that it was not only the duty of
parents to exclude bad literature from
their homes, hut they must supply the
good. He urged upon them the necessity
of taking good church paper and ii lib
eral contribution to this great cause of
sending out good literature, Il work which
eternity alone can determine the good
| that has been done.