Middletown transcript., 1897-03-06
SAVE rHE BoYs.

4
concerns them. lst we will call attention
to the cigarette law. We think perhap.
it is not generally known what that law is,
for the reason, it is violated every day
either BIZ those who sell cigarettes or BY
those who purchase. procure for, or give
them TO our boys.
If one reads the law carefully he:will find
it is not only the one who sells that is liable
to be fined but any one who procures them
in any way for boy. win be fined or Inn
prisoned.
We are very much in earnest about this
matter, because we are very anxious about
our boys. Our lawmakers have very
kindly given us good law, but the trouble
is, it is not enforced. It is a very sad fact
to face-but fact it is--that there are very
few boys in our town over twelve years of
age who do not smoke-and a great many
do il who are not that old. Smoking GER
tainly does injure them mentally, physi-
cally and morally. To prove th at the prac-
tice hurts them mentally we only have to
look to our schools and colleges. Where ever
boys and girls are educated in the same
schools the girls almost always out-strip the
boys. What is the reason for this? Almost
all our boys and youth use tobacco in some
form, and by its use the memory is impaired.
The portion OF the brain lying nearest to
the nose and roof Of the mouth is most con-
acerned with memory and the intellectual
powers in general. Common sense would
teach us that the almost perpetual irrita-
ton by poison such as tobacco is acknow-
lodged to be. cannot be endured without
injury to the organ of mind. Chas. Bulk
ley Hubbel, of the Board of Education, of
New York, says: II have found that
boy who smokes becomes morally and
mentally weaker than those who do not
/ have observed that boys who are en-
ployed in business houses and smoke are
often dishonest, and they never attain the
success that non-smokers do" The physi-
cal effects are not less than the mental.
Medical writers with out exception de-
scribe tobacco as q poison. When it Is
smoked in the cigar. cigarette or pipe the
poisonous principles enter the smoke and
are carried to the blood and are also absorb
ed by the skin. The complexion is render
ed sallow and the face and body bee ome
lank and thin.
In the use of tobacco the mouth, throat
and voice are injured by SIN oking more
than chewing. The eyes and lungs come
in for a large share of mischief The
stomach and digestive ORGANS cannot fail
to be disordered by il; The heart is not
exempt from suffering, its intimate rela-
tion to the stomach and nervous system
leads to irregular action and palpitation.
The brain and nerves, however, suffer
most from tobacco. The brain is the in
strument ofall motion, thought and feel
ing. You cannot move your finger or your
tongue, you cannot see or hear or feel, you
cannot think or reason. but by means oi
the brain In ONE sense the brain is the
man.
It is worthy of note that prize fighters in
training for their brutal exhibitions alb :
stain entirely from the use of tobacco.
We may learn lesson even from them.
The Chicago "Inter-0cean" said: "0ut OF
thirty-two young men in New York City
who were recently examined for
West Point eade tship. only nine were ac-
cepted as physically sound. Such note
might well make our young men pause for
q moments thought. Beer, cigarettes, too
much amusement, and the hidden vices
are making havoc with the physical man.
hood of all our towns and cities"
The laws Of healthsare the laws of God.
No man can violate them without commit
ting wrong. II the mental and physical
effects are such, what shall we say of the
moral effects. Tobacco leads away from
good company, and into bad company.
From the family circle and vir.uous FEM
inine society it is often excluded, from cor
rupt society never. The young man who
takes into his mouth cigar, cigarette or
pipe turns his back on home and on the
temperof religion, and sets his face to-
ward the saloon the barroo M, the grog
shop and the gamboling house.
The path ofabstinemee leads n the direc-
ton of sobriety, domestic enjoyment, chas-
tity and religion. Great is the responsible
ity Of every man and every woman in re-
gard to the rising generation. Child rem
are imitators; what they see us do they
will do: and we are under the most solemn
obligations as christians aud moralists to
set before them all example which 1t is
safe for them to follow. In this point of
view what shall be said of the parent the
protesting christian or minister of the gos
pei who is seen walking in the street or
stepping from saloon putting cigar?
What we want to do is TO save our chill
dren. Father Doyle at the annual conven-
tion of the Catholic Temperance Union of
America, held in st. Louis last summer
said: "If we own the children we own the
future" We have good law, but while
we grieve over the nome Increment of it.
and wiring our hands in helplessness, the
words of Father Doyle come back to us
and we believe that the women of thi'
country can own the children. Start the
little folks in the straight path and keep
hem there, and we will own the future
Who will help us?
A White Ribboner.
Chapter 7SS, Vol. 10, ,La,Os Of DeIa-
tcare.
AN ACT PROHIBITING THE SALE OF cIGARETTEs
TO MINORS UNDER THE AGE OF SEW
ENTEEN YEARS.
Section 1. That from and after the pas
sage Of this act no person or persons shall,
within this State. sell or give to, or pur-
chase or procure for, or furnish or any way
assist any minor. under. the age of seven
teen years, in obtaining cigarettes or papers
specially prepared and intended to be used
for the purpose OF making cigarettes.
Section 2. That any person or persons
violating the provisions of this act shall
for every such offsnse be deemed guilty of
misdemeanor, and upon conviction there
of by indictment shall be fined not more
than one hundred dollars, or imprisoned
for term of not mora three months, or
both, at the discretion of the court.
Passed at Dover, April IL. 1898.
CkdDter GIG. Ynl. I9. Ilnne of Del.
GW0re.
AN ACT TO FURTHER AMEED CHAPTER 4i8,
VOLUME IA, LAWS or DELAWARE.