The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1899-11-28
THE ENEMY OF YOUTH.

The deadly cigarette still provokes
discussion as it should do. In Tonnes
see it is driven out by law. The su-
preme court has just made a decision
that confirms the constitutionality of
the Rogers Anti-Cigarett law of 1897.
In North Carolina this enemy to youth
and the rights of the farmers still holds
its baneful reign. The Danville Ua.)
Farago, that does not hold UP in its
vigorous war against the destructive
cigarette, recent said:
Why not intensity the crusade
against the cigarette. Ii is claiming it's
victims by the thousands and they are
children 1t debauches and corrupts
youth. II is the stepping stone to
worse things-and a determined fight
on the part Of mothers and sisters.
against this one. oyershadowing evil.
would result in much good.
Ministers are commencing TO de-
nounce il from the pulpit but the forces
for good are not yet united against its
downfall"
Of North Carolina papers webster's
(Reidsville) Weekly has made the
ablest, f~iercest, most telling war upon
the destroyer and enemy of the young.
The able editor of the brave ewspa
is still firing its big gun at the monster.
An effort is made in behalf of the CT
garette trust to show that ii really
buys but a small part of the tobacco,
and hence the low prices Of tobacco
cannot be laid to its charge. But this
Will fool no one acquainted with the
operations of the trust in the Piedmont
section for several years. The farmers
know that their prices dropped down
a third so soon as the cigarette trust
sent out its buyers to control the mar
kets. When other grades of bac
have risen in prices the cutters used
by the cigarette monopoly tumbled in
prices. We quote rom the Weekly:
'The Journal says tina the American
Tobacco Co., buys less than one-ninth
of the total sales on the Danville mar
ket n that several independent firms
buy fully as much. This assertion is
misleading and deceptive. What com
petition is there for cutters for domeS-
tic consumption? Who are the buyers?
Name them and the amount they are
buying. We dare say that their pur-
chases of this grade do not foot up a
million pounds, leaving the other fou
millions to be gobbled up by the ciga-
srette trust. The Danvil market owes
much to the export business, but no
thanks to the trust, which made a deS-
perate effort to secure the foreign or
ders and thus further lower the price
of that grade of tobacco"
The time was when the Raleigh Bib
lical Recorder poured red-hot shot into
the vile cigarette p~lunderer, and but
few years ago. The Baptist organ of
the Thomasville Baptist Orphanage,
called Charity and Children. is giving
the accursed enemy of humanity a rich
ly deserved and vigorous Smelling. We
make a brief extract from a recent ed
itorial Of that we'll edited weekly. 1t
says:
For some reason the warfare against
the cigarette has we'll nigh ceased,
though the evil is generally admitted
to be constantly increasing. We have
even heard it gravely limited by those
who used to aSSail the habit vigorously
that it is not so much of a curse after
all, as we had been led to believe. But
the physicians still insist hat it is
ruinous to the health of boys, and the
blOOdShOt eyes and pale faces of young
smokers confirm the opinion OF the doc
tors. We have no doubt in the world
that cigarette destroys five boys where
Whiskey kills one. One reason for this
is that it is unpopular for a youth to
drink Whiskey, but quite the thing for
him to smoke a cigarette. Recently we
heard an old man imploring a young
fellow to stop smoking because the
deadly effect of the habit was plainly
written in the boys face. The Did gen
tleman told the youth that he would
gladly get down on his knees in the
street where they were standing and
the Lord to give him strength to
break the habit. if he would allow him.
The boy replied that it was of no use
the habit had UGH a hold Upon him he
could not quit it. That was a sad
picture"
There are chaps in this city from
eight to eighteen years old who smoke
cigarettes with growing and enticing
fascination.