The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-04-06
WITH A SHARP STICK
sUPT. AsHMORE AFTER CIGARETTE
DEALERS AGAIN.
GRAND JURY INDICTED FOUR.
WHO SOLD CIGARETTES TO PUPILS
OF THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS.

Jury Made Special Presentments.
Law of Georgia Makes Sale of Gig
arettes to Minors MisdemeanOr
and Imposes n Heavy PenaIty-Mr.
AshmOre Explains His Position
and Announces He VIII Continue
the Prosecutions.
The grand jury returned special present
ments yesterday against four dealers in
cigarettes, charging them with selling
these tempting little agencies of evil to
minors.
The minors to whom the cigarettes are
alleged to have been sold are in all cases
pupils of the public schools, and the
prosecutions were instituted by Supt. Otis
Ashmore. The best known of the four
men is ]. H. Helmken, proprietor of the
grocery, bar and restaurant at Liberty
and Whitaker streets. The others are
John Rampas, proprietor of fruit store
at 55S Jones street, east; A. Gasperinich,
in the same business at 443 Barnard street,
and Jack Wilson, one of Mr.. Helmken's
clerks. Against Rampas the grand jury
returned two special presentments.
Weeks, Hall Watson, Harry Birch, Ger
aid Cleverly and Charlie Watson, rang
ing in age, apparently, from 10 to ID years
old, had been summoned as witnesses be-
fore the grand jury and furnished the
evidence upon which the special present
ments were returned. Bench warrants
for the arrest of the alleged offenders
Falligant. Those arrested were released
under $500 bonds, conditioned upon their
appearance at the present term of the
Superior Court.
The law upon which the presentments
are based is broad one. In substance 1t
provides that whoever shall SELL or per-
NIT to be sold by his employee or agent,
to a minor, cigarettes or cigarette papers
or tobacco in any form, shall be deemed
guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon con-
viction thereof in any court of competent
authority shall be punished by a fine of
not more than $1,000 Imprisonment in the
county Jail for not more than six months
and on the chain-gang for not more than
twelve months, any or all or any part of
any or all, in the discretion of the court.
Two years ago, when the sale of ciga-
rettes to pupils of the public schools had
become distressingly common, Superin-
tendent Ashmore caused the arrest and
indictment of half a dozen or more of the
dealers, with what he thinks were good
results.
AT any rate the results of that first
experiment were sufficiently encouraging
TO induce Mr.. Ashmore to repeat it, as
the stand he has now taken demon
strates. After the presentments of the
grand jury had been returned and that
body had adjourned, Mr.. Ashmore was
seen by a Morning News reporter and
| consented, after avowing his responsible
ity for the instigation of the prosecutions
to state the reasons upon which he based
| his action.
Yes" said Supt Ashmore, 81 turned
over to the solicitor general the names of
several persons who have been selling Gig
arettes to school children, according to
the testimony of a number of boys, and 1
have asked him to prosecute the Offenders,
If, after hearing the evidence, he thinks
they are guilty.
The furnishing of tobacco in any form
to minors is a violation of a plain law
of our state, and the use of tobacco bv
school children is positively forbidden by
the rules of the public schools of our city.
and of every other city in the country,
These laws are eminently wise and prop.
er, and it is the duty of every good citi-
q.
the superintendent of the public schools
of Savannah, it is my duty to protect
| the young people of our city against
| vice of every kind, so far as 1 am able to
do so, and while / am making no crusade
| against tobacco, whenever | know of a
| clear case of furnishing tobacco in any
form 10 the school children of this city.
| by any person, 1 shall certainly turn the
case over to the states attorney for pros
| ecution.
Whatever may be the effects of tobacco
upon the adults, everyone will admit that
| upon young children these effects are
most harmful. My daily Observable and
experience upon several thousand chill
dren entities me to speak with perfect
confidence upon this subject. 1 have
| known many sad instances among young
boys illustrating the disastrous effects of
| tobacco upon both mind body and charac-
ter. Some of these children have been
wrecked upon the very threshold of life
| and many drag listlessy through school,
| and indeed through life, with weak bodies
| and duh brains.
| Very few parents realize what mischief
this vice is working, and it behooves them
TO use every effort to prevent the forma-
ton of the dangerous habit. The use of
| cigarettes by boys is almost sure to man.
ifest itself in the school room by gem
eral mental inactivity, dullness, poor les
sons, slovenliness weakness of character
and often impaired bodily health.
| Two years ago my attention was call
ed to the evil of cigarette smoking among
school boys by its observed effects in the
| class room, and l then determined to
prosecute every case that lay in the path
| of my duty A number of dealers in
cigarettes were arraigned before the
court and fined, and since that time I'M
| til recently, marked improvement has
been noticed. We have had but little
trouble with the cigarette business since.
But in the last few months l have OBJ
served a tendency to renew the former
practices, and hence my action In the
! matter.
In most cases the boys obtain their
cigarettes from the fruit stands and
small vendors throughout the city. though
sometimes they buy them openly from
more pretentious dealers.
1T is seldom that a boy ventures to
smoke his cigarette on the school grounds,
for that, he well knows. would be a very
dangerous proceeding. II is generally af-
| ter dark, In company with a crowd Of
boys around some favorite fruit stand.
that he lays the foundation OF a habit
that gradually units him for the best
| physical. mental and moral development
The law of Georgia Is very clear and
explicit upon this subject. and the pun
ishment may be severe. Any person, who
| has 50 little regard for the lives and
characters OF young children as 20 fasten
] them A .lnuEar,ua L.,