The Minneapolis journal., 1905-12-05
F. B. Stevenson in Brooklyn Eagle.

F. B. Stevenson in Brooklyn Eagle.
He sat there at his desk looking
seriously at his visitor for moment.
Then he said slowly and thoughtfully:
''Do you know how many children
how 4f! many NJ young peoplae, there are in the
But wait~iet me put It to you in this
way: If you stand at given point
for 367 days and 100000 children pass
you each day at the end Of the last day
there will be still 27,363 children to pass
by. In other words, there were &c.
a27,363 boys and girls in the United
States at the last census. My work is
not pleasant work. but it is duty.
a duty that [ have been called upon to
perform. I am in the valley. On the
one side are those frightful monsters.
On the other side are those $4,000 900
childish faces appealing to me.
For third of century I have
been doing this work-this duty-and,
with God g help, shall continue 1t till
the end Of my days.
Comstock. The mar who faced @ d me- WIS
| a big mana strong man, whose fine
physical development kept tardy tally
with his sixty years and more. Here
was the Anthony Comstock who has
been praised and denounced from one
end OF the nation to another, whose
name has been honored and ieered at on
both sides Of the water, who has been
extoiled for his work and accused Of
making money and accumulating riches
out OF his crusade against vice. As for
the Pralse-that was gratifying, but as
Tor the criticism and abuse he says:
My best answer is that I am 81
years old, and today there is a blan-
ket mortgage of $4,000 on my home
at Summit, N. J. Since 1873 I have
served served as SPECIAL agent Of the United
one penny of pay when might have
received an annual salary Of 81 900.
The work of the New York society for
the Suppression Of Vice, Of which I
am secretary and agent, Is maintained
by voluntary contributions. During all
these years that ! have served in this
81 90 witness fees and s cents mileage
to. and from my home for every case
I have attended in court. These fees
have ALWAYS turned into the treasury
Of the society. Twenty-one thousand
dollars has thus been given to tho or
gsnization. l have been assailed in
almost every possible way that, man
been traduced. was stabbed while
taking to jail man whom had ar.
rested sixteen different times for mail
; ing indecent literature in fourteen Diff
ferenI postoffces. Ny life has been
threatened scores Of times. Smallpox
germs have been sent to me thru the
mail to my home. An internal machine
filled with powder, broken glass and
acid was sent to me at my office and
I only escaped by the barest chance.
Time and time again I have left my
home not knowing whether I would re-
turn again alive or not. have been
!, sued in the the civil courts for amounts
aggregating more than. $250,00o, and
there. has been one Judgment against
He threw open the doors to two large
rooms. They were filled with boxes,
books, pamphlets, photographs and en-
grayed plates.
+ "You are the only one besides myself
VINO mas s.;g eyer r been % allowed II IT. these
5 see here is to be used in evidence in
: cases now pending. When a seizure Of
! improper literature or pictures is made
, the goods are brought to these rooms.
After confiscation the court orders them
destroyed. Last year the society made
: eighty-four arrests, and secured seven
i ty-two convictions, seized 1000 improp-
' er books, more than $4,000 circulars and
: more than 505,OO0 improper pictures.
. and confscated $4,000 tons of matter.
4 while s1e books Of different titles have
, been suppressed. Now, then, when you
; consider that efforts are being con-
S stantly made by vile persons to not only
reach the adults Of the country with
this frightful literature and these awful
pictures, but the young men and young
women, and even the children of tender
ages, you will appreciate the good work
that the society 1 represent is doing.
You will be surprised to learn that
Q many persons constantly make bust
ness to secure the names and addresses
.. Of boys and girls, to whom they send ad-
: vertisements, often printed in the gross
5 est language, Offering for sale the most
: demoralizing and disgusting books, pic
lures and articles. They obtain the
names of these boys and girls by buying
up lists Of names, or by collecting the
catalogs Of schools, seminaries and col
leges. In 1908 we arrested a man and
woman with an office on Broadway,
Manhattan, whose plan was to obtain a
list of all the district and public schools
8 IN the United States, and send out cir
= culars to their agents in the various
counties in the different states with in
structions to deliver the circulars to the
children after they had left school in
the afternoon