The Greeley tribune., 1906-02-15
CRUSADE AGAINST VICE.
The Great Work of Anthony Com
stock has Brought Splendid =.
Results.


Few Of those who have read of the
accomplishments Of Anthony Com
stock in his crusadcs against vice,
which have made his name known i'll
every section OF the United States,
have any idea of the history of the
man whose singlc-handed exertions
have been largely responsible for the
suppression of obscene literature and
photographs He has been painted as
crank OF the weirdest sort, a notoriety
seeker, a CRATER using a cloak OF
morality TO enrich himself, and every
thing else wild and dishonest, but he
is none Of these and to-day his posi-
ton is stronger and his influence more
potent than ever before.
His life has been threatened scores
of times by desperate criminals whom
he has deprived of their unlawful
gains and sent to the penitentiary.
Many attempts have been made to
stab, shoot and poison him; ground
glass has been scattered in his food;
Internal machines have been sent him
through the mails aud by express; he
has been accused of unprintable de-
pravity, his honesty has been sneered
at and his every motive impugned, but
he has gone unsCathed amid physical
perils and his reputation has escaped
the cleverly planned pitfalls designed
to ruin him in the eyes of the people
and dissipate the enormous power for
good which he has built up by almost
a lifetime of devotion to high duty.
Guardian OF Youthful Morals.
Mr.. Comstocli is best known for his
,, bn n thnSa who
make it a business to sell indecent
books. pamphlets and pictures to the
Young. but as matter of fact he is
equally active in crashing out other
forms of vice, not only III New York,
hut in the country at large. He travels
great deal from city to city and has
been a prominent figure in reform cru
sadea in various sections of the coun-
| try. and has frequently produced i'm
portaut results while Others supposed
to be helping him were engaged IN
talking it OTer.
In a recent interview Mr.. Comstock
tells for the first time the history OF
his life and how ne abandoned prom
Using business career, in which he
might have made a comfortable for
tune. to pursue a vocation which has
never netted him more than living
and has left him. in declining years,
still with a mortgage OF $4,000 on MS
house at Summit, n. j,
He is siXty-one years of age and
was bern in Connecticut. His brother
Samuel was killed at the battle OF
Gettysburg and young Anthony took
| his place until the end of the war.
Returning to his native State he en-
tered a grocery store in New Haven,
but later went to Tennessee, where he
purchased supplies for the Lookout
Mountain Institute. His health failed
and he went to New York, landing
there with S3.45 in his pocket. He got
y lob at sl2 per week, but reslSutd
| it to take one at So because he thouSll
the new one offered better opportuni-
ties for advancement. While eklng OUT
nm existence on this salary he iounu
that the young men in the store were
readers of stories of the Nilest SoTL,
and he made his first raid. He learned
tbat \ bookseller in a shop few doors
away was selling the books. Young
ConstOcll took q policeman 10 Lne
Mace and had the proprietor arrested
5rd in the case involved resuTrected
what was a dead letter law. lie won
out
Progressing rapidly in the CONNER
cfaI world. the young man was soon
making 81 800 a year commissions rs "
salesman. but his abhorrence OF wee
was in nowise abated. He found
ma, named Simpson trading in op-
scene literature and told a pollceElIu
his troubles. Instead of arreStilS ILt
man the policeman warned MN to
sl.iD out. and that was the pivot on
which the life of the young relorllei
turned He had the policeman as
missed for the bit of treachery an"
Inc papers began to take notice. ues
asked WHY he did not go INTO Na"7a"
street and proceed against the 2Peu
,,foIators Of the law there. MT. Com
stock answered the question by SoIL5-
On all sides Illegal publications We We
orarly for sale, and on March = Ie'-'
when he WIS but tWeuty-elshL w.
~ rn caused the arrest of EeNeu
men. The fruits OF this were the S.Ir ~
,'.,.-ion of 1863 different books, ths
J., liz, or three publishing houses, the
,,fisrafinu of 100000 worth oil PlaleS
III gnrraviugs from one man I'D
p-n,r-1vu. the seiZinG OF Slb,v}O WuI III t
nr,ta. and books from man l.
/ ,I,1battau. together with six tons ol
'tt,''ra%tyDeT mates from his printer.
,I .lIgJ, r5s PS destruction of $4,000 worth OF
roTnJ ,.,u books belonging to still another
man rrI,S An of this was accomplishe5dI. 1s
IIr 4I.''' Comstocl without any asslstalae l,,,5
t,.5a+9yer ,.S. from organization or com
mittee.
T. He Found n Good Angel
He had started to buy home ..,,,s 4,a
r,J Maid $500 down on it, but si'luII, lu.II,
, '"u mortgage for the rest, he used 81. 81.
Ho r,uId save from his salary to carr
! ne 'S''" 1Io yroc n firm believer