The daily tribune., 1906-02-16
CRUSADE AGAINST VZCE.


CRUSADE AGAINST VICE.
The Great Work of Anthcnv Com.
stsck has brought Spiendid
ReeultA.
Few Of those who have read of the
accomplishments Of Anthony Com
stock In his crusades against vice.
which have made his name known in
every section of the United States,
have any idea of the history of the
man whose single-handed exertions
have been largely responsible for the
suppression Of obscene literature and
photographs. He has been painted as a
crank OF the weirdest sort, notoriety
seeker, q CRATER using q cloak of
morality to enrich himself, and every
thing else wild and dishonest, but he
is none of these and to-day his posi-
tion 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
xains and sent to the penitentiary
Many attempts have been made to
stab. shoot and poison him: ground
Rlaas has been scattered in his food:
internal machines have been sent him
through the mails and by express: he
has been accused OF unprintable de-
pravity; his honesty has been sneered
at and his every motive impugned. but
he has goAs 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
. lifetime Of devotion to high duty.
Guardian of Youthful Morals.
Mr.. Comsteck is best known for his
work In the prosecution of those who
make II Q business to sell Indecent
books, panphlets ard nintnres to the
young. but ~ q matter of fact he 10
equally active In crushing out other
forms OF vice. not only IN New York.
but In the country at large. He travels
great deal from city to city and has
been prominent hgure In reform cru
sades In various sections OF the coun-
try, and has frequently produced i'm
pOrtAnt results while others supposed
to be helping him were epsAsed in
talking 1t over.
In recent interview Mr.. Constock
tells for the hrst time the history Of
his life and how he abandoned q prom
ising business career. In which he
might have made q comfortable for
tune. to pursue a vocation which has
never nettcd him more than a living
and has left him. In declining years.
still with mortgage Of $4,000 on his
house at Summit. N. ].
He Is sixty-one years OF age and
was born 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 q 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 33.45 In his pocket. --e got
q Job at $l2 per week, but resigned
1t to take one at IS because he thought
the new one offered better opportuni-
ties for advancement. While eking out
an existence on this salary he found
that the young men In the store were
readers OF stories OF the vilest sort.
and be made his first raid. He learned
that bookseller In . shop few doors
away was selling the books. Young
Constock took policeman TO the
place AID had the proprietor arrested
what vas dead letter law. He won
out.
Progressing rapidly In the CONNER
cial world. the young man was soop
making 81 300 . year commissions - Q
aaIAamau hut kia ahharvaucA vle~
was In noviss abstsd. He found Q
man named Simpson trading In OBJ
scene literature and told q policeman
his troubles. Instead OF arrestiAG the
man the policeman warned him to
skip out. and that was the pivot on
which The life Of tho young reformer
turned. he had the policeman dis
missed for the bit Of treschsry and
ths papers hsan to take notice. They
asked Why ~ did not % into Nassau
strest and proceed against the opsA
violatoFs Of the law there. Mr.. Con-
stock answered the question by going
On all siAss Illegal publications we're
oDsaly for sale, and on March 3. 1874.
whsa ~ was but twenty-eisht yssrs
old, ~ sauasA the arrest OF ssvea
u>sA. TIE fruits OF this were tiis sup
prsssiou OF 10 different boo,,s, the
raiding Of three publishing hou~s, the
cooAseatioa of $4,000 worth d plates
and snsravinss from one iAan In
Brooklyn. the seixing Of 3l6.00e worth
ss plates asd books from . Nan In
Manhattan, together with six tons OF
stsrcotyDed plates from his printer.
and ths destruction OF $4,000 worth Of
bound books belonging TO still another
maa. All Of this was accomplished by
Mr.. Constock without any assistance
whatever from ergAnisation % con-
mittee.
eSe Pevod . Good AWgs>.
He hsd started TO buy . hoae and
had paid $500 down on II. but giving
a mortgage for the rest. he rAsd all
he could save from bis salary 10 carry
on his crusade. He was erm believer
In prayer and he believed that Il was
in answer e his supplioat,ons that