The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-09-09
HARMLESS BooKs--AND THE oTH.
 FRS.

tory on straight, who first formed the idea of having every man made the same length. He was highwayman, and had a bed constructed just the length he thought man should be. Every man caught by him was laid on that bed for measurement; if he was longer than the bed he was cut off to ft, and if he was too long he was stretched to the proper length. There are people In the world who seem to have the same idea-about the minds and morals of others. and wish to force all to conform to their own standard. The following from The Portsmouth Star furnishes an illustra- tion:
 The public schools of the city of Passaic. N. J.. have small libraries l attached to them. The teachers<in the I new books to be added to the libra ries. The other day the teachers sub mitted list of books wanted. The l school board took the list and looked over 1t. When the board msmbers Goose" Robin Hood" 'sThe Last of the Mohicans." "Grimm's Fairy Tales and some others of the same kind, they demurred. What was the use. said the wise members of the board. of permitting children to read such stuff when they might have instead books Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States? What would it profit child to learn of Jack and the Beanstalk" when 1t writ of habeas corpus. the Dred Scott decision. and the process by which the third term might be ascertained. two terms being given? The board was of myth. that fairies were a fake. that romance was rot, and. therefore. the school libraries should have in them only books that taught concrete facts that would be useful in practice in after life.
 Gould snug intolerance well go fur ther than that? Can/ this congrega- ton of overweening conceit imagine that the mind of the child can by their diction be at once elevated or transformed to the intelligence of ma ture manhood and womanhood? The idea is absurd and intolerable. These fairy and legendary stories were the childish delight of the greatest men and women the modern world has seen. They were clean, harmless and entertaining. and children read them with delight and avidity when they would not read anything else. unless it was done under duress. They would read them when otherwise they might have been far less properly engaged.
 Granted that most Of these stories were mythical, fanciful or legendary what of it? When the boy read them he not only enjoyed the reading. but in most of them he found useful in- formation and instruction that was good for him in after life. As he grew in knowledge and intelligence he was able to separate the true from the fanciful and no harm was done. To deprive childhood of all but the stern. solid facts and realities of life is just about as sensible as to say that children should not engage in any description of play or youthful sport but must depend for recreation on do- ing the hard work of grown people. In fact. these childish books furnish the mind play of the youths of both sexes.
 Of course there are books published especially of late years. which chill dren should not read. but they are not the fairy stories. A few days ago. as well remembered. there was commu- nication in The Advertiser calling at- tention to vile book now on sale in this city, and that is but one of 8 number of such publications. Last Sundays St. Louis Post-Dispatch has an article on the subject of recent works of fiction, and gives a list of several recent publications of which
 we do not propose to give the titles. | but from the cautious criticism of them printed in our contemporary they and bound. Each one of them. the pa- per says, fairly reeks with statements and language grossly libellous of American womanhood and deadly pois- onous to the youth of both sexes who read them. The novels, in short, are little better than an endorsed exploit ation of the lowest type of our civ~ ilization.
 Can any one doubt that these book ' will be read by the boys and girls of the country if they can be purchased or otherwise obtained? And can any one doubt the evil effects of lioId;nous books on the young2 They will prov e veritable poisonerH Of the young minds. more dangerous because they are in . sid:ous and are wrieten in readable shape. and put up in an attractive style. They are. in short, a form of youth degradation that are worse than dangerous.
 If book boards and other actual or self appointed guardians of the youth full character are 50 eager to oon- demn and dlsallow books of any kind
 why do they not make war on those that are really and plainly hurtfIl7 Generations of children have read the fairy stories and fanciful legends cen | deuned by the Passaic school author