Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-02-05
war ON CIGARETTES
BOYS DEPARTMENT, Y. M. c. A.,
STARTS A CAMPAIGN.
Many Local Business Houses Decline
to Give Employment to
Habitual Smokers.

An anti-cigarette campaign among
boys was started in Washington today.
Back Of the movement is Albert M
Chesley. secretary of the boys depart
ment of the Y. NJ c. A., and its other Of
f1cers. and 1t is being first pushed among
the members of that department..
Preparation for the campaign have been
in progress for a long time. Secretary
Chesley has been getting an opinion from
business houses in the District of Column
sia as to boys who use cigarettes, and
he has been notified by thirty-four bust
ness houses that they will not employ
young men and boys who are "ha bitual
cigarettists." He has also obtained
large amount of literature giving the opin-
ion of school SuperintendentS. juvenile
court judges and others who come in
contact with boys as to their opinion of
the cigarettes smoking habit, and that lit
erature Is practically unanimous in de-
nouncing the use Of cigarettes.
Anti-Cigarette Pledge.
An anti-cigarette pledge has been franz
ed by Secretary Chesley and those back
of the movement hope to put one Of these
pledges into the hands of every boy under
twenty-one years of age in the District
follows:
II hereby pledge myself that 1 will not
smoke cigarettes. This pledge is to be
binding until l am twenty-one years or
age. / also promise to use my influence
in getting others to take this pledge"
AT the top of the card upon which the
pledges are printed is the statement that
1.-The Young Mems Christian Association
is vigorously opposed to cigarette smok-
ing as an unc!ean, useless, unhealthfui.
selfish expensive and disgusting habit
Boys over twelve years who do not smoke
and boys who will stop smoking are in
vited to sign the following pledge
On the back of the pledge card is an
announcement regarding the attitude of
business men to cigarette users, and CIV
ing list of merchants and others who
decline to employ boys who habitually
smoke cigarettes.
Plans an Honor Roll.
1t is planned to have an ''honor roll in
the parlor of the boys Y. NJ. c. A, which
will contain the names of the boys who
have signed the pledge not to use olga
rettes at least until they are twenty-one
years old. This will put the boys on
record before all their playmates and
will help them to hold to their pledge.
statement which will be used in the
campaign against cigarette smoking in
tle Adpltdl CITY Is the 1OHOWlIlS. Written
by f. E. York. superintendent of the In
diana Boys School at Painfield. Ind:
Out of 600 boys admitted to this insti-
tuition during the past three years, go per
cent We're absolutely known to have been
cigarette fiends, while less positive evil
dence at hand shows that 80 per cent
formed the habit that sawed their virtue
and strength at an early age. During the
year 1901 four boys died in our hospital
whose deaths were attributed to the ex-
cessive use Of cigarettes. One of the most
agonizing deaths I ever witnessed oc-
CURED in our hospital. due entirely to
cigarette poisoning. Boys enter this
school emaciated, blear-eyed and nervous
from the effects on their whole organism
Of the use of cigarettes. They are list
less and show no energy or ambition for
work or school until they have been with
us several months free from their former
habits