The commonwealth. (Scotland Neck, N.C.) 1896-1929, 1909-10-28
LOOK AFTER YOUR READING MATTER.
BE Very Careful in The Kind You Select
For Yourself and Family.

Uoy III bOluSUOiO- anu t1iS cause
of his crime was traced direct
ly to a bad book. A few year,
ago young German was hune
| in Minnesota. Scarcely TWEEN
ty-one years old, he had killed
a large number of men. Ht
was hunted down and found il
a cave on bluff of the upper
Mississippi. In the cave were
over a hundred Jesse James
books and the like, and that
accounted for his mad career
On the other hand William
Carey and Adoniram Judson
were said to have received their
impressions to go out to the
heather and give their lives to
the same cause that brought
Jesus into the world and nailed
him to the tree, through the
reading Of a little pamphlet.
What are you reading? What
are your children reading
They have been saying that
this new disease, pellagra, is
caused by eating bread made
of defective corn. | do not be-
lieve this; but | am sure that
many mental diseases, errone-
Gus views, and hurtful notions
are all brought in by bad read
ing. Some one has said, "Let
a man tell you his story every
morning and evening, and at
the end of a twelve-months he
will have become your mas
ter" Another comments on
this saying thus: "Let an un-
principled journal tell you its
daily story, and by an inexora-
BILE moral law you will in due
time have ali evil spirit for
your MASTER
There is no question that can
come before a father or mother
as they think of their children,
or for themselves either, for
that matter, than the question
of what sort Of reading matter
comes into the home and as to
what use is made of it when it
comes in. The aspirations, the
ideals, the conceptions Of life,
are all formed very largely by
the atmosphere that surrounds
one in the home, and this at
mosphere is influenced very
largely, if not almost created,
by the reading matter that
comes in. How careful people
should be as to what books,
papers, and magazines come
into the home. Better pay two
prices for the right sort of lit
erature than to have the wrong
sort come for nothing, or even
to be paid to take it. There is
a plenty of both kinds issuing
from the press all the time. A
man can pay his money and
take his choice. What are you
feeding the minds, hearts, and
lives of your family on: Sup
pose typhoid germs should be
discovered in your well, how
you would spend time or labor
in trying to get rid Of them. If
it could be done in no other
way you would do away with
the old we'll and make a new
one. But would you be more
careful of typhoid germs than
you would as to germs of error
and falsehood By all means,
be careful as to what comes
into your home in the way of
reading matter. A good wo-
man in the mountains of North
Carolina was visited several
years ago by a couple Of Nor
mon elders. When asked if
they might leave their litera-
ture in the home this woman
said, Eyes, leave as much as
you like. | should be glad to
get hold of all you have. 1t
will go right into the fire. =
This is the best thing to do with
all such stuff
- x X = =
Take up the question with
yourself seriously. Don't let
this matter go at haphazard
1t is too vital. You can't af-
ford it. Look after your read
ing matter. Rev. w. r. Cul-
lom in Pastoral Visitor.
A specific for pain-Dr. Thomas
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