The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1909-08-17
TRUST MAKES TEMPTING BAIT.

The papers are criticizing the Amer
lean Tobacco Company for taking ad-
vantage of the interest boys take in
baseball to increase the sale OF CT
garettes. The Charlotte Chronicle re-
Gently had a vigorous article along
that line. When the trust first began
it's big sales of cigarettes it appealed
to one element of the population by
putting the nude or near-nude picture
OF a oma sometimes an actress, in
with every package Of cigarettes.
That made them popular with the
lower type sports and hangers-on
at pool-rooms and barber-shops and
saloons.
To-day the trust is turning it's atten-
ton to trying to catch the little boys
b. putting the picture of some noted
base-balrp player in each package. Is
any concern selling these cofhn-tacks
warranted in making this tempting
bait to the children?
$ Commenting on this evil, the States
vile Landmark says:
Pictures, prize and the
like are put in packages of cigarettes
u llOuCG Lie SIIldll DOy, anu liz
-light-headed youth who is old enough
to know better, to buy. The pictures
themselves may. not only do harm, as
pointed out by the Chronicle, but they
induce boys to buy cigarettes who
might not otherwise buy them, and
thus become cigarette smokers. The
photos of actresses in cigarette pack
ages most of them showing a woman
in a semi-nude form, were not the
proper thing for small boys to have;
and while the pictures of the baseball
men are harmless of themselves, they
many evils in it's train. The induce
ment to learn to smoke cigarettes is
the worst of these evils, but the gam
bling feature which seems to go along
with the picture is not be discounted.
SO great is the desire to possess these
pictures that boys afflicted with the
mania do not scruple at means to OBJ
tain them. 1t was published in the
last issue of The Landmark that a
drug store in Winston was robbed one
night last week AID it was evident the
robbery was committed by boys, for
numerous cigarette packages had been
opened and the pictures Of the base
things missed were some ice cream
aud chewing gum. Thus were boys
induced to commit burglary as a re-
suit of this craze.
1T is bad enough to manufacture
and sell cigarettes-and we sometimes
wonder how merchants who could not
be nduce to sell an Intoxicating drink
will sell cigarettes n sometimes sell
them to boys in plain violation of the
law, reconcile the matter tO~their con-
sciences-fOr the very harmful effects
Of the cigarette on a boy, mentally,
morally, and physically, is admitted,
There is no longer any argument on
that nOjnf. pYamn1QS NAV ha Coap in
every community. But if cigarettes
are made and sold the people who
place with them something to catch
the boys-in a way make IN addition
al source of corruption-deserve a
term in the State prison.
The cry Of Save the ooys!'' is ever
present with us. Many good people
thought that when the legaIized liquor
ira fic was eliminated the chief source
Of evil disappeared. But the
agents Of Satan are not easily thwart-
ed. Various substitutes, concOctions
OF poison and other Notwithstanding
Ingredients, some OF them worse than
the genuine article, have been put on
the market. But the cigarette manu-
f~acturers have been wise in their day
and generation. They have given lib
orally Of their %ill-gotten gains-thei
price Of the physical, mental and
moral destruction of thousands of
boys-to "Christian education" to
churches, theological seminarjeS, |
missions M other Church and
benevolent causes; and ethey
have thus bought Off attacks
on their business; have bought
and fOresta1led criticism.
When has anybody heard an arraign-
ment of the cigarette. for instance,
from a religious body, or a religious
newspaper, here in North Carolina?
If anything is said it is a pe%rfunctory, |
ha,f-hearted, non-enective sort Of cri- |
ticism. Here is an evil that is sapping |
the lives of the boys, but the proceeds
of the trafic-the blood money-hast
compromised the very people who
would be expected to lead an attack
on it-and there is silence,~a mighty,
speaking silence.
..I+ &c ;ndoo1 q Strop0a situation