The silver state. [volume] (Winnemucca, Nev.) 1909-1925, 1912-03-23
nation OF C|CA.
RETTE SMOKERS

Editor Silver State:
| In Prof j. f. Abel Is remarks at the
opening exercises of the new high
school Monday evening he expressed
the hope that, among other things,
parents would see to it that no high
school boy appeared on the streets
with a cigarette in his mouth. This
sentiment met with general applause.
Educators everywhere are doing their
utmost to create a sentiment against
cigarette smoking. In many places
throughout the country a school boy
caught smoking cigarette is arrest
ed and, upon second offense, is put
in Jail by a truant officer. Legisla-
lures in some states try to stop the
practice. But notwithstanding the
vigorous efforts to stop the habit
cans are fast becoming a nation of
cigarette smokers. While at the pres
ent time no wise young man would
think of asking for position in a
bank or trusted position in a mer-
camille establishment with a cigarette
in his mouth, it looks like the time is
not far distant when an employer will
be compelled to take the confirmed
cigarette smoker or do without help.
The u. s. government, which for
merly would have expelled cadet at
West Point or Annapolis for the habit,
now encourages it, as can be seen by
any one noticing the young men of the
training ships at San Francisco. The
clothes worn by these young men con
tain only one pocket to the suit, and
that is a pocket in the shirt, made to
hold package Of tobacco and
cigarette papers. Uncle Sam furnishes
the tobacco and papers.
As some of the business men now
complain that if the house got afre
the hired man would have to stop to
roll cigarette before he got the
goods out, it may be expected that in
time one of these seamen will have to
stop to make his cigarette before he
fires at the enemy.
Fashion is taking on some queer
changes. Whereas it was formerly
bad manners to smoke in the presence
of ladies, and man smoking in the
dining room of a frst-class hotel or
restaurant would have been put out,
now it is the height of fashion, pro-
vided only cigarettes are smoked. If
some one puffed a pipe at the table in
the Lafayette, ST. Francis or Del
Monte, it is hard to say what the con-
sequences would be.
Undoubtedly one great factor re-
sponsible for the increasing evil is to
be found in the moving pictures. No
moving picture can be seen these days
in which the principal characters are
idle rich young men, where the very
| first thing the idle rich do when flash
ed upon the screen is to light ciga-
rette.
/ saw two men regarding a plasterer
across the street the other day. He
was standing, fumbling in his pockets.
"That is the first time / ever saw him
when he wasn't rolling a cigarette or
| lighting one, and now he is out of to-
haeco,'' said one of the men. "Here
are 30 or 40 houses going up and he
hasn Z done a tap this winter. Spends
all his time rolling cigaretts and the
contractors don't want him"
The moving picture phase of the
evil has not yet been taken cognizance
of by any legislature, and while laws
are being made to prohibit the selling
to boys, it might help some to pass
laws providing censorship on pie
lures which give to all the heroes the
habit which eur whole school system is
trying to uproot.
G.. C. WRIGHT.