The Belding banner-news. (Belding, Mich.) 1918-1973, 1918-12-18
CIGARETTE HABIT
ACQUIRED BY BOYS
IS LOCAL EVIL
PROSECUTOR MAY BE APPEALED
TO. TO STOP ILLEGAL SALE OF
HABIT FORMING COFFIN
NAILS"

"Just look at that, a package of
cigarettes that / took away from
-"Said Byron +.
Brown, secretary Of the local board of
commerce, as he showed US package
of cigarettes which had at one time
been the property of the boy of tender
years whom he had referred to. Mr..
Brown then went on to state that
when he had taken the coffin nails
away from the boy in question, the
latter had at first refused to divulge
the source of supply <snd by what
means he had secured the package,
but with a little questioning he had
told that another boy had bought the
package at local tobacco store and
given them to him.
The boy in question has neither
father or mother, his parents having
passed away about year or two ago,
following one another in death by a
few short months He had, even
while at home with his parents, re-
putation for being stubborn and on
the tough order and since their deaths
he has made his home with various
relatives in this city and who are well
respected here, but they appar-
emily have had very little control over
him and the orphaned lad has had mis-
natural tendency toward waywardness
fed and fostered under the evil in
fiuences given him by other and older
boys with whom he came in contact
while putting in his unoccupied and
unmatched time for companionship.
The boy whose name was divulged
as being the agent in securing the
package of cigarettes from the local
dealer, is on probation at the present
time, he being looked on as one of the
city's problems in the tough kid
line and this action on his part may
be the last straw on the camePs back.
literally speaking and the court from
which he was placed on probation
may sentence him to the reforma-
tory at Lansing or make some other
disposition of the case.
The tobacco dealer whom the boy
named in the deal is known to be
strong for a strict APPLICATION of the
cigarette law and has always been
very careful to live up to its provi-
sions as far as the sale of the art
icle tc minors and others defined in
it is concerned. However, it may be
that in his absence from the store,
some clerk in his employ might have
sold the package to the boy. At any
rate the matter is to be looked into
and the real facts determined.
Despite the fact that the laws of the
state make it a seemingly and legal
impossibility for boys and minors to
purchase or use cigarettes, and for
some other to smoke them in public
places, there are a number of recent
instances whore vOlInp bows some
times as young as nine or ten years
of age, have been caught in allays
and in other .out of the way public
places in this city, putting away on
the poisonous coffin nails like regular
Mexicans. The boys are not always of
the expected tough" element either,
but are sometimes from the best and
most respected families in the city
and invariably when questioned as to
where they obtained the smokes, they
have told that they were furnished
them by scme older person who had
absolutely no regard for the future
welfare or habits of the child, or been
supplied with them by scme unscrup-
ulous dealer who was too strcng for
taking a chance, or too Indifferent An
the matter to inquire the age of he
purchaser.
As a result of some of the recent
incidents cf violations of the anti
cigarette law, through their use by
the prosecuting attorney
of Ionia county may be called on to in
vestigate and try to step any further
practice of the cigarette smoking
habit among the wayward inclined
and misguided youth of the city.