220 PLAIN FACTS FOR OLD AND YOUNG 



the country ordering these goods, about fifteen thou- 

 sand; names of dealers in account-books seized, about 

 six thousand; lists of names in the hands of dealers, 

 that are sold as merchandise to forward circulars or 

 catalogues to, independent of letters and account-books 

 seized, more than seven thousand. 



''These abominations are disseminated by these 

 men by first obtaining the names and addresses of 

 scholars and students in our schools and colleges, and 

 then forwarding circulars. They secure thousands of 

 names in this way, either by sending for catalogues 

 of schools, seminaries, and colleges, under a pretense 

 of sending a child to school; or else by sending out a 

 circular purporting to be getting up a directory of all 

 the scholars and students in schools and colleges in 

 the United States; or of taking the census of all the 

 unmarried people, and offering to pay five cents per 

 name for lists so sent. I need not say that the money 

 is seldom or never sent, but I do say that these names, 

 together with those that come in reply to advertise- 

 ments, are sold to other parties; so that when a man 

 desires to engage in this nefarious business, he has 

 only to purchase a list of these names, and then your 

 child, be it son or daughter, is liable to have thrust 

 into its hands, all unknown to you, one of these devilish 

 catalogues. 



''Since the destruction of the stereotype plates of 

 old books, secret circulars have been discovered of a 

 notice to dealers that twelve new books are in course 

 of preparation, and will soon be ready for delivery." 



Says Hon. C. L. Merriam, as quoted by a recent 

 writer: "We find that the dealers in obscene literature 

 have organized circulating libraries, which are under 

 the charge of the most vicious boys in the schools, boys 



