Frauds Exposed: Or How the People Are Deceived and Robbed, and Youth Corrupted - Couverture souple

Comstock, Anthony

Couverture souple

ISBN 10 : 160520904X ISBN 13 : 9781605209043

Editeur : Cosimo Classics, 2009

Synopsis

The New York Society for the Suppression of Vice sounds like the satirical invention of a modern wag, but it was a very real organization dedicated to policing public morality in the late 19th century. Its founder, Anthony Comstock, was notorious as a crusader for "decency" and a strident advocate of censorship-so strident, in fact, that George Bernard Shaw coined the term "comstockery" to refer to his zeal for the cause. (Shaw was one of Comstock's victims; so were Theodore Dreiser and D.H. Lawrence.) Here, in this rare 1880 work, hard to find today in an elegant edition, Comstock obsessively details the results of his work as a special agent in the New York post office, which granted him the power to inspect the mail, determine what was "obscene," and harass the senders with the full power of the law behind him. A relic of American Victorian-era prudery, this makes for wickedly amusing reading today. American author ANTHONY COMSTOCK (1844-1915) also wrote Gambling Outrages (1887) and Morals Versus Art (1888).

A propos du livre

Présentation de l'éditeur

One great difficulty that surrounds our work, is that we cannot publicly defend it with the facts. The facts cannot be published. Many persons sympathize with and defend those guilty of gravest crimes, simply through ignorance of facts, and condemn me because they are deceived by the prisoners story ;whereas, if they would but take one look at what we have seized in that very mans possession, they would ostracise the criminal. Prejudices have grown up, because of libels and slanders that have been printed in newspapers. I therefore, at the close, have presented one chapter where I put the truth beside the published slanders, and I ask a careful perusal of that chapter. I withhold the name of my defamer. I simply defend my cause, and my own good name, which is important to the successful prosecution of my official duties, by the presentation of the truth. I first present Bogus Bankers and Brokers, because they are the most respectable in appearance, and by their deceptive presence defraud more honest and reputable people, than any of the others, and in larger sums. I have used the right names of the principal men. Not because I have any personal feeling, for I have none; but because they are the head and front of these infamous plots to rob and defraud. Thousands have been robbed and know nothing about who has their money. I pay attention to lotteries, as they are spreading themselves all over our land, in contempt of State and United States laws. They each claim to be legal, fair, and run by respectable men. The whole thing is a lie. They are odious gambling schemes, designed to enrich a few at the expense of the many who.are deluded into buying tickets. They are corrupters of youth; they beggar wives and children; they breed the spirit of gambling, and ruin and destruction follow in their wake. They are rightfully regarded as public foes. With them, we find
(Typographical errors above are due to OCR software and don't occur in the book.)

Présentation de l'éditeur

Originally published in 1880. This volume from the Cornell University Library's print collections was scanned on an APT BookScan and converted to JPG 2000 format by Kirtas Technologies. All titles scanned cover to cover and pages may include marks notations and other marginalia present in the original volume.

Détails de l'édition

• Éditeur: Cosimo Classics
• Date d'édition: 2009
• Langue: anglais
• ISBN 10: 160520904X
• ISBN 13: 9781605209043
• Reliure: Broché
• Nombre de pages: 578
• Coordonnées du fabricant: non disponible
• Personne responsable: non disponible