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Show BOCCACCIO iS IN SAL? LAKE Old Book lacks Ik East. Woman's Committees Feel Called Upon to Investigate. In-vestigate. Only tho Thoroughly Expurgated Editions Considered Safe for Their Daughters. Is Salt Lake City lof havn a moral crusade along now nnd hitherto untried lines? Back East, where all such things start, they are making a lot of trouble over Boccaccio's Decameron on publlo library shelves. Divers and sundry women's wom-en's committees havo mado exhaustive study 'of the work and havo decided that It ought not to como before tho eyes of their daughters. Out here, where we have a reputation of bolng rudo and uncultured, un-cultured, tho Decameron graces the city's public library shelves. Worlc Sliould lie Studied. There aro thoso who contend that the famous Boccaccio's writings give a glimpse that cannot bo othorwlso nowadays nowa-days attained Into the period of tho renaissance. re-naissance. "The work should bo studied." say these, "in the light of a bit of history." his-tory." Those who have read It stand ready to say that It Is always carefully studied. Thoy don't say. however, along Just whot lines this study goes. Comes in Three Forms. Now, for tho Information of those who hnven't taken advantage of the city library's opportunities, It may bo well to state that this work comes In three forms. Number three Is, well. It Is pleasant to read. Number two Is decidedly more interesting in-teresting It has less asterisks and Latin phrases. And, as to number one, that particular edition Is generally very thoroughly thor-oughly thumb worn. Number one Is, to use the languuge of the street, "a corker." It Isn't expurgated budly at all. And It Is numbor. one that you can get right here in Salt Lake City If you hold a library card. The Book Wris "Out." That Is to say, you can get it If you are lucky. The reporter who tried to gel tho book yesterday In tho Interests of publication Information, found It was "out." Therefore, he was unable to tell how tliumbworn Xhs particular volume Is. , Boccaccio wrote during that period when tho Latin races were busy getting Europe under the refining Influence of the finer urts. He was ono of tho authors who tried to. make reading pleasant for the rude Teuton and Saxon masses. He succeeded so well that we of the North are still prone to study him. Ho wroto of love and womankind." a very largo subject, sub-ject, and he treated It very fully along some lines. Plot of the Decameron. Now Boccaccio treated his subject in this wise. During one of the plugues which had a habit of reducing the census of Florence In his day, a number of women wom-en of noble birth fled tho city and with them went a number of young men. To while the time away the ladles held a sort of a mock court, electing one of their number queen each day. And on these happy occasions they related stories. These stories aro tho reading matter of the book. If any of thorn were rehearsed at a Salt Lake uftornoon tea tho affair woidd break up at once and the relator, well. It Is hard to nay Just what would happen to her. Why Such a Fuss? This Is the reason why they are making such a fuss ubout the Decameron back 12ast. Why. In ono of tho suburbs of Greater Now York a women's committee had a really exciting series of sessions before they finally decided to allow the book to go on the library shelves The story Is told thus In the Chicago Tribune: Tho executive committee of the club went down to the library at once and put in an application for a set of re-nalasnnce re-nalasnnce books, Including Boccaccio's works. "Boccaccio?" asked the librarian. "Ves," said tho chairman of the executive ex-ecutive committee with dignity, "Boccaccio." "Boc-caccio." What Husband Said. At breakfast next morning the chairman' chair-man' mentioned it to her husband, and her husband said well, she didn't tell the executive committee Just what he said, but she left It to be Inferred It was something by no means common-pluce. common-pluce. "And It Is our duty, ladles, to Investigate. Investi-gate. " she said firmly. , "Vcs, Indeed," agreed the committee. The committee, firm In Its prldo for civic duty, went over to New York tho next day. That Is, most of them did. By a special motion they left the unmarried members at .home. Wanted to See Boccaccio. "We want to see a copy of 'Boccaccio,' " said the chairman, consulting her notes. "Yes, ma'am," said the man clerk, obediently, "which edition? You sec," he went on. "wo have the 'Decameron" In three editions No. 1 has has the most left In it, you know. That Is well, you know" Then tho man clerk flushed to the roots of his hair, so did tho women from Flushing. But the president remembered remem-bered her duty. "You will please let us see No. 1," sho said. The clerk let them have the sample. They got a doublo seat way back, and for a'llttle while the chairman read right along and pronounced all the words. Closed tho Book. After awhlle she stopped. Tho vice-chairman vice-chairman looked over her shoulders to see why she stopped, so did the secretary secre-tary of the committee. "I'd close the old thing If I were you,'.' said the secretary. "Ladles," said the chairman, "wo owo It to our daughters." "Well, let's skip." said the vice-chairman. So they skipped to page 172. "Why, It's In Latin," said the secretary, secre-tary, ,who was a high school graduate. "i don't sen why they needed to put It In Latin after well " Bald the secretary. sec-retary. Remembered Their Daughters. "Ladles," said tho chalrmon, "remember "remem-ber our daughters." and sho turned to page 103, And as they read thoy remembered remem-bered their daughters. "Well. I think that's sufficient," said tho chalrmnn when tho train nulled up at Corona. But the sccrotary hesitated. She said: "Would von mind turning back to that about the princess away back, you know? I'm not quite sura In my mind about the princess." Information About Princess. "Are you quite sure you are dlslnter-cstoJ, dlslnter-cstoJ, d?ar?" askud the chairman sweot-ly. sweot-ly. But she turned back anyway, and the road all about .tho princess. By that time they had pulled up at Flushing. Flush-ing. Somo one was not qulto so suro about tho brewer's daughter. So they adjourned ,to the chairman's houso and studied "Decameron"' a long, long time. That committee certainly did Its duty. Got Number Three. Their report next morning, accom- Sanled by copy No. 1. went back to tho ook store. It asked for a copy of No. 2,' The whole committee met to consider copy io. 2. They sent It back and asked for copy No. 3. To the session which considered No. 3 only the chairman and vice-chairman came, AVhon they went back and No. 4 arrived tho chairman me.t alone. She persevered per-severed In her duty. No. 3 she declared was without a stain and perfectly harmless harm-less to tho most shrinking daughter In Flushing. It went on the library shelves. Next day the public library bulletin announced an-nounced that renaissance books would bo on the shelves the following day. Could Wot Keep Secret. Now. some unpleasant husband of some executive committee woman wont and told. A man never could keep a secret, anyway. He didn't tell It straight, either. He hnd It that copy No. 1 was going on tho shelves. When they opened for business the day after tho young women librarians wero pleased and gratified to notice how Xho work In tho library whs growing. |