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diff --git a/old/50284-0.txt b/old/50284-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index ed4b59c..0000000 --- a/old/50284-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,5033 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Boyville, by John E. Gunckel - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: Boyville - A History of Fifteen Years' Work Among Newsboys - -Author: John E. Gunckel - -Release Date: October 22, 2015 [EBook #50284] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BOYVILLE *** - - - - -Produced by Giovanni Fini, David Edwards and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive) - - - - - - -[Illustration: THE PRESIDENT TALKING TO THE NEWSBOYS.] - - - - -[Illustration: Boyville] - - - - - BOYVILLE - - A HISTORY OF FIFTEEN YEARS’ WORK - AMONG NEWSBOYS - - BY - JOHN E. GUNCKEL - - - ILLUSTRATED - - - PUBLISHED BY - - THE TOLEDO NEWSBOYS’ ASSOCIATION - TOLEDO, OHIO - - - - - Copyrighted 1905 - BY JOHN E. GUNCKEL - All rights reserved - - - - - To the Newsboys of America, and their Friends - this book is respectfully dedicated - - - - - PRESS OF - THE FRANKLIN COMPANY - TOLEDO, OHIO - - - - - _CONTENTS_ - - - _PART FIRST_ - - Chapter I Page 3 - - ” II ” 9 - - ” III ” 14 - - ” IV ” 19 - - ” V ” 25 - - _PART SECOND_ - - Chapter VI Page 31 - - ” VII ” 35 - - ” VIII ” 43 - - ” IX ” 49 - - ” X ” 53 - - ” XI ” 59 - - _PART THIRD_ - - Chapter XII Page 65 - - ” XIII ” 71 - - ” XIV ” 80 - - ” XV ” 87 - - ” XVI ” 93 - - _PART FOURTH_ - - Chapter XVII Page 105 - - ” XVIII ” 111 - - ” XIX ” 115 - - ” XX ” 120 - - _PART FIFTH_ - - Chapter XXI Page 129 - - ” XXII ” 135 - - _PART SIXTH_ - - Chapter XXIII Page 143 - - ” XXIV ” 147 - - ” XXV ” 151 - - ” XXVI ” 158 - - ” XXVII ” 164 - - ” XXVIII ” 166 - - ” XXIX ” 171 - - ” XXX ” 175 - - ” XXXI ” 177 - - ” XXXII ” 183 - - ” XXXIII ” 186 - - ” XXXIV ” 189 - - _PART SEVENTH_ - - Chapter XXXV Page 195 - - ” XXXVI ” 200 - - ” XXXVII ” 205 - - ” XXXVIII ” 208 - - ” XXXIX ” 211 - - ” XXXX ” 217 - - - - - _LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS_ - - - Page - - The president talking to the newsboys, Frontispiece - - “I am scattering hickory-nuts under this old tree for the - children to find termorrow,” 8 - - The original charter members, 16 - - Ready to start for the first Christmas dinner, 24 - - Where the Boyville Newsboy’s Association was organized, - December 25, 1892, 32 - - A bunch of sellers, 40 - - Festival Hall. Where the National Newsboy’s Association - was organized, August 16, 1904, 48 - - Newsboys’ Band and Cadets—ready to start for - Washington, D. C., to participate in the inaugural - parade of President Roosevelt, March 4, - 1905, 56 - - “I am an officer of the sellers’ auxiliary; get busy,” 64 - - “Lady, I am sorry I run away wid de money,” 64 - - “Trow de cigarette away,” 72 - - “President, I have already licked de kid,” 80 - - Getting familiar with the headlines, 88 - - “Dis here is de dog,” 88 - - Roll of honor—some of the boys who turned in valuable - articles found on the street, 96 - - The Boyville Cadets—when first organized, 96 - - Members of the East Side auxiliary, 104 - - “Firetop,” 112 - - “He sweared at a lady and I punked him,” 120 - - Carriers, 128 - - Carriers, 128 - - First sale of the day, 136 - - Lining up ready to go to church, 144 - - The tough from market space, 152 - - Dividing the papers, 160 - - Two new members, 168 - - “Tenements on the avenue.” In these old buildings, - at one time, lived seventeen families, 176 - - “I will buy from the little fellow,” 184 - - Waiting for the last edition, 184 - - “Billy Butcher, we must have an understandin’, - which corner ob de street will you take?” 192 - - “He was fishing in the lake,” 200 - - Pastime—the beginning, 208 - - Pastime—the finish, 216 - - -“IF you are going to do anything permanent for the average man you have -got to begin before he is a man. The chance of success lies in working -with the boy and not with the man. That applies peculiarly to those -boys who tend to drift off into courses which mean that unless they are -checked they will be formidable additions to the criminal population -when they grow older. - -“No Nation is safe unless in the average family there are healthy, -happy children. - -“If these children are not brought up well they are not merely a curse -to themselves and their parents, _but they mean the ruin of the State -in the future_.” - - PRESIDENT THEODORE ROOSEVELT. - - - - -_PART FIRST_ - - - - -CHAPTER I. - - -On the corner of one of the principal thoroughfares, in a very large -city, there was located, fifteen years ago, a small grocery store. -In front of the building the enterprising owner displayed fruits, -vegetables and other goods; articles that were particularly tempting to -boys. - -In a near-by cottage there lived a very bright boy, twelve years of -age, and familiarly known to every one in the neighborhood, as Jimmy, -the newsboy. And that meant a bad boy. - -On the disappearance of an occasional apple, an orange, or if one of -the fruit-stands was upset, it was declared that Jimmy did it. All -fights around the corner originated from Jimmy. - -So bad was this boy’s reputation that every one in the ward, including -several Sunday-school teachers, was kept busy looking for a favorable -opportunity to give Jimmy, what they thought he deserved, “a good -licking.” - -The groceryman was not slow in letting his customers know how bad Jimmy -was. - -He was kicked, lectured, preached to, and a dozen times a day was -pushed off the corner. - -He was abused because he annoyed men and women by his misbehavior. - -No one ever stopped to ask this boy where he lived; what about his -parents, his home life, or to see if there was really any good in him -worth trying to develop. The bad was visible, and the people seemed to -delight in their vain efforts to correct him by censures and kicks. - -There was no question about Jimmy being bad, about as bad as any -street-boy would become who had his own way, and, whose parents -permitted him to go and come when he pleased, and to associate with bad -company, particularly boys older than he was. - -Jimmy was a leader of a gang of little toughs who always met at the -corner, in the evenings, and delighted in making it unpleasant for -those who lived within hearing distance. He was strong, quick, and -could throw to the ground any boy of his size, and never hesitated -trying a much larger boy. He was the terror of the corners. - -Yet with all his bad reputation, no one ever caught him doing anything -for which he could be punished under the state laws. - -Circumstantial evidence was all the groceryman could produce at any -time he was accused. The boy who “squealed” to the groceryman about -Jimmy had to remain away from the corner until he thought that Jimmy -had forgotten it. - -Jimmy was a typical newsboy. - -He was not happy in fine clothes. He did not use the many slang phrases -which so frequently become a part of a street-boy’s life and enjoyment, -but he had everything else. - -He had a small route, perhaps thirty customers, for morning and evening -papers, and when he had delivered his papers, he would hasten down -town, get a new supply of the latest editions, and join the boys in -selling on the streets. - -He was an early riser, like all carriers, and long before the neighbors -thought of getting up he was out on the street, and in all kinds of -weather. - -The station agent from whom he procured his morning papers said: “There -is not a more faithful boy in the city, from a business view. But he -has to be served first. He has a way of his own in pushing ahead of the -crowd and is always among the first on his route. He pays cash for what -he gets, but still, he is a bad boy.” - -A gentleman who lived in the neighborhood, and frequently called at -the grocery store, became interested in Jimmy. There was something -naturally attractive about the boy. There was a twinkle of his black -eyes that was really fascinating. - -“I would like to see what is back of that activity,” said the -gentleman, one day to the groceryman. - -One afternoon, late in the fall, the gentleman was standing on the -corner waiting for a car when the groceryman called him. - -“You said you would like to see what Jimmy, the newsboy, was made of. -He is up to some mischief now. He just bought a sack of hickory-nuts, -and I’ll bet a cooky he is making some one unhappy.” - -Two blocks away was a large lot, with a high fence around it. Scattered -about the lot were a dozen or more hickory trees. The gentleman saw -Jimmy climb the fence, walk to the farther side of the lot, and when -under a heavy foliaged tree he stood for some moments looking in -every direction. Finally he began to scatter hickory-nuts under the -tree. Very carefully seeing that they were dropped all around this -particular tree. Sometimes he would take a handful of leaves and cover -over a lot of nuts. To the gentleman this was an unusual transaction, -so he walked around to the big gate and followed a path across the -heavy grass, and went to Jimmy. - -“I have a curiosity to know what you are doing,” said the gentleman, -“and if you have no objections I would like to have you tell me.” - -Jimmy took him by the hand, that he might hasten towards the sidewalk, -and when away from the tree, he said. - -“You see, mister, termorrow is Saturday. There’s no school. Across the -street lives a whole lot of little boys and girls, and some of the boys -don’t like me very well, but that doesn’t cut any figure with me. They -comes over here every day after school and particularly on Saturday -and hunt for hickory-nuts; but these old trees don’t bear any more; -they’s dead. But that one over there, with the leaves, sometimes has -hickory-nuts, but this year nary a nut is on the old tree. So I bought -these here nuts an’ scattered ’em all around the ground, an’ termorrow -I’ll sneak around the fence and watch the girls an’ boys gather them. -Won’t they be happy?” - -“I should think they would,” replied the man. - -“They are real hickory-nuts, too,” added Jimmy, “I blowed in fifteen -cents at our grocery store. If you want to you may come termorrow an’ -I will guarantee you will see the happiest bunch ever gathered under a -hickory-nut tree. Will you come?” - -“Well, I should be delighted to come; and I will be there before you -will,” replied the gentleman kindly. - -“You see,” said Jimmy, “I cannot come until I deliver all my papers, -an’ that’ll be about eight o’clock. If you get there before I do, don’t -you ever tell who put the nuts under the tree, will you?” - -“I promise you, Jimmy, I will not only keep it to myself, but I will -not even go on the lot, until you come.” - -A few words about Jimmy and his home, and they parted as friends. - -“Under the hickory-nut tree termorrow there’ll be a dozen happy girls -an’ boys, an’ some of the boys don’t like me,” rang in the ears of the -gentleman all during the evening and frequently in the night. - -What a sermon, sowing and reaping. - -[Illustration: “I AM SCATTERING HICKORY-NUTS UNDER THIS OLD TREE FOR -THE CHILDREN TO FIND TERMORROW.” - - _See Page 7_ -] - - - - -CHAPTER II. - - -Saturday morning was an ideal autumn day; a day children delighted to -go into the woods after hickory-nuts. - -A few moments before eight o’clock the gentleman was slowly walking -around the great lot when he saw Jimmy running at full speed down the -street towards him. - -Under the great trees were a dozen little boys and girls, and the air -was filled with their merry laughter as they excitedly gathered into -their baskets the hickory-nuts that Jimmy had so kindly dropped for -their pleasure and happiness. - -“They tell me, Jimmy, you’re a bad boy,” said the gentleman as they sat -on a stump of a tree, in sight of the children. - -Jimmy made no reply. - -“Well, I don’t care what any one says,” added the gentleman, “I don’t -believe it. Your little act with the hickory-nuts has taught me a -lesson I never learned in books. No boy would do that unless he has -some good qualities in him. I feel honored to have this privilege of -seeing those children so happy this morning, and to think who did all -this. Jimmy,” and he took his little hand in his, “I want you to make -me a promise—I want you always to be my friend. What do you say?” - -This was something Jimmy never heard of before. He was accustomed to -being kicked, and censured, and for a man to ask him to be a friend -was, what he afterwards called, “a new deal.” - -“Sure thing, I will,” he said frankly. - -“Now I want you to come down to my office, Monday after school, and we -will talk over something that I want you to do for me.” - -“I’ll be there,” replied Jimmy, and after a moments thought he asked. - -“And can I bring some of my friends with me?” - -“Certainly, that is exactly what I want you to do. Bring your gang, all -your friends, particularly the little toughs, and when you come into my -office don’t let any one stop you from seeing me.” - -“Oh, don’t be afeared o’that, we knows as how to get there.” - -A few other things were talked about and they separated for the day. - -As the gentleman rode down town he thought of the events of the -morning, of the life of a newsboy. These little wiry, nervous street -boys, alert of eye, and lithe of limb, who flock the principal -thoroughfares of our great cities at almost all hours of the day. - -Newsboys and bootblacks, boys whom the world seems to have forgotten. -By peculiar conditions these boys are used to being at odds with the -world. It need not be told that our newsboys, as a general rule, -as people know them, are regarded as a swearing, stealing, lying, -dishonest lot of young criminals, and these qualifications are -recognized adjuncts to their business. With these conditions is it -not a wonder that any of them ever succeed in working their way into -the ranks of respectibility? People who curse and kick them, as they -did Jimmy, never stop to think that these neglected newsboys, of -today, sharp, shrewd and keen, may be the thieves, the burglars, the -highwaymen; or the successful patriotic citizens of tomorrow. - -No one will dispute the fact that, the street-boy is surrounded on -every hand by degraded and vicious men, with drunkenness regarded as a -desirable condition, and the indulgence in drink only limited by the -ability to procure it. - -Among many, robbery is regarded as a fine art, and the tribute of -praise bestowed upon rascality. If christian people do not find -time, amid the rush and roar of the city, in their mighty struggle -for wealth, to lend a hand to lead him out on the highway of honest -success, what is to become of the street-boy? - -Is it not true that many a boy is bad because the best part of him was -never developed? - -It is not that a newsboy is so much worse than other boys, but simply -that the other half of him didn’t get a chance. - -If you, dear reader, will take time to get into the real life of a -boy, as the gentleman did with Jimmy, you will be surprised, as he -was, at what you will discover. How quick he is to see an opportunity -to do something bad, and when discovered, his conscience brings the -blush of shame to his cheeks. Take boys like Jimmy, the leader of a -gang of toughs, his acts on the public highway, his language, his -ragged clothes all indicating neglect and evil designs, yet get his -friendship, his confidence, and he will prove, as did Jimmy, the best -and most faithful friend you ever had, not only in his youth, in his -teens, but long after you have forgotten him. - -No matter how bad the boy is, how miserable his environment, that great -spark of good, that something, no one can explain its power, its -influence, is still there. To get into touch with that life, to draw -out the goodness of heart and make it a tangible blessing to the boys -of our land, is the work every man and woman ought to try to do. It was -this object the gentleman had in asking Jimmy and his friends to meet -at his office. He felt that opportunities of this nature come but once -in a life time. - -George Eliot wrote: “The golden moments in the stream of life rush past -us and we see nothing but sand. The angels come to visit us and we -only know them when they are gone. How shall we live so as at the end -to have done the most for others and make the most of ourselves.” We -become good ourselves only in the measure that we do good to some other -soul. In Jimmy, the newsboy, no one stopped to see what was sleeping -under the cover of extreme mischievousness. They were always looking -for bad and they found it. Neglect is the mother of more calamities -than any other sin, and who are neglected more than the newsboys? - - - - -CHAPTER III. - - -On the following Monday morning, at the appointed, hour, Jimmy, with -eight other boys, was at the office of his newly-made friend. - -It was an interesting picture, an exciting scene. - -Noisy, loud talking, several answering questions at the same time, some -turning over books, papers, investigating everything in sight. Sharp, -shrewd, busy at every moment, quick to answer any question and the -replies always satisfactory, and to the point. - -“Don’t you know anything,” said Jimmy to a friend, who was trying to -investigate how a typewriter was made, “let that meechine alone.” - -It was soon in evidence that Jimmy’s word meant something, for each -boy obeyed him without saying a word, except a little grunt of -dissatisfaction, to show he hated to obey. Not one of the eight boys -had clean hands. Not one a coat with a button. Three safety-pins held -holding positions in some of their coats. Not one used a handkerchief, -and the slang would puzzle many a lawyer. - -As one of the boys lost his cap he said: “Some kid five-fingered -it.—took it with his hand.” It was an interesting crowd. - -“Well, you are on time, Jimmy, and I see you have brought some of your -friends with you,” said the gentleman. - -“These is part of de gang,” said Jimmy. - -“Do you boys all want to be my friends, just the same as Jimmy is?” - -They replied, “Sure thing; cert. Yes’m.” - -These friendly words brought the gang closer to the gentleman’s desk. -And more papers were disturbed. The ink was investigated and one of the -boys wanted to know why it wasn’t red ink. Another poked his finger -in the ink stand and made black streaks down the smallest boy’s face. -The gentleman was shown quite a number of articles they had in their -pockets. Nails, buttons, marbles, pieces of slate-pencils, etc., all of -which had to be admired. - -“Say, you, mister,” said a nine-year-old dirty-faced, bright-eyed boy, -“I had trouble gittin’ here. De con. wus onto me an’ I had to take two -lines ’fore I rode into de office wid out blowin’ in a cent.” - -“Well, quit your wasting words,” said Jimmy. - -The boys gathered around the gentleman, and he said: - -“My! what good you boys can do in this world with all of your push, -and energy, your hustling, your good health, you boys can turn up -something, and I’m going to help you do it. How would you like to help -me make all the men and women who buy papers of you learn to love you. -Learn to speak kindly to you?” - -“Aw, de peoples don’t care fur us.” said a boy Jimmy called “Indian.” - -“Well, I don’t know about that. There is one thing certain there can be -no harm in trying. The trouble is, people don’t know you, and you won’t -let them get acquainted with you. Let’s make a start. First, I want to -know if every one of you wants to be a friend of mine? You do, that’s a -good start. And whenever you see me on the street, it doesn’t make any -difference what I am doing, or who I am talking to, will you come to me -and say, good morning or good evening?” They all agreed. - -“And another thing, when you boys are down town and should you hurt -yourself, or get into some trouble, lose your papers, your money, or -some one frightens you, I want you to call on me, and I will try to -help you. Notice, I say when you are in trouble, because when you are -doing well and everything comes your way, you need no assistance. You -can take care of yourselves. What do you say, boys, to this?” - -[Illustration: THE ORIGINAL CHARTER MEMBERS. - - _See Page 14_ -] - -They all promised and were glad of the opportunity. - -This was the first intimate talk with the gang. - -Two days later, while the gentleman was very busy in his office, into -the room came one of the little visitors followed by some of the gang, -he was limping and crying as if his heart would break. He paid no -attention to any one in the office but made directly for the gentleman, -who seeing him, excused himself from his business friends and said to -the boy, - -“Well, now, what has happened to you?” - -“A man shoved me off de sidewalk into de gutter and me foot struck a -piece of glass,” he replied, between sobs. His foot was bloody, and -the more blood he saw the louder became his cries. He was taken into a -near-by hotel, his foot carefully washed, a handkerchief tied over the -wound, his tears wiped away, and when back into the office he said: - -“I thank you, sir.” - -He picked up his bundle of papers, all pain had disappeared, the smiles -again came to his pretty face, and with his friends, left the office, -singing a popular air. - -The result of this little act of duty added fifty new friends. - - - - -CHAPTER IV. - - -A week later, a little colored boy entered the office crying. He was -known on the street as Midnight. - -“Tree boys trowed me down in de alley, an’ swiped me papers.” - -Four boys came with him. They wondered what would be done. While -talking with him, Jimmy dropped in. Not quietly but made everybody get -out of the way. - -“I know the three kids,” said Jimmy, “and I’ll go after them.” - -So Jimmy left on his own accord. In fifteen minutes he returned -bringing two boys. - -“There, you kids,” he said, “give Midnight back his money fur de papers -you stole.” - -It was done. Midnight’s eyes resumed their natural brightness, and he -left happy, thankful to Jimmy for his interest. - -To the gentleman this was a revelation. The power one boy can have -over a gang of boys ought to be used for good. Such vital energy, such -quick action, such nerve and endurance, all this must be used for -doing good, for helping each other. My! what a boy who has influence -among his fellow companions, can do. If each boy could be placed -on his honor, each boy aiming to do the best he can to uplift his -associate, trying to correct the little evils from which spring so -many crimes, how much happiness, how many useful lives would result. -If men would try to instill into the young hearts of our boys, our -newsboys, because they are tempted more than any other class, a spirit -of trust and love, instead of a spirit of fear and hate and revenge, -what a happy unselfish world we would have. Suppose these newsboys, -the boys who are so often accused of being bad, would be treated as -Christ treated wrong-doers, not as criminals, but as misdirected and -misguided boys, putting everything in their way to encourage them to do -right. Suppose they were warned of danger, were propped up when about -to fall, and personal efforts were made to find the good in each boy -and to cultivate it as a husbandman would his garden—pulling out and -destroying the weeds, removing the germs of disorder, and keeping a -watchful eye over all even until the ripening of the fruit. What would -be the result? The gentleman gave the subject considerable thought and -concluded to try the experiment. - -From the material at command it was surprising how many little good -things sprung up where least expected and from soil considered as -absolutely worthless. Like some products of the garden, good came from -unexpected places. - -Taking advantage of conditions and circumstances, the number of friends -increased so rapidly that when cold weather set in, over a hundred -little hustling friends of the street were added to the list. - -Winter came with snow and ice and cold winds, making it hard for the -carriers to deliver their papers before the breakfast hour. The little -sellers were heard only a short time after the newspaper editions were -out, and they were compelled to seek warm places. It was noticeable -that the saloons of the city were the only places open to these boys -seeking shelter and warmth. - -There were several gentlemen in the city heartily in sympathy with the -new movement among the newsboys, and among them was a generous clothier -who presented, through the gentleman, fifty overcoats to be given to -the poorest newsboys. - -To select fifty of the most deserving, for the entire hundred were in -want, was a very difficult task, especially as those interested had but -little experience with boys of the street. - -But Jimmy came to the rescue and he and the gentleman began to deliver -the coats. When forty-five coats were given there remained twenty boys -who were equally as needy as the others and there were but five coats -left. How to select five boys from this number was the question. - -Jimmy accomplished it. - -The next day the gentleman was asked to go into the alley in the -rear of the post-office where he met about sixty boys. Twenty of the -poorest, those whose names were booked for coats, were asked to “stand -in line against the building.” Jimmy asked them to name five of their -number who were very poor. - -“You see, Kids,” said Jimmy, “we have only five coats and if you select -the five boys needing them it is all right.” - -The boys quickly named the lucky sellers. - -Midnight, Peanuts, Bluster, Swipsey and Bundle were unanimously chosen -and the orders were given to them. - -This was a great surprise to the gentleman, for what he had imagined -would be a difficult problem was satisfactorily settled in a very few -moments by the boys. - -“Boys, come close to me,” said the gentleman. It was difficult for him -to stand as they crowded so closely around him. - -“I am surprised at your way of doing business. This is one of the -greatest things I ever saw. It shows you boys can take care of -yourselves and I believe you could manage worse things than dividing up -a lot of coats. For this nice little act of yours I am going to give -you a first-class Christmas dinner—” - -Not another word could be heard. That quiet, listening bunch of boys -was quickly changed to a turbulent, noisy crowd. - -Several policeman came into the alley to see the cause of the noise. -It wasn’t common everyday cheering, but yelling. The invitation was -accepted—it seemed by a thousand voices. - -“All right, boys, get your little friends and meet me at the -post-office steps Christmas morning at eleven o’clock.” - -“Say, Mister,” said Swipsey, a bootblack, “only sellers and bootblacks -in this deal?” - -“Yes, only sellers and bootblacks this time, and I don’t want a good -boy in the crowd. I want only boys who are bad. I want all the gang and -their friends. I want poor boys, but they must all be newsboys. That -is, they must sell papers or shine shoes, and not a boy must come in -dress suit.” - -[Illustration: READY TO START FOR THE FIRST CHRISTMAS DINNER. - - _See Page 25_ -] - - - - -CHAPTER V. - - -Christmas morning came without a cloud in sight. The sun was warm. It -was an ideal Christmas day. The boys were to meet at eleven o’clock, -but fifty newsies were playing around the corners of the post-office -as early as seven o’clock and at ten o’clock they came in groups of -five and ten from every direction. When the gentleman appeared he -was considerably embarrassed at the noisy reception. The boys formed -in line by twos and as the hundred and fifty marched down the street -yelling at the tops of their voices the good people of the city stood -on the sidewalks wondering what had broken loose. The boys when near -their destination, arriving at the top of a hill, without warning made -a break for the bottom, like a flock of sheep scattering down a hill. -They ran screaming as only boys can. At the door of the building, -where they were to have their Christmas dinner, they were met by six -policemen, who held them at bay, requiring them to go up stairs single -file. - -The tables presented a sight that even grown people considered, “one of -the most attractive layouts ever seen in the city.” - -Flowers, fruit of all kinds, with “a mountain of turkey” and candy “to -burn,” greeted the boys. In just five minutes after the newsies were -seated there was not an orange, an apple, a banana or a piece of candy -in sight. All disappeared as if by magic. Ice cream and pie were first -to receive attention. Turkey and chicken were later in demand. In half -an hour the tables were cleared of everything that looked good to eat. -Not only were the pockets of the boys filled with oranges and apples -but their shirt-waists and pant-legs were bulged out with the things -that pleased them most. Only six fights were recorded worthy of notice. - -An entertainment followed the dinner. It was the kind and character -they could understand and appreciate. Interesting and earnest talks by -newspaper representatives, were sandwiched between acts. The object -of the gathering was well defined by the members of the press. Their -gentleman friend wanted the sellers and bootblacks to start a Newsboys’ -Association. This was received with the usual noisy approval. He -wanted an association which the boys themselves would run; make their -own laws, elect from their own numbers the officers, and everything -connected with the running of the association to be under their -supervision. On that Christmas day one hundred and two boys were -enrolled in the new association, and their gentleman friend elected -president, with Jimmy as vice-president. - -The president was requested “to get busy,” and, “prepare rules an’ such -things as we can work by.” - -After this meeting, Jimmy’s friend was known as “Mr. President.” - - - - -_PART SECOND_ - - - - -CHAPTER VI. - - -A dozen or more newsboys can be seen at almost any hour of the day, -dodging here and there around the corners, down alleys, or playing in -the rear of the circulating offices of the great dailies. In all kinds -of weather they will be found at their posts, prompt in delivering -their papers to subscribers, or upon the streets crying the most -important of the many head lines of the transactions of a day. Would -it be possible to get this noisy, hustling crowd of boys together and -gradually to bring this great power, this great force, into a channel -for doing good? To form an association where the boy would be “de whole -thing” with only the hand of man to guide where it was necessary? To -simply push the button? In short, would it result in doing good among -the class of boys who are neglected in more ways than men and women -imagine? Reflection resulted in adopting a name that would imply -everything— - -“Boyville.” - -It means work with and among newsboys by the boys themselves. - -The Boyville Newsboys’ Association. - -It was at once organized, and in its preamble of incorporation was -written the Golden Rule. In the formation of Boyville it must not be -understood that its mission was to draw good boys from good homes; but -rather to give help to bad boys, come from where they may, when they -appear on the streets—away from home influences. Whether they come -from the most palatial residences on the shaded avenues, or from the -crowded hovels of alleys, from poorly kept tenements, or even those who -are compelled to sleep in public stairways, barns, or wherever a boy -can creep under shelter without being noticed. - -With one hundred and fifty-two newsboys, sellers and bootblacks, -enrolled as active members for life; with an unwritten constitution and -laws that were made to suit conditions, and that were subject to change -at every meeting; with meeting places in alleys, in vacant store-rooms, -theatres or wherever boys could meet on short notice, Boyville was -started. Trustees were chosen from newspaper representatives, and -leading citizens, but the detail work, the real work among the boys, -was placed in the hands of the president—to make a success or failure -of the project. It was first found necessary that the president should -keep in personal daily touch with every boy, not in bunches but each -boy, sellers and bootblacks. A membership card was issued. This card -simply let the public know the bearer was a member of Boyville, -Newsboys’ Association. For this, and all benefits of the association, -the boy paid nothing in money. No assessments of any kind. Nothing -that would permit even a donation. He was simply required to obey the -rules—not to swear, to steal, to play craps, a game so common among -sellers, or smoke cirgarettes. - -[Illustration: WHERE THE BOYVILLE NEWSBOYS’ ASSOCIATION WAS ORGANIZED, -DECEMBER 25, 1892. - - _See Page 27_ -] - -There were but three officers, the president, vice-president and -secretary. The two latter, newsboys. Jimmy the newsboy, and Johnny the -bootblack, both leaders of gangs. These two boys were told that the -success of the association depended entirely on their work. They had -charge of the one hundred and fifty-two members. Their first orders -were: “that each boy must watch the other boys and correct a fellow -member for doing anything that would disgrace the association. They -must not wait to see an officer to punish a member for stealing, -swearing or playin’ o’craps. They must not depend on what they heard, -but on what they saw. Take the law into their own hands, and punish on -the spot.” - -The end of the first month found twenty-eight membership cards taken -from boys who had violated the rule, “you must not steal,” and nine -taken from boys who smoked cigarettes. The fines were from five to -fifteen days. When the fines numbered fifty membership cards, the -president made arrangements with a theatre to admit the members, -permitting no boy to enter unless he showed his membership card. The -boys who were fined, and did not have their cards, were dealt a pretty -heavy blow, for boys. A little banquet was given and again no boy -admitted to the hall without showing his card. This occasional hit had -its effect in reducing the cards in the hands of the president to an -average of about ten a month. - - - - -CHAPTER VII. - - -The membership increased so rapidly and the detail work became so -extended, that it was found necessary to increase the number of -officers, from two boys to eleven. The constitution and by-laws -provided a Central Association, which was officered by boys who -had experience upon the streets, as sellers and carriers. The -vice-president gradually became familiar with the objects of the -association, and the work among the boys. He was a typical newsboy, a -good street-seller and his power was felt among the boys, especially -those who were inclined to be bad. A secretary was elected from the -ranks of the carriers. He was a good worker. The treasurer was a boy -who received the unanimous vote of the association. The money he -received was small donations, from benevolently-inclined friends. This -was used for purchasing flowers for sick boys, etc. The real work of -the association depended upon the executive committee of five members. -Like most organizations, the committee-work centered in the chairman. -The chairman of this committee proved to be one of the most active -and faithful boys of the association. He left nothing undone in his -efforts to unravel a difficulty or in correcting and building up a boy -who had done wrong. The four boys on his committee were untiring in -their efforts for the success of the association. This committee was in -constant touch with the president. - -The membership committee of three boys looked after old as well as new -members. Each applicant had to be submitted to them for approval. - -With these eleven officers, all boys under fourteen, the association -began life. The constitution and by-laws embraced in its power and -force simply one aim, one object, to do good among the boys. To do it -effectively, and make the results lasting. To build up, never pull -down; to encourage honesty, to watch and warn a boy. - -The work among the street boys became more interesting as the months -rolled on, and, at the end of a year the membership of Boyville had -increased to two hundred and fifty sellers and bootblacks. This number -not only included boys who sold papers every day, but those who sold -extras, and on Saturdays, and special occasions, and boys who sold -magazines or other periodicals. The association began to grow and -become recognized by the boys generally, and new sellers appeared upon -the streets daily, all anxious to join. The working officers remained -the same—but two boys doing the detail work. - -Two years passed under the new officers and rules. The Boyville -Newsboys’ Association began to be felt in the community. Compliments -were frequent concerning the good work. The association had increased -its membership to fifteen hundred and twenty boys. A little army, and -all working harmoniously together for each others good, and in trying -to assist and build up the association. Doubting men and women, and the -world is full of them, were perfectly satisfied of the success of the -boys governing themselves, as was shown almost daily in the work. The -boys solved a problem never thought of being tried by men and women who -had long experience in working among boys. - -The success of Boyville increased in proportion to the work done by the -young officers. - -People began to look upon a newsboy with some consideration, and as a -necessary adjunct to the growth of a city. His politeness, his honesty, -his general deportment attracted special notice, and the boys received -many kind words and increased attention. - -The association began to assume such magnitude that it was found -necessary to divide it into auxiliaries, to get a suitable badge, and a -membership card defining more explicitly certain rules. - -Boyville was therefore divided into five auxiliaries—the sellers, -north, south, east and west branches, with the constitution of the -Central. Each auxiliary had eleven officers, making a total of -sixty-six officers—all boys. In the annual election of officers -great interest was taken by the boys, many displaying political “wire -pulling” qualifications that would equal the work done by great -political bodies. - -These sixty-six officers were scattered in all parts of the city, -making it almost impossible for a boy whom they wanted for violating a -rule of the association, to escape their notice. - -The membership card told the story of what was expected of a member. It -is herewith given for that purpose. - - No.————— - - THIS IS TO CERTIFY THAT - - ——————————is an active member for life of - The Boyville Newsboys’ Association. He does not approve - of swearing, lying, stealing, gambling, drinking - intoxicating liquors, or smoking cigarettes, and is entitled - to all the benefits of said association, and the respect - and esteem of the public. - - Signed by the officers. - -With these rules, and simple pledge, if pledge it can be called, in the -hands of each newsboy, the reader can imagine the good that must result. - -It does not say the holder is guilty of any of these evils, neither -does it imply that he must not swear, etc., but it does say, and each -boy is strongly impressed with the fact, that he does not approve of -these things, and will not permit a fellow member to violate a single -rule. - -A boy who says I do not believe in swearing, while he may swear -himself, will take great pleasure in checking some one else, and often -bumps up against a strong proposition when he finds some other boy, -probably of greater strength, watching him, and waiting anxiously for -an opportunity to correct him. If not corrected with a simple warning -it may end in a fight. - -A boy makes an application for membership. He is recommended by a -friend. He is approved by the membership committee. In case there is -something wrong with the applicant, particularly if he steals, or -swears, or smokes cigarettes, he is sent with a note to the president, -or as is more frequently done, one of the officers reports in person -giving the president a history of the applicant and the failing he has. - -The new member knows nothing of this, in fact he gives expression to -his thoughts and says, after he receives his credentials, “It’s dead -easy.” It is, as far as the business he has with the president, but the -moment he leaves the president’s office, the officers living in his -district are notified of the trouble this boy gives, or bad habit he -delights in keeping up. - -Even the boys with whom he associates become familiar, through methods -of their own, with his failings, and go after him with all the -authority of an official. - -With all the interest taken by the boys to correct a member for -violating one of the rules, and the severe methods adopted by them to -correct a known evil, it is seldom a boy will appear against one of his -associates as a witness. - -[Illustration: A BUNCH OF SELLERS. - - _See Page 38_ -] - -A gentleman whose sympathy was with the work, brought a boy to the -president whom he accused of using language, “unbecoming a criminal.” -As witnesses he brought with him four newsboy companions. - -Imagine the gentleman’s surprise to hear the boys say: “Mister, you’re -dreaming through a pipe. He didn’t swear.” The boys did not even show -signs of embarrassment but faced the charge with perfect ease. No -argument could get the boys to testify against their friend. - -The gentleman left disgusted with newsboys. - -“I will let you boys settle this among yourselves,” said the president. - -They went upon the street, into the alley. Half an hour later the -newsboy accused of swearing returned. Timidly he approached the -president and said. - -“I swore but I will never do it again, and I mean it, I am sorry.” - -At the door the president saw four little faces peeping through the -window. They were watching their friend. - -“Where is your badge?” asked the president. - -“The boys took it from me, they’re out there,” he replied. - -They were beckoned to come in. - -“Did you do the right thing?” one of the boys asked the accused. - -“Yes, didn’t I Mr. President?” he answered, looking for sympathy. - -“Yes, boys, he is all right. I understand everything,” said the -president. - -The badge was returned to the boy and they left the office talking and -laughing. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII. - - -The first public appearance of the boys, aside from auxiliary meetings, -annual Christmas dinners, attending theatres, entertainments, base-ball -games, picnics, etc., and where the boys made a favorable impression -upon the public, was the Sunday afternoon meetings held in suitable -halls, during the winter season. These were carried on successfully and -profitably for several years, until the available halls were too small -to accommodate the increasing membership. - -The idea of Sunday afternoon meetings suggested itself from what the -boys said. - -“If we had meetings of our own we would not attend Sunday afternoon -theatres.” Three boys, newsboys, were seen coming out of the back door -of a saloon on Sunday afternoon, and to the question asked by the -president, why they spent their time in the saloon, they replied they -had no other place to go to get warm. - -“Why not go home?” - -“We are not wanted at home.” - -At the Sunday afternoon meetings the entertainments were given by -the different Sunday schools of the city, and occasionally by some -society, all kindly volunteering their valuable services. Splendid -music, interesting talkers, little girls and boys in recitations or -songs who always made a hit among the newsies. In time the newsboys -became so interested in the work that many of them concluded that they -could “do a stunt or two,” and the program was divided in two parts. -First, the Sunday-school or society, followed by the newsboys who -introduced their best speakers, singers, etc. - -“These Sunday afternoon gatherings,” to copy from an editorial in one -of the daily newspapers, “have improved the tastes, aroused the better -natures, stimulated the ambitions, revealed new and nobler ideals and -altogether, have opened a new world of more sober and serious plans for -future success of the bright little business men.” - -One of the most trying incidents that ever came to the attention of -the president was at one of the Sunday afternoon meetings held in a -theatre, when was brought to the rear of the stage two newsboys so -drunk that a policeman had to hold them from falling. - -They had a bottle of whiskey between them. In broken sentences they -told where a keeper had sold them the liquor, Sunday morning, and -how the men in the saloon dared them to drink all the whiskey in the -bottle. It wasn’t necessary to drink all, a few swallows made them -dizzy. “We got funny and noisy, an’ the man pitched us out.” They -staggered towards the opera house to attend the newsboys’ meeting, when -a policeman assisted them in the house. Immediately upon their entrance -their friends hustled them out of sight behind the stage. The president -at once called the association officers and turned the two boys over -to them. Quickly the officers removed their badges. It was difficult -to restrain some of them from “giving the boys a thorough thrashing.” -Through the influence of the boy, Jimmy, the sympathy of the newsboys’ -turned quickly to the two boys and a determination for revenge on -the saloon keeper followed. The newsboy officers took the two little -fellows to their homes. In a few days they reported to the president -that the boys received such a severe punishment from their parents that -they would be laid up for a month. The saloonman was visited by two -of the oldest experienced officers. They were received with kindness, -and after talking over the matter for some time it was mutually agreed -that the boys were to notify all members that they must keep out of -the saloon, as the proprieter promised not to sell liquor of any kind -to newsboys and to refuse to sell liquor to any of the fathers of the -newsboys—“when he thought they had enough.” - -For a month the boys watched that saloon, and if a newsboy entered, -his badge was taken from him. The saloonman took greater interest than -the boys, for he absolutely refused to sell liquor to any one whom he -thought had “all he could carry.” - -Today this saloonman is respected by the newsboys and many good deeds -are credited to him. - -“He is simply trying to lift up a man instead of pulling him down,” -said an officer. - -The good that has been accomplished from the Sunday afternoon meetings, -commonly called “The Popular Sunday School,” cannot be estimated. -Thousands of people attend these meetings. They are pleased because the -newsboys do the entertaining. There isn’t a great deal of preaching, -but there is enough. “The object is not to give so much of that sort -of thing,” says an editorial in one of the great dailies, “but what -preaching they get is wholesome. The boys get a chance to laugh and -clap their hands. They are permitted to be boys on Sunday just as -on week days. There is good music, too. It is apt to be a patriotic -air, or a popular song. A sweet little girl sang ‘The Good Old Summer -Time,’ and the newsies joined in the chorus. It wasn’t classical, but -it was good. Instead of shooting over people’s heads the musicians aim -at their hearts. The preaching isn’t a tiresome string of ‘does’ and -‘don’ts,’ ‘musts’ and ‘mustn’ts’. It is mostly plain talks from plain -people who know they are talking to boys whose veins are bulging with -rich, red human blood. But the boys themselves furnish most of the -program. Boys who sell papers, who shine shoes, on the streets, get -up before big audiences, make speeches, sing songs, ‘recite pieces’ -and do other interesting and instructive stunts. And hundreds of -these little newsboys sit in the auditorium, conduct themselves like -gentlemen and thoroughly enjoy the entertainment. An interesting fact -about this association, is that its membership comprises the rich as -well as the poor. If a rich man’s son carries a route he is in the same -boat with the poorest lad that peddles papers on the street. There -are boys who have rich fathers, boys who have poor fathers, boys who -have industrious fathers, boys who have drunken fathers, and boys who -have no fathers at all. There are Protestant boys, Catholic boys, -Hebrew boys, white boys, black boys—and all are full-fledged, honored -members of the same newsboy family, which is run on the principle of -equal rights for all and special privileges for none. Rich boys are -not debarred. There is a desire to save them from wealth’s temptations -and make good citizens of them in spite of their handicap. The poor -boys who sell papers to help keep the family from starvation are -generous and are willing to let the rich in on the ground floor. So -it is a pretty broad and big Sunday-school. And a good one. Every boy -who belongs to it is better for his membership. He is taught to travel -on his own merits and not lean on his papa. He is taught that he must -paddle his own canoe; and that he will be judged by what HE does, not -by his father’s success.” - -[Illustration: FESTIVAL HALL. WHERE THE NATIONAL NEWSBOYS’ ASSOCIATION -WAS ORGANIZED, AUGUST 16, 1904. - - _See Page 53_ -] - - - - -CHAPTER IX. - - -So great became the interest in the success of the Boyville Newsboys’ -Association that many additions were made to add to its prosperity, -through which the association became favorably known throughout the -United States. - -A newsboys’ band of thirty-eight pieces was organized, the sellers -being in the majority. The expense of the band was borne entirely by -one of the enterprising dailies. The musical talent, discovered by -an efficient leader, in the newsboys, was remarkable. In less than a -year they were able to play some of the most difficult pieces, and the -general deportment of the boys surprised all who saw them. - -The organization of the South-end Cadets was an event which proved to -be one of the most successful additions to the association. Their fine -personal appearance, their remarkable drilling, their good behavior -at all times and on all occasions, with the band, made Boyville -extensively and favorably known as the home of the best newsboys in the -world. - -Nothing in the history of the work among the newsboys was as important -as the interest taken by the various churches, regardless of sect, -through their ministers, in holding special Sunday evening meetings for -the members of the association. All through the city the auxiliaries -were invited, and particular pains taken in the preparation of a -program suitable to all. When the boys were first invited, the -expression was frequently heard: “Gee wiz, we gets front rows.” -The illustration shows the boys marching to one of these evening -entertainments. - -The value of these meetings cannot be estimated. The good attendance, -the close attention, the good behavior of the boys made them many -friends, and people began to look more kindly upon the newsboy. - -With these improvements in the street-boy and the success of the -association naturally, the president received many letters from men and -women all over the land seeking information about the detail work of -the association. - -With the view that this work may eventually be extended throughout the -country, the president conceived the idea that a convention of newsboys -and their friends might be held and a National association organized -through which much good could be accomplished. He therefore opened -correspondence with the managers of the World’s Fair, St. Louis, Mo., -with a view of getting their consent and approval to set apart a day to -be known as Newsboys’ Day. This met with prompt reply and a most hearty -endorsement of the officials, and newspaper representatives generally -throughout the United States, and resulted in selecting Tuesday, August -16, 1904, as Newsboys’ Day. - -That the convention might prove a success, particularly among men who -are familiar with work among newsboys, the aid of the circulating -managers of the newspapers was asked. At the annual convention of the -National Association of Managers of Newspaper Circulation, held at the -World’s Fair June 12, 1904, the president of “Boyville” appeared and -explained the methods adopted in this association. He satisfied them -that, not only did the association accomplish much good, through its -efforts to influence boy’s work, but it also proved to be a great aid -to the newspapers in increasing circulation. He therefore asked for -endorsement and support of the members of this organization in forming -a National Newsboys’ Association. - -In recognition of this a resolution was unanimously passed endorsing -the movement; and a committee was appointed to co-operate with the -trustees of the Boyville association with the view of not only making -Newsboys’ Day a success but in organizing a National Newsboys’ -Association. - - - - -CHAPTER X. - - -On the afternoon, of Tuesday, August 16, 1904, in the magnificent -Festival Hall, at the World’s Fair, where were present hundreds of -newsboys, representing nearly every State in the Union; and newspaper -representatives from the leading papers of the country, there was -organized The National Newsboys’ Association; officers were elected and -instructions were given them to perfect the organization and adopt the -plan so successfully carried on by the Boyville Newsboys’ Association, -and having for its object the extension of the work in every town and -city in the land that there may be established fraternal relations -among newsboys everywhere in making them an important part in the -business world, honored and treated with respect by all good citizens. - -While the details of the organization were being worked out, the -officers were instructed, by the trustees, to issue membership cards -and badges and to organize auxiliaries in cities and towns wherever -desired. - -A year has passed since the organization of the National Newsboys’ -Association, and the officers have established auxiliaries in many -cities and towns in the United States with inquiries from foreign -cities. - -In the discussion regarding the formation of the constitution etc., it -was agreed that an organized association of newsboys with an enrollment -of twenty-five boys would be received into the National Association -as an auxiliary, and, in towns where there were a less number than -twenty-five newsboys, each boy could become members under the trustees -of the National Association. - -No recognition of the work accomplished by the National and Boyville -Associations was so important and no greater good can be accomplished -than the official approval and endorsement by the officers of the -greatest railroads in America. - -It is an undisputed fact, railroad detectives as authority, that a -majority of the young men arrested for stealing merchandise from -freight cars were once boys who sold or waited for newspapers at the -stations of our railroads. - -The officers of the Boyville Association have on file congratulatory -letters from prominent railroad detectives heartily approving of the -work accomplished in trying to teach the boys who sell or wait for -papers at the stations, honesty. One detective wrote: “You are saving -the railroads thousands of dollars worth of property and a million -dollars worth of trouble.” - -The railroads who have approved of the work have permitted the officers -of the National Association to issue circular letters to their agents -instructing them to allow no newsboy to sell or wait for newspapers at -the stations unless he is a member of the association and wears, while -on duty, the official badge. This simply means that newsboys to sell -or wait for papers at railroad stations must not swear, steal, lie, -smoke cigarettes or gamble. The trustees, feeling that the good work -accomplished among the newsboys would be still further advanced by -bringing the National Association to public notice, decided that the -expense of sending the newsboys’ band and cadets to Washington, to take -part in the inaugural parade of President Theodore Roosevelt on March -4, 1905, would be justified. - -Correspondence with the inaugural committee proved one of the pleasant -experiences, for the recognition by the chief marshall and other -officials of the civic grand division was quickly and heartily -given. The work of completing the detail arrangements, necessarily -irksome, was so cordially conducted that the trustees felt more than -ever justified in sending the newsboys’ band and cadets, and the -vice-presidents of the various auxiliaries, in order that Boyville -could be officially represented. - -“Sixty-five newsboys let loose in the city of Washington during the -inaugural ceremonies would cause the men in charge more trouble and -unhappiness, and disgrace to the city represented than the honor -gained,” was the public declaration of men who were not familiar with -what could be done by newsboys. - -Satisfactory arrangements were made in all details. - -To show the activity and self-responsibility of a newsboy, while the -boys were en route they stopped at Cleveland. Two hours were given them -to go where they pleased. In less than an hour the sellers said: - -“We have done the town, been all through the public buildings and we’re -ready to go. We were treated like reporters.” - -In Washington thirty minutes after their arrival at headquarters, the -president called a dozen boys to him and tried to tell them how to find -their hotel(?) from a given point. - -[Illustration: NEWSBOYS’ BAND AND CADETS—READY TO START FOR -WASHINGTON, D. C., TO PARTICIPATE IN THE INAUGURAL PARADE OF PRESIDENT -ROOSEVELT, MARCH 4, 1905. - - _See Page 55_ -] - -“Aw, what you trying to give us. We ain’t asleep. We’ve been round the -square, and say, president, we found a first-class eating place. It’s -out o’ sight.” - -Two hours after the boys were settled, a majority of them had been -through and around nearly all of the public buildings, and were ready -“to do the White House.” When requested to report at a stated hour and -place, every boy was there on time and to the minute. - -One of the greatest lessons the president learned from the trip, from -these newsboys, was the perfect control they have of themselves. - -They were always happy. Always contented and satisfied with conditions. -Never complaining or borrowing trouble showing that worry is a thing -unknown to newsboys. The loss of a hat, of a piece of baggage, an -order changing contemplated plans, all were received with the same -wonderful patience and good cheer, which seem part of the nature of a -newsboy. The boy without a cent in his pocket was happier than the boy -whose parents supplied him with more money than he needed. Wherever -these boys appeared on the streets of Washington they were little -gentlemen, an honor to the city who sent them, an honor to themselves -and, an honor to the great country they represent. On the train en -route Governor Myron T. Herrick, in his address to the boys said: “I -consider it a very great honor to the state of Ohio to send from its -commonwealth such a bright lot of boys, and boys who represent our -little street merchants, boys who are destined to be the good men of -the future.” - - - - -CHAPTER XI. - - -Newsboys are students. From the necessity of knowing the special -happenings of the day, as soon as they receive their papers they -quickly read the head lines. First, they can be seen to slowly spell -each word, but in a very short time they read without assistance. It is -one of the advantages to boys selling papers, it is an educator. To be -successful, they must become familiar with the news of the day and be -able to cry it to induce men to purchase. - -After the inaugural parade, when most people were tired, the newsboys, -at their headquarters, “chipped in” and raised enough money to send -one of the boys “down town to purchase a copy of every paper sold in -the city.” The boy returned with New York, Philadelphia and Washington -dailies and a dozen sellers were seated on the cots, each earnestly -reading, and commenting on leading articles. One little seller said: - -“Say, look here, fellers, Teddy has started to work, he made an -appointment. I guess he means business.” - -Is there another organization whose members, when attending a -convention, are so interested in the news of the day as to send one -of their number—“down the avenue to purchase a copy of each of the -dailies the town takes?” - -From the highest officers in the land; from the committee in charge -of the various divisions; from the foreign as well as the Washington -newspapers, praise and compliments were given these newsboys for the -almost perfect marching, in the parade. - -They said: - -“The newsboys’ band and cadets made the hit of the day, in the parade, -and made thousands of friends throughout the United States * * * -President Roosevelt was immensely pleased with the newsboys and could -not say enough of the remarkable appearance they made. The Newsboys’ -Band and Cadets, sixty-five in all, which led the third brigade of -the civic grand division, are the first newsboys in America to be -recognized in an inaugural parade. The band thirty-eight pieces, is -uniformed in red with black trimmings; the cadets, twenty, with red and -white trimmings. The cadets march under the leadership of Drum-Major -Francis McGarry, the youngest drum-major in the world, and a little -fellow who has to take a hitch-step every other step in order to keep -up with the procession. The general appearance and manly conduct of the -young gentlemen elicited many favorable comments. They were an object -lesson of a very remarkable character, which is calculated to arouse in -them a higher degree of patriotism and love for their country.” - - - - -_PART THIRD_ - -[Illustration: “I AM AN OFFICER OF THE SELLERS’ AUXILIARY; GET BUSY.”] - -[Illustration: “LADY, I AM SORRY I RUN AWAY WID DE MONEY.” - - _See Page 68_ -] - - - - -CHAPTER XII. - - -The reader will observe that when Boyville was well organized no -boys were admitted to membership except those who sold newspapers or -shined shoes. But later, after many years of work, incident after -incident came to the president of the wrong-doings of the carriers who -occasionally sold extras. Those boys came from the best families and -much was expected from them by the sellers. But some of them proved to -be very bad boys. The following is one of a number of incidents that -induced the president to include the carriers in the association. - -A very kind lady, living in the heart of the city, and who was a -subscriber to one of the dailies, reported to the president; “a boy -who carried my paper and whom I owed eighteen cents, has skipped with -a dollar. He did not have the change and asked permission to cross the -street to get it. I saw him run down the street as fast as his little -legs would carry him. I knew he was running away and would not return. -It is not so much on account of the money, that I call your attention -to this, as it is to correct the boy, and save him from future wrong -doing.” - -She was asked to describe the boy. As it was dark this was difficult. - -“But I did notice,” she said, “that he had on a very bright pink -necktie.” - -This was the first instance she knew of the boy being dishonest. He had -always delivered the paper promptly, never missing a day. - -“But, a big new dollar was too much for him.” - -Immediately upon the receipt of this information the president called -his best officer and repeated the story. - -“A pink necktie,” he said. “Let me see, there is a pretty lively little -fellow that comes down town occasionally and poses on the corners. I -know him. He always wears that necktie.” - -Inquiry among the sellers soon gave the officer all the information -necessary as to where the boy lived. He was not a member of the -association. He was a carrier. He was supposed to be good. A dozen boys -knew the pink necktie carrier. - -Following is the official report of the officer who went after the boy. - -“I found he lived over a mile from the place where he delivered the -paper. It was a swell part of the city. When I went there I asked for -the boy. He was in bed. I told his mother I wanted to see him on some -very particular personal business. He was tucked up in a nice warm -bed, and I hated to disturb him. When I asked him if he had received a -dollar from a lady for papers, he covered his head with the clothes. -I knew I was right. I told him to get out of bed, and go with me to -see the lady, return her money, and beg her pardon. I had him dead -to rights for he didn’t want his mother to know what he had done. I -went down stairs and told his mother I had some very important things -we boys wanted him to do. She hesitated a little and finally let him -go. He dressed, and when on the way I told him he must get down on -his knees and beg the lady’s pardon; he cried and said, ‘I will go -home before I’ll do that.’ All right, I said, if you want your mother -to know what a little rascal you are, how you steal money, we’ll go -back, but if you want to be a little man, and make things right, with -my help, well and good. When we reached the house, we had to go up a -stairway, and the boy threw himself on the steps and said, ‘Oh, I can’t -do this,’ but I said you could steal all right, so come on. Up the -stairs we went, and I knocked at the door. I thought that boy would -faint. ‘Oh, I can’t do it,’ he cried, when the door opened and the -lady stood before him. She understood the situation. She lifted him to -his feet. I pulled him back, and said, ‘No, my lady, he must get down -on his knees, return you the dollar, and beg your pardon.’ It was a -tough job for that kid, but he did it; and after it was all over he -said, ‘My! but I feel better, I’m glad this is over.’ On the way he -told me he had spent forty cents and had but sixty cents left to pay -the lady, so I gave him the money to make the dollar, and he is to pay -me five cents a week until all is paid up. On the way home he was the -happiest lad I ever saw. The lady said it was the slickest piece of -detective work she ever heard of, and wished to thank you and the boys -for starting the association.” - -A few days after this little incident, the boy was brought to the -president, by the officer, requesting that he become a member of -Boyville. His name was signed to an application and when the officer -asked him how he felt after returning the dollar, he looked a little -ashamed, but quickly said: “You bet, I’ll never do any thing like that -again. It isn’t safe in this city, the kids find a fellow out when they -are bad. I’m glad we fixed it up all right.” - -He gradually paid back the money the officer advanced. Two years have -passed since that eventful night, and today the boy is one of the most -efficient officers in the Boyville association. - -The following editorial is taken from one of the city dailies relative -to the pink necktie story. It reads: - -“The story explains how well the officer did his work. There is a -lesson for boys and men, too, in this little story. It shows that -policemen and jails are not necessary when boys and men know how to -do right. No policeman, judge or jury was needed to straighten out -this difficulty. Newsboy government did the work. It got the woman her -money, and taught the boy with the pink necktie a lesson he will never -forget. He didn’t have to be arrested or go to jail. The public will -never know who he is. He will not be further disgraced. Now, why do -these boys, officers of this association, do this? simply because they -are proud of the reputation of their association. They have learned -that the association’s reputation is made up of the reputations of -its members. They have learned that one dishonest act by one newsboy -reflects on all newsboys and on the organization. So they insist that -all members must be honest and protect the association’s good name. It -isn’t fear of the policemen or jails that makes these boys honest. It -is the fear of their own conscience and the opinion of their comrades. -They want to be able to walk along the street with their heads up, and -to look every honest man squarely in the eye. They know they are as -good as the richest man in town if they are honest. They are learning -that it pays to do right, and not because of what may happen to them -as a result of dishonesty. If men would follow the same plan the world -wouldn’t need its thousands of jails, reformatories and penitentiaries. -If men would only feel that each one of them is a member of the human -society, association or organization, and that wrong committed by one -is a reflection on all, it would save heartaches and trouble in this -world.” - - - - -CHAPTER XIII. - - -Do you believe a boy that is good at home, one who is cared for and -loved as we often see an only child, could possibly do anything bad on -the streets, away from home influence? - -A neatly dressed boy, a carrier, whose parents “wanted him to learn the -trade of the street, to give him self-reliance and business tact, and -all that the street teaches without much effort,” when through with his -little route of carrying papers insisted upon going, “to the heart of -the city and selling papers on special occasions, extras.” - -Before Boyville was fully organized the president’s attention was -called to this little fellow—as being “a perfect nuisance. He was -impudent, frequently used profane language and was one of the worst -boys on the street.” At that time the association had but one (boy) -officer. He was told to watch this boy. See that he was corrected. -“And, above everything not to lose him because he was bad.” Within a -month the officer reported “the boy’s parents were among the best in -the city, good Christian people, attending church every Sunday, and -the boy a regular prize-winner for perfect attendance at Sunday-school. -When this boy was away from home, out of sight of his parents—he was a -little terror.” - -“Well, what did you do with him?” was asked the officer. - -“I takes his papers, an’ shows him as how to sell ’em. How to say thank -you when he sells to a gemmen or a ladies. And how’s not to be the -whole thing when on the street working. He cut out swearing de furst -thing. He was easy doing, all he wanted wus guidin.” - -“What did he say to your work?” - -“When I puts twenty cents in his hand, an’ says this is yourn, he gets -wise, he gets next to a good thing and is now working on de square. He -is de boss seller on de street an’ no boy kin sell on de corners and -swear, or steal. He fights ’em. He does.” - -That same little boy, who was given a warning by a fellow companion -with a little authority, today receives a salary of eight hundred -dollars a year in an important commercial position. - -In every city of our land there are hundreds of boys like this “good -boy at home,” who on the street surprises their most intimate friends -by their wickedness. - -[Illustration: “TROW DE CIGARETTE AWAY.” - - _See Page 74_ -] - -The newsboy cannot gain admission to many of the boys clubs, debating -clubs, athletic clubs, and is often debarred from many of our greatest -christian associations, because he is a being within himself, he stands -alone in his class, a creation of his own acts and deeds, and goes upon -the street at that age when environment molds his future, and generally -molds it bad. - -A question is often asked, what would become of a boy if he were left -to himself, with no training, no guidance, no education. A boy of the -street, who is dead to home influences, or worse, who is driven out -to make a living for himself by heartless parents or guardians, or -unfortunate conditions of life, and there are hundreds of them in every -city, becomes a power in himself. For evil, first. “For the heart of -the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.” If left alone the -evil will get the upper hand. The street teaches irregular habits and -restlessness. - -The following incident will show how diligent were the boys, not -officers, in watching their companions. - -Two little boys, ages nine and twelve, saw a fellow member standing -in an alley, behind a pile of store boxes and enjoying a cigarette to -his great delight. He was afraid to appear on the street as the boys -were watching for such cases. He was a boy about fifteen years of age, -rather stout and independent, but a staunch member of the association. -He might have used his strength to great advantage in arguing with the -two boys who attacked him as soon as discovered. - -“Say, Mike, youse knows it’s agin the rule to smoke dem cig’rettes.” - -“Dat’s all right. If I wants to smoke, I smoke, see? No one sees me in -the alley. I don’t smoke when I sells me papers.” - -“Aw! comes off, youse knows de rules. Cut it out. Trow it away. Youse -knows our president don’t wants youse ter smoke ’em. Cut it out. Trow -it away.” - -This persuasive talk or “bluff” as the smoker declared, had but little -effect until the two boys began to take off their coats. When donned -for the prize ring, the boys walked to the violator, presenting a bold -front and again demanded that the cigarette be thrown away, and promise -made that he would never smoke again. - -“What youse goin’ to do?” he said, backing up closer to the building. -“We will trow you down, take your badge frum youse an’ take it to the -president.” - -The big boy stood quiet for some moments, in the mean time about thirty -newsies had gathered around him, each yelling—“trow it away.” - -“I haint lookin’ fur no trouble,” he finally said, and threw the -cigarette in the alley. - -“We’s only doin’ you a good turn,” said the nine-year-old newsy. - -“It’s all right. I was only tryin’ to see if you would stop me. I’ll -cut it all out. I will never smoke again.” - -That boy did not have to be watched. He was good and kind to his little -friends, and proved to be one of the best boys on the street. Two years -later, when he graduated from the junior grade, in one of the ward -schools, he came to the president, saying that his mother was poor and -sickly and he had to go to work. He was sent to a wholesale house where -was wanted a good honest boy. - -The first question asked Mike was: - -“Do you smoke cigarettes?” The president will never forget the manly, -prompt reply. He was given a good position, and that boy today is -traveling for a firm in Cleveland, Ohio, at a big salary. The increased -interest in the detail work taken by the boys themselves encouraged -the president to believe that he was still on the right road to build -these little street-boys up for good, not only for themselves but for -doing good for others. Another case of interest in an unusual way of -“doin’ a good turn.” A bright-eyed, red-faced boy, ten years old, -came running into the president’s office, one evening, almost out of -breath, and after clearing the way through a long room, he stood before -the officer, eyes sparkling with interest. He had something important -to say. His elbows were bare, his pants torn, his cap merely a piece -of cloth, with a rim strong enough to hold it in place. His name was -Bluster, receiving it from the boys on account of his blustering manner -of doing things. - -“Say, pres.,” yelled Bluster. “I want authority to lick a kid.” - -That was a strange request. While the president was thinking what to -say he added. - -“I must have permission fur de gang’s after me. Dey’re on me track.” -Not desiring the gang to enter the office and create a scene, consent -was given for Bluster to use force, if necessary to defend himself. A -smile of satisfaction came over Bluster’s face. A smile that indicated -that he had taken advantage of the president, and was now about to -glory in it. After a moments thought he said. - -“Say, pres., I already licked him.” - -“Who and what for?” was asked with considerable surprise. - -“Fur swearin.” - -Before he could explain the details of the case, in rushed eight or ten -boys, all talking at once. Bluster never smiled when the boys declared -he wasn’t an officer and had no business to “take the law into his own -hands.” - -“That’s all right,” put in Bluster, “ain’t we supposed to work fur -each others good? Well, an’ wasn’t I ’tendin’ to my own business on de -corner. I wus standin’ there crying all about de big fire, when a man -frum de other side of the street calls fur me to come over. I starts -an’ so does Swipsey, I beats Swipsey, an’ sells de man a paper, an’ -what does Swipsey do? Does he go about his business? No, he told the -man to go to hell and used other swear words an’ I saw our association -wus receiving a black eye. It’s no use to preach to Swipsey, de only -way to bring him to his thinking is to lick him. He knows as well as -youses that its agin de rules to swear. So I punched him. I turned him -an’ rolled him over until he cried enuf, an’ promised he would not -swear again. Then de gang came after me an’ I runned to you.” - -The boys still declared he had no right to punish Swipsey without -permission from the president. Quick as flash Bluster said: - -“Say, pres., didn’t I have permission?” - -The president could do nothing but back Bluster up. He had given him -full authority. At this juncture, Swipsey made his appearance. His hair -disheveled, face and hands dirty, and clothes in a terrible condition. -Swipsey listened to Bluster’s story with a great deal of patience. He -looked guilty. - -“All we want to know,” said the leader of the gang, “is whether we can -punish a boy for violating the rules, even if we are not officers.” -That was a leading question, and experience had taught the president -that it was a very wise thing to have any boy punish a member, and in -his own way. The only provision made was that no badge must be taken -away from a boy by a non-officer. Where a boy cannot be corrected by a -fellow member, he must submit the case to an officer. This was agreed -to and the boys were satisfied with the method used by Bluster. The two -boys were made a little present, and they all left in their usual happy -mood. - - - - -CHAPTER XIV. - - -The more experience the president had with the street-boys, boys who -spent most of their time in selling papers or shining shoes, the -greater his desire to keep in close personal touch with each boy. He -had learned that it was not wise to censure a bad boy, to punish a -boy who had violated any of the rules. That belonged entirely to the -officers. - -Some of the best suggestions for gaining the most good came from the -boys, and boys whom the general public would ignore, pay no attention -to. The boys were working out their own salvation. Solving the boy -problem themselves. - -The strongest argument for self-government, among boys, was solved -by the boys, the sellers. This was when they began to bring to the -president money and valuable articles they found on the streets, and -the sincere, earnest request, in every case, “to please find the -owner—it doesn’t belong to me.” - -[Illustration: “PRESIDENT, I HAVE ALREADY LICKED DE KID.” - - _See Page 77_ -] - -It was through the honesty of one of the hustling sellers that this new -work was started, which became part of the great work and was carried -on so successfully, and to such an extent that hundreds of valuable -articles, from fifty cents in pennies to a diamond necklace, were found -and returned to the owners. The following incident was the starting -point. - -A stranger gave a little seller, what he supposed was a new bright -penny, for an evening paper, and passed on. The boy renewed his work, -and a few moments later another gentleman purchased a paper, giving -the boy a dime. In counting out nine cents, as change, the seller -handed the man the new penny he had just received from a stranger. The -customer said: - -“My dear son, this is not a penny; it is a five dollar goldpiece.” - -“I didn’t know it, sir”, replied the boy. “If you will please to hold -my papers I will run after the man and try to find him—this isn’t -mine.” - -Around the corner the lad went at full speed. Up and down the street he -looked but failed to see his man. He returned very much disappointed. - -“He’s gone,” he said, “here’s your change—nine cents.” - -During this little talk a dozen or more newsboys gathered around the -man and when they learned what had happened several of the boys said: - -“Harry, what you goin’ to do with the mon.?” - -“Our president will tell us what to do, come on,” replied the little -merchant. - -Off the crowd started down the street, around the corner and a noisier -lot of boys never entered the president’s office. - -Each of the twenty boys present wanted to explain what he knew about -the transaction. - -All the details of how the seller received the money, and how hard he -had tried to find the real owner were gone over several times. - -The president complimented not only the boy who received the gold, but -the boys who were so deeply interested in trying to find the owner. An -appreciative present was given to the boy, and it was understood that -every effort possible would be made to find the owner. When it was -first advertised a generous clothier, a lover of newsboys, presented -the boy with a suit of clothes. After advertising thirty days and no -owner claiming the five dollars, it was given to the boy. Nothing ever -happened in the neighborhood where the newsboy lived that created such -an excitement. The newsie posed as an honest boy, and was complimented -by men and women, as well as being a hero among the boys and girls. Its -effect was far-reaching, and did good not only to the boys, but it had -a most desirable effect upon the people. - -More particularly from this incident than any other did the newsboys -“get next” and begin bringing to the president everything they found. -Among the articles brought to him with instructions to find the owners, -were diamonds, watches, money, in amounts ranging from fifty cents to -eighty dollars; rings, robes, hats, gloves, valuable papers, badges of -all kinds, handkerchiefs, money-saving banks, hundreds of addressed -stamped letters, pictures, pocket-books of all kinds, keys, etc. - -Among the live things the boys brought to the office was a dog. One -afternoon, late in the autumn, four newsies walked into the president’s -office, talking and laughing, as they always do, and one of the boys, -being “soaking wet,” led a little woolly dog who seemed to enjoy the -fun as well as the boys. - -“My! how did you get so wet?” asked the president. “And what have we -here?” - -“A man trowed de dog into the river. He tried to drown him. I jumped -into de water and saved him.” - -“Yes, president,” said the hero, “I thought it would please you to save -the dog’s life.” - -Of course it pleased the president, and the boys agreed it was a very -brave act. This little incident had its effect upon the boy, and they -always looked upon him as a great fellow, and it wasn’t long until they -elected him to an important office. - -It is a noticeable fact that newsboys have a peculiarly natural way of -drawing, what they call, tramp dogs to them. Many a newsboy has been -seen caring for a poor dog, who had either lost its owner or was hurt. - -Sympathy is aroused very quickly. Often a poor, worthless dog has -been taken into a seller’s favorite lunch-room and given a square -meal. From a boy who jumped into fifteen feet of water to save a -little dog, something might be expected. He was watched. At one of -the regular meetings of an auxiliary he showed the metal he was made -of by introducing the following preamble and resolution, and spoke so -strongly in its favor that it was passed unanimously. - - “WHEREAS, It has come to our notice that boys throughout the city, and - boys, too, from our swell families, are killing the song birds in the - little patches of groves within the city limits, by the use of the - Flobert rifle; therefore be it - - _Resolved_, That the members of the Boyville Newsboys’ Association - bitterly disapprove of this wanton slaughter of our song birds, and - we, therefore, pledge ourselves to do everything in our power to stop - boys, whether members of this association or not, from killing, in any - manner, these birds.” - -In his closing remarks he said: “If we expects people to show us -kindness we must also do something what’s right. And what can we do -better’n protect the dumb animals. Let us show, what we are trying to -get, kindness, justice and mercy.” - -A short time after the adoption of the above resolution one of the -trustees attention was called to a member, a boy eleven years of age, -who was very much worked up over the acts of some of his associates, -not members of the association. The boys had made a trap and were -trying to catch the robins that made their summer homes in the yards -along the street. - -The little boy always told his mother his troubles and in this case -went to her for advice. She told him she would pray that God would tell -the birds not to go near the trap. He seemed satisfied, but went away -deeply buried in thought. - -A few days later he was sitting on the fence, at his home, when the -trustee passed. Knowing of the incident he asked the boy about the trap. - -“Well, the trap was set all right,” he said, “and my mother prayed -hard, asking God to strengthen the instinct of the birds so they would -keep out of danger—not go near the trap.” - -“Did God answer your mother’s prayer?” asked the gentleman. - -“Sure thing He did,” the newsy quickly answered. - -“Why were you so certain?” - -“Because when it got dark I went to the barnyard and busted the trap -all to pieces. There wasn’t enough wood left to make a tooth pick.” - -The trustee slowly walked away saying to himself: - -“Action was needed with prayer.” - - - - -CHAPTER XV. - - -The individual interest in the monthly auxiliary meetings developed -into schools of instructions. The boys began to learn how to debate, -how to make a motion, to discuss any subject. - -The vice-presidents of each auxiliary took personal interest in the -details of the work, and kept the various committees busy. - -The reports at each meeting showed how well the boys had the affairs -of the association under control. In the meetings, the entertainment -features were very interesting, from the fact that the boys themselves -prepared the program. If it was necessary to secure talent, the -executive committee required each boy, beginning with the officers, -and then taking the names as the boys were registered in alphabetical -order to show what he could do. First a boy, a bashful newsie, was -required to “step forward and make a bow,” and after several pretty -rough introductions of this nature, it was always found that the victim -began at once to prepare something for the next meeting. First, he -would commit a very short piece, perhaps two lines, always selecting -something of a comical nature. Then later, of his own composition. -After a few efforts he became master of the platform, and was generally -over anxious to do something. - -It was surprising the different talents unearthed by this method. -Musical turns, good, sweet singers, short and long recitations, -original dialogues, and many “new stunts,” as termed by the boys, when -surprised at what someone produced. - -The trustees always took advantage of this work, and did everything -to encourage it. The talent thus discovered, and trained, in the -auxiliaries, was used in the Sunday afternoon meetings to great -advantage and honor to the boys. - -At one of the Sunday meetings a very serious carrier asked the -president: “How can a boy avoid being bad if he don’t know what bad is?” - -“How do you know bad money?” asked the president. - -“I don’t know bad money, I know good money.” - -A newsboy is never at a loss for a reply to any question, and knows -something about any subject discussed in our daily papers. This boy -further surprised the president by saying: “Those who are thoroughly -skilled in navigation are as well acquainted with the coasts of the -ocean, with the sands, the shallow places, and the rocks as the secure -depths in the safest channels, and good boys must as well know the bad -that they may avoid it as the good that they may embrace it.” - -[Illustration: GETTING FAMILIAR WITH THE HEADLINES.] - -[Illustration: “DIS HERE IS DE DOG.” - - _See Page 83_ -] - -This boy occupied a front row for many months in all entertainments, -and when a speaker interested him he paid very close attention. One -time a very good minister was talking over the heads of the boys, -preaching a sermon they could not understand. This little fellow, with -his ever serious look, cried out: - -“Say, mister, can’t you cut some of that out?” - -It had its effect, much to the embarrassment of the good divine. - -It is one of the most difficult things in the oratorical world for any -one to entertain newsboys. A speaker must not talk over them. He must -become as a child and talk as a child, and he will be surprised to see -what a good effect it has upon the boys. One time a very nervous boy, a -seller from the avenue, became quite noisy and restless in the seat he -generally occupied. The president observing this asked him if he would -like a seat in the front row. - -“Sure thing, I’ll ’tend every Sunday if you give me this seat,” -pointing to a chair next to a post, where the president imagined he -wanted to rest his head. - -“It doesn’t make any difference what boy occupies this seat,” said the -president to “Front Row Art,” as he is called, “I want you to get the -seat. I don’t care what we are doing on the platform.” - -One Sunday when the house was crowded to the doors, Art’s seat was -occupied by a boy about fourteen years of age, and much stronger than -Art. While the speaker, a minister, was praying, the president saw Art -at the door. He saw him push his way through the crowd and when at the -platform, he took the boy, who occupied his chair, by the back of his -neck and gave him such a shove along the seats that the young man was -glad to reach the other end of the row. Art sat down, folded his arms, -put his feet upon the platform, and eyed the speaker as if he had been -there all the time. - -Art was always ready with a smart answer to any question put to the -boys. Even if his attention was directed to another part of the house, -his little fingers were snapping, indicating his readiness to answer. -His replies, while not always pertinent, gave the speaker a fair -warning not to be too familiar in asking questions. - -Art had a companion who was known as “Splinter,” on account of his -being rather slim, but no boy of his age, twelve years, ever had so -many new movements as Splinter. He was never quiet, not so noisy, but -continually annoying the boy who sat next to him. To take a companion’s -hat and throw it across the room, while some good minister was praying, -was of frequent occurrence. He would answer questions without raising -his hand, and would give the boy sitting next to him a knock of some -kind before he stood up. With all this restlessness he was one of the -best-hearted boys among the sellers. There was something in him that -the president concluded he could not afford to lose sight of—just what -that was did not develop enough to encourage. - -At one of the Sunday meetings there was a speaker who knew how to -hold the boys when asking questions. He had them perfectly quiet and -recognized no answer unless the boy raised his hand. - -He asked a question which required as an answer a verse in the Bible. -To the president’s embarrassment, “Splinter’s” hand was high above -the others and he kept a continual snapping of his fingers. He was -determined to be recognized. The president was in hopes the speaker -would pay no attention to him, fearing the reply would spoil the effect -of the speaker’s talk. However “Splinter” managed to be heard. - -“That tall boy may answer,” said the minister. - -The sweat rolled down the president’s forehead as he tried to get back -into his chair. - -“Splinter” arose, not a smile on his face. He looked serious, and -without a quiver in his voice repeated, word for word, one of the -longest verses in the Bible, and which gave an appropriate answer. - -The speaker looked as surprised as the president, and the compliment he -gave the boy was appreciated by all. - -“Splinter’s” education, after that, was looked after. - - - - -CHAPTER XVI. - - -An interesting case came to the president showing how one family can -disgrace an entire neighborhood; can give a bad name to a whole street. -On one of the small narrow streets within the two-mile circle, lived a -family, man woman and five boys. One of the boys, a young man, served a -term in the penitentiary for robbery. The names of two of them appeared -on the police station blotter about three times a year for drunkenness. -It was on account of these boys that the neighborhood gained such a bad -reputation. The other two boys, John and Tom, ages nine and twelve, -were newsboys. Boys who were driven from home, by the parents, “to get -something to eat elsewhere.” They frequently slept in stairways, old -buildings, cellar-ways or any place where they could find shelter from -the storms, or where they thought they would not be disturbed. These -two newsboys were doing more to ruin boys on the street than the entire -membership of the association, and when they came into the president’s -office seeking admission, the president concluded that if these boys -could be saved, and their bad acts turned into good, Boyville would -be a success. It wasn’t necessary to ask them if they were eligible to -membership, if they sold papers, if they were newsboys. Every word, -every act told all that was required. With all the rags, and dirt, and -slang talk, these boys were up-to-date in everything. All the leading -topics of the day were discussed by them. Every base-ball player they -knew by name, and it was discovered that all newsies followed them when -they wanted to get into a ball-ground free, or into a circus. They had -their own way, and without money. They feared nothing. They worked for -themselves only. The little sympathy they had for any one was drowned -in their eagerness to move on. They gave no thought for the morrow. -There was no hesitancy by the officers in giving these boys membership -cards, and when they received them, to the question, “Well, now boys, -what does this mean?” they answered: - -“We mean to lick any one as doesn’t do right.” - -The vice-president, a smart young man with the courage of a lion, went -to the boys’ home to make an investigation of how they lived, and why -they were so bad when on the streets. Here is what he discovered: - -They lived in a small cottage and with a man and woman who were not -their parents. Their own father had died leaving several valuable -pieces of property to his wife, who was again married within a year, -and to a man who soon lost all the property, having spent the money for -liquor. The mother died, and her husband again married in less than a -month, and to a woman who drank as much as he did. This was the home of -the two newsboys. - -“They both went to bed, nearly every night, with their clothes on,” -said the officer, “and what the boys had to eat wasn’t fit for a dog.” - -The case was left entirely in the hands of the young officers with -instructions to report within a month. In less than the appointed time -a report was made. The two newsboys were brought into the president’s -office, each having on a nice suit of clothes, their faces and hands -clean, and their general appearance and deportment remarkably improved. - -“What did you do?” was asked the officer. - -“We went to the house and demanded that the boys receive care and -attention for what they were doing—they were bringing into the house -from fifty to sixty cents a day earned by selling papers. And instead -of the drunken man and woman spending this for whiskey, we made them -buy good things to eat. A retail clothier gave us the suits of clothes, -and the boys are simply good, and are working their way on the streets.” - -While the boys were working on this case the president reported to the -humane officer the condition of things at this home, and in a very -short time the family was quite respectable and the boys attending -school. To the president, remarkable as seemed the turning of two bad -boys into good, honest little sellers, the work of the two officers of -the association with the parents was even more so. - -Self-governing boys. Boys whom we think can do nothing, and seldom -trust, for fear of failing, and yet they brought in line two of the -worst cases Boyville had experienced. - -As the weeks passed the two boys became favorites among their little -friends. - -One afternoon about six or eight months after the two boys became -members, one of them, the younger, came running into the president’s -office, holding a roll of bills in his hand. Everybody had to get -out of the way. He was followed by the “gang,” some twenty boys, all -looking at the little fellow with wonderment. - -[Illustration: ROLL OF HONOR. - -SOME OF THE BOYS WHO TURNED IN VALUABLE ARTICLES FOUND ON THE STREET.] - -[Illustration: THE BOYVILLE CADETS—WHEN FIRST ORGANIZED. - - _See Page 48_ -] - -“See, here, pres., what I found,” he said, laying fifteen dollars on -the desk. “I found this at the post-office.” - -“And what do you want me to do with this?” asked the president. “I -wants you to find the owner. That’s what.” - -“Well, why didn’t you blow it in? My! what a fortune you have.” - -“Blow it in? Would that be honest? No, sir, as soon as I found de dough -I broughts it to you to tell us what we must do wid it, see?” - -“That’s all right,” said the president, “and you are teaching us all -a good lesson. How often we say; ‘it is just like finding it.’ and -even grown people wish they could find money, and would they turn it -over to someone, and ask him to please find the owner? Not that they -would think they were doing anything wrong by keeping what they found; -they simply never thought of trying to find the owner. You have done a -great thing, and here is a bright, new dollar, for your honesty. I will -advertise this in the daily papers for thirty days, and if I can’t find -the owner, it shall all go to you.” - -Proudly they walked out of the office, all trying to get closer to the -happy finder, the honest boy. - -The money was advertised, and in a few days the rightful owner was -found. He wanted to see the newsboy. For his honesty he presented him -with five dollars, adding: “In six months I want to see you in this -hotel. In one year if you are reported all right by the officers of the -association I want you to write me at this address.” And he handed him -his card, which gave Indianapolis, Indiana, as his home. Six months -passed. The boy met him in the hotel. The officers reported that he was -one of the finest and best boys on the street. A year passed, and one -day he received a letter requesting him to “take the next train for -Indianapolis, provided the president of Boyville says you do not swear, -steal, lie or smoke cigarettes.” - -The president could truthfully vouch for all these, and the boy was -sent to his new home. Seven years have passed, and that boy today is -foreman of one of the largest manufacturing institutions in the state -of Indiana. - -What effect did the good work of these two boys have upon the family? -It caused them to stand on the street posing as relatives to two honest -boys. - -Does it pay to take an interest in a bad boy? - -A boy of eleven years of age made application to become a member. -He was approved by the proper officers. A sealed note accompanied -the application. It read: “He is accused of giving wrong change to -customers, and runs away with money.” - -As soon as he received his membership card, and badge, and left the -president’s office two officers were on his track. They watched him -sell papers. Three days passed when he “stumbled against something.” A -gentleman in the post-office gave him twenty-five cents for a morning -paper. He had no change, but excused himself to “step across the way -to get it.” Instead of going into the store the little boy started in -a run around the building and was lost from sight. The gentleman made -this remark to a friend: “I might of expected it.” This was overheard -by two newsboys. One said: “Oh, no mister, your money is not lost. -We’ll have it for you in ten minutes. Don’t you be uneasy. You stand -right where you are for a few minutes.” - -Out ran the boys, one going to the right, the other to the left, and a -third joined them who took to the alley. In less than ten minutes the -boy was brought to bay, and appeared before the gentleman. - -An apology was given, the money returned. - -“Don’t you say anything to him,” said one of the newsboys, “we won’t -do a thing to him, oh, no.” The man soon forgot the incident, and will -never know the severe punishment that boy had to bear. They took him in -the alley, bumped his head against the wall of the building, rolled him -in the mud, took his badge from him and with a parting word of advice -left him. The badge was turned over to the president with instructions -to return it to the boy at the expiration of fifteen days. What for? -The president did not know and only learned the particulars a month -later from one of the officers. The boy called for his badge, and it -was given to him without a word. - -The books show that this same boy, after leaving the junior grade in -school procured a good position and the proprietor particularly called -attention to him for a peculiar trait. He said: “The boy applied for -work, office work. We gave him a job. He asked particularly how many -hours he must work. When he began and when he stopped. This given, we -were surprised to see that he was at the office every morning two hours -before his time, and pegging away at a typewriter. His wages have been -increased three times. He’ll be one of the firm before we’re through -with him. - -“The only recommendation he had was that he was a member of The -Boyville Newsboys’ Association—and this we took. In fact, it proved a -better recommendation than that offered by his mother, who called to -get part of his wages to purchase whiskey.” - - - - -_PART FOURTH_ - -[Illustration: MEMBERS OF THE EAST SIDE AUXILIARY.] - - - - -CHAPTER XVII. - - -It was just before Christmas; the streets and stores were crowded with -people purchasing presents. - -An old lady was standing on the corner waiting for a street car. In her -hand she held a small package, a Christmas present for someone. A boy, -about fourteen years of age, darted out from a door-way, grabbed the -package, hastened down the street and dodged into an alley. A newsboy -who saw the act started after the thief, and as he ran several other -newsboys joined in the chase. While they were gone another newsboy went -to the lady expressing regret at her loss, but assuring her the boy who -stole the package would be caught. - -With tears in her eyes the old lady told the boy that the box contained -a number of presents for a little girl who was confined to the house on -account of being a cripple for life. That the purchase was the result -of many weeks’ hard work, sewing for some of her neighbors, that she -might earn the money to get a present for the little girl. - -“Now, my lady,” said the newsboy, “don’t you worry for a minute, one of -our officers started in a dead run after him and I know he will catch -him. We don’t allow anything like that to happen. That boy don’t belong -to the association.” - -The lady was escorted to a drug store where people wait for cars, and -advised to remain there until the newsboys returned. She did not have -to wait long, for, in a short time, the officer returned with a dozen -newsies all trying to push the “grafter” ahead of them. When in front -of the lady, he was made to hand her the package, and get down upon -his knees and ask her forgiveness. The old lady was placed upon a -street-car, and the officers took charge of the boy. They brought him -to the president’s office. - -“Mr. President,” said a member of the executive committee, “we have -here a new boy. He was pretending to sell papers on the streets, but he -proved to be a ‘grafter,’ for we caught him stealing a package from an -old lady who worked all summer to save money to buy a Christmas present -for a little girl who is a cripple. We run him down.” The boy hung his -head. He was under no obligations to any of the boys, and could have -been independant over his capture but when he was told the package -belonged to a little cripple, it had a strange effect upon him. He lost -sight of everything but the wrong done to the little girl. - -“I didn’t know it belonged to a cripple or I wouldn’t have taken it. -You see, we at home don’t think nothing of taking things as we can get, -we believe in helping ourselves to anything we wants when no body is -looking. I am sorry I took the present.” - -The boy lived in a bad neighborhood. His father was dead, his mother -had no influence over him, he roamed the streets at will, and spent the -majority of his nights sleeping in freight-cars. He was just the kind -of a boy who grows up along the docks of our lake cities, and takes -advantage of every opportunity to steal anything he can use or care for -without being detected, from freight depots or cars. This is the class -of young men the association has been aiming to reach for a long time. -The selling of papers being only a subterfuge for stealing. He was -fifteen years old and admitted having done many bad things. - -“It is boys like you,” said the president, “who disgrace any -association, and while no one seems to look after you, or want you, we -will take you into the association and the officers will have you under -their charge; what do you say to that?” - -“Well, I guess you have me down pretty fine, and if I wants to ever get -a job I must start my life over again.” - -“The boys will forget this little package act, and blot out all your -bad deeds, if you will begin a new life, and I will guarantee that in -six months, by the time warm weather comes, we will get you a nice -position.” - -“If I would have known that package belonged to a little girl do you -suppose I would have swiped it?” he added. - -“It isn’t that alone we object to. Every time you steal something -someone suffers, and the only way to avoid injuring any one is not to -steal at all,” said the president. - -“Aw! tell him to cut it out, cut it out, he kin do it just the same as -we do,” put in a little bootblack. - -“Yes, but you don’t have to go out on the street and takes what ever -you kin carry home, like I do,” he replied. - -“Well, if your mother makes you do that we won’t do a thing to her,” -said a seller, who claimed to own four corners. - -The conversation ended by the president giving the new boy a membership -card with instructions that he must report in thirty days. - -Soon after he left the office, three members of the executive committee -hastened to his home. The mother was warned that “this sending your boy -out to steal must stop, and stop quick.” They listened to no arguments, -simply gave advice and orders, what must be done, and left. - -A month passes and the day named for the new applicant to receive his -badge, found him at the president’s office, as is usual with boys, an -hour before office hours. - -“Gee, but I have lots of good friends. Some of the boys took me to see -a show, some let me sell papers on their corners, but I had to cut out -swearing.” - -The numbered badge was given him. - -A member of the executive committee who had him in charge reported: - -“He was hard to bring down to our way of doin’ things. It was natural -for him to steal as to eat, and he wanted to give the wrong change two -or three times. We licked him three times. He was game. Give him his -badge, he’s all right.” - -Six months later this boy was given a position in a wholesale house. He -began on the top floor to work his way up in the business. - -His eagerness to learn, his willingness to do things not exactly as -part of his duties caused his employers to notice him and he was -advanced, in less than two years, to shipping clerk in one of the -departments. - -Here was a boy whose home life was degrading. His neighbors paying no -attention to him or his family, except to say: “That boy ought to be -turned over to the police.” The newsboys, the boys we often look upon -as being bad and useless, changed the life of this young man. - -He is now slowly becoming one of the reliable business men of the -future. - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII. - - -The president was about to board a street-car for home one evening, -when a dozen newsboys came running towards him, calling him to “come -here.” - -“Bundle found fifty-six dollars,” was heard from a bunch of sellers. -The president, of course had to return to his office. - -Bundle was a little round, red-faced boy, who always wore a large scarf -around his neck, and in most any kind of weather. The sellers were not -surprised at any of their number finding money but, said a bootblack: - -“What’s going to happen when slow-pokey Bundle finds something?” But he -did, and at the enterance of one of the largest buildings in the city. - -“There it was,” said Bundle, “all wide open before my eyes, I stumbled -over it and the money scattered. Didn’t it Sam?” - -There was nothing in the roll to indicate its owner. Some one -accustomed to carrying money in his vest pocket had lost it. As soon as -Bundle picked it up, he called to the boys across the street and on -the corners. A dozen boys answered him, and they all marched towards -the president’s office. Each boy had something to say. - -“Say, pres., we come near losing you, didn’t we?” said Bundle, “but -if you did go home I would have stayed up all night holding the dough -until you come to your office.” - -Bundle was rewarded, his companions were as delighted as he was. A -happier lot of boys never walked the streets than these sellers. - -The next morning, Bundle, with five other boys came into the office, -their faces were long; Bundle looked sad. - -“Bundle got a licking,” said one of the boys looking sympathetically at -Bundle. The president looked surprised. - -“Got a licking, and what for?” - -“His mother licked him because he brought the money to you. She said it -belonged to her and she could spend it as she liked.” - -It was a fact that Bundle was severely punished. - -“All the boys on the street saw me get a whipping,” said Bundle, “and I -don’t like it.” - -The boys were assured that all would come out right in the end. “You -just wait until we hear from the advertisement we put in the papers,” -said the president. - -[Illustration: “FIRE-TOP.” - - _See Page 117_ -] - -The boys were soon playing upon the street. - -A prominent clothier saw the notice of the boy finding the money and -his desire to seek the owner. He wrote the president: “If you will send -that honest boy to me I will present him with the best suit of clothes -in my store.” - -The mother accompanied Bundle to the store and not only did he receive -a new suit of clothes but an overcoat as well. - -Within forty-eight hours after the find was advertised the rightful -owner appeared, received the money, and presented the boy with a five -dollar bill and a good watch. - -“Keep this watch to remind you that if you will follow up your honest -beginning, you will not only be a rich man, but a good one.” - -The object of relating this incident is the sequel. - -The big head-line compliments in the newspapers; the many little -presents and congratulations Bundle received had a surprising effect -upon his mother. She was proud of being the boy’s mother. Her sons and -daughters posed on the corners and pointed with pride to their brother. - -Not only did this act have a good effect on the boy and the family, -but upon the entire street, as the remark is often heard, “this is the -street that has the honest newsboy.” - - - - -CHAPTER XIX. - - -There are many interesting cases coming to the attention of persons -interested in newsboys, and they all have a tendency to awaken sympathy. - -Two little boys, ages nine and ten, were brought to the president -one morning by an officer of the association. They were accused of -fighting, “almost to a finish.” - -Between sobs and tears they both tried to tell why they were fighting. -While telling their story, a boy about fourteen years of age entered -the office. He was also crying, but more seriously. The president -turned to him and sympathetically asked, “what is the matter?” With his -hands rubbing his eyes he answered: “One of the newsies run out of the -alley and throwed my papers into the gutter and they’re all spoiled.” - -“Where did the boy go?” - -“He runned away and left me alone.” - -“How many papers had you?” - -“I had four.” - -The two boys that were crying, forgot their troubles and became -interested in the other boy. Calling the two boys, the president asked -them if they would run out and try to find the bad boy who threw the -papers in the street. Of course they were delighted to go. Taking the -crying fourteen-year-old newsboy by the hand, the little fellows left -the office. - -After waiting an hour, and no signs of the boys returning, the -president went upon the street and to his surprise saw the two little -boys, who were to hunt down the villain, playing together. - -“Well, what was done with the boy who ruined Joe’s stock of papers; did -you find them?” - -“You see, we went to the alley, we looked ebery place fur the kid as -what threw de papers into de gutter, but he had skipped. So me an’ -Skinny talked it over quickly an’ we just gave Joe eight cents an’ told -him to go home, to fade away, to forget it. As de case wus settled we -thought it no use ter bother you wid dis trouble, an’ we resumed our -bizness.” - -Certainly a new way of settling troubles. - -There is a small boy who has the reputation of being a little boss in -the territory in which he sells, owing to his desire to settle all -disputes in his own way. He goes upon the idea that it is absolutely -necessary to resort to pretty severe punishment to gain a point. - -One evening a boy about fifteen years of age came into the office, -crying as a boy only can; the tears found considerable trouble in -working their way down his cheeks, making his face look as if furrows -were established for a time at least. On the left side of his forehead -were several clear spots, round in shape, which he pointed to with -considerable feeling. The president’s sympathy was aroused, and to the -question, how he was hurt, he replied: - -“Firetop—licked—me. He—hit—me—with—his—fist.” - -Firetop was not over nine years of age, and the president knew of his -fighting qualities, but somehow no one ever presented any charges -worthy of investigation. His name, the boys said, “came to him on -account of his red hair.” His reputation for honesty was never -questioned. He was simply a fighter. He was one of the most successful -sellers on the street. Because he was a “pusher, he went every place, -and asked every person he met to buy a paper.” While the boy was -telling his story, three other members dropped into the office. They -stood for sometime looking at the poor boy. - -“Do you boys know Firetop?” asked the president. - -“Certainly, we all know him.” - -“Well, you go out and try to find him and tell him I want him to come -here immediately.” - -Out the boys went and when on the sidewalk started in different -directions to find Firetop. Ten minutes passed when Firetop came -running into the office. The boys had found him but he was too fleet of -foot for them. - -“Pres., they tell me you wants me, what fur?” - -“Look at that boy’s face,” said the president, pointing to the injured -lad who began to cry in earnest. - -“I see it. I did it. But say, kid” turning to the boy, “what did I do -it fur. Look up at me; say, what did I do it fur?” - -“For nothin’,” came a faint reply. - -“Come off, I hain’t going ’round doin’ things fur nothin’. Answer me, -you kin talk, what did I do it fur?” - -No reply. - -“Didn’t I punch you fur swearing at a lady?” - -It was some moments before the boy answered, and he drawled out, “yes.” - -Firetop then told the story. The boy was selling papers on the street, -he asked a lady to buy a paper, and because she refused he swore at -her, using language seldom seen in print. - -“I heard it, an’ I told him it was against the rules, an’ if he -didn’t cut it out I would punk him. What did he do but swore at me. -He violated the rules before my face. I punked, gently at first, an’ -then I punked him again. He ran into the alley, I followed him, an’ de -boys come from the street, I told them he was my game, an’ I punked him -again. I told all the boys I would punk de gang ef they came to help -him. Say, pres., wasn’t I right in punking him?” The boy acknowledged -he swore and Firetop kept at him until he promised he would never do -it again. This was accomplished with very little trouble. The boy’s -face was washed and as there was no traces of a wound the matter was -amicably settled. The boys left the office, good friends. - - - - -CHAPTER XX. - - -This incident recalls another case of swearing, and the peculiar method -adopted to correct a boy, as well as to influence a family to train -their son in the right path. One reason why so many boys swear is -because they constantly hear men swear on the streets. At Sunday-school -the boy learns that he is violating one of the commandments. But men -pay no attention to it, then why should boys? Boys are imitative. They -want to do what men do. It is seldom that we hear of a mother approving -of her boy swearing and encouraging him in this, certainly vulgar -habit. This method used by the president in curing a boy of swearing, -may not meet the approval of many of our Sunday-school teachers, and it -is given with some reluctance. It is given, however, to show what can -be done in extreme cases. - -“Are you the president of the Newsboys’ association?” asked a boy with -a very pretty face. - -“Yes, and what can I do for you?” - -“I want to join the association.” - -[Illustration: “HE SWEARED AT A LADY AND I PUNKED HIM.” - - _See Page 118_ -] - -The usual questions were asked and answered. He proved to be a carrier -and had twenty-eight customers. A membership card was given the boy -with instructions to call in thirty days and get the badge. - -The boy left the office perfectly happy. In about a week he returned, -walked to the desk and laid his membership card down, saying: “My -mother says I can swear all I want to, and you have nothing to do with -it. You must not tell me to stop swearing.” - -The president turned around, looked at the boy for a moment, discovered -he was unusually bright, and back behind his black eyes he showed the -right kind of spirit indicating that if he made up his mind to do a -thing he would do it. - -“So your mother wants you to swear. Well, well, and she don’t want you -to belong to any association unless we all swear. Well, you shall not -be made unhappy. If your mother wants you to swear you shall have that -pleasure. Does she swear?” - -“Yes, sir, we all swear to beat the band,” he replied, and in a tone -indicating that it was one of the pleasures of his home life. - -“And don’t any of you think it wrong to swear?” - -“Oh, no, father says he can swear and it gives force to his arguments. -Mother says if I want to swear I can do it.” - -“This association compels no one to stop swearing—the rule adopted by -the boys simply says we don’t believe in it. And the officers wouldn’t -for the world have you do anything to displease your parents. - -“How many swear words do you know?” - -He thought for a moment counting on his fingers, then said: - -“I know seven.” - -“Seven big swear words, well, well, and can you name them to me?” - -“Yes, sir, all of them and I may know another.” - -“All right. Try it. One, two, three, four, five, six; my! that’s an -awful bad one, and—and—seven. There they are.” - -In repeating the words, his manner showed he was familiar with their -use. Not a blush rose to his cheeks. - -“Do you want to be a member of this association?” - -“Yes, sir, all my friends are members and they want me to join.” - -“I will pin your card before me, on the desk. See?” - -“Yes, sir, I see it.” - -“Well, I will let it remain there until you call for it, either to -tell me to tear it up or you take it. Now, here is what I want you to -do. And this not unless you want to. You go home, and every time your -mother wants you to do something use one of those seven swear words, -and say it loud enough so she can hear it. Keep this up until she tells -you to stop that swearing.” - -“I will do it, but suppose she licks me, then what?” - -“Oh, that would hardly be in keeping with her teachings, she wants you -to swear, doesn’t she?” - -“Sure thing, she never licks me for swearing.” - -“Do you want to stop it and become a member of the association? Well, -you try this plan, and if you can, throw the entire lot at her, the -seven words, all at once.” - -“Well, I’ll try it. It looks easy.” - -The boy left the office with a hearty “goodby.” - -The following Saturday he returned. He stood smiling at the desk. - -“You can give me the membership card,” he said laughing. - -Recognizing him the president shook him by the hand. - -“Well, I have been wondering what luck you had in swearing.” - -“Oh, I had luck. Only got licked seven times.” - -“Got licked, and by whom?” - -“Well, you would think the whole house fell on top of me. Father said, -send that boy down to you at once, but mother licked me until I saw -stars. I’ll never swear again in our home. She stopped it. She said she -never heard such terrible swearing and when I said I learned it of her, -I got the seventh licking. Gee, but I was sore for a week. Mother told -me the first thing this morning to come after that card.” - -“What did you do when you first went home?” - -“Oh, I threw those seven swear words right at her, and, from the very -beginning. She looked at me several times. I backed up, and when she -asked me a question, I let fly the worst word, then I had to run.” - -“What did your father say?” - -“He only said, ‘didn’t I tell you that some day that boy would -disgrace us, now it’s up to you to straighten it out,’ and when they -knew I told you why the card was sent back, that changed everything. -I’ve been down here four times, father made me go.” - -His name was placed upon the books, a badge was given him, “with a -lucky number,” and he left the office. - -A month later the president met him at one of the auxiliary meetings, -and to the question, “How about the seven swear words,” he said: - -“We busted up swearing at our house. Everybody had to stop it.” - -No better worker on the street can be found than this boy. His whole -soul is in the work for doing good among his associates. - - - - -_PART FIFTH_ - -[Illustration: CARRIERS.] - -[Illustration: CARRIERS.] - - - - -CHAPTER XXI. - - -There is no subject that has received so much attention and has worried -so many good people as the liquor question. Saloons and drinking never -cease to be problems for our well-meaning temperance people. Why man -created saloons, no one undertakes to answer. The strongest man is -never too strong in a saloon, and the weak is to be pitied. The saloon -is an evil that has been with us a long time and seems to be here -to stay in one form or another. While we cannot eradicate the evil, -especially by extreme methods, can we not modify its influence? We -have tried the probation method, and failed. We have tried the open -saloon, the clubs, the no-treating, the open reform saloon, the wet -and dry division—but the saloons are still with us, and this because -of the fact that the state, the city, property owners, recognize the -saloon legally, through the assessment of heavy licenses and taxes, and -good well-meaning people ask and receive money from the ever-willing -giver, the saloonman, and use it for charitable as well as church -purposes. The world today is heartless in its mad rush for money -getting, and the “graft” is in the minds of thousands of well-meaning, -but over-anxious to get-rich-quick men; among them the saloonman. Let -us suggest to our saloonmen how they can stop a great deal of misery -in the world. We have in mind a saloon that was “made good” by five -newsboys. “A real live saloon, where politicians congregated to lay -plans for work, and whose owner had an eye to making money, and saw -nothing else, even to the ruining of boys and men.” - -“Say, pres.,” said a newsboy from the saloon district, and an officer -of an auxiliary, “Jimmy Smith is drunk and laying in the alley at the -saloon where politicians hold their meetin’s. The bar-tender throwed -him out.” - -The books showed Jimmy Smith’s father was a “ward politician,” a good -fellow who was often taken home drunk by his son, a newsboy. Jimmy was -eleven years old, very bright and intelligent for his age. He learned -to drink liquor through his father and mother sending him to the saloon -for beer, and “dropping in the alley on the way home and tasting the -beer, until he began to like it.” - -To the question, “did you ever see Jimmy drink in the saloon?” the boys -answered that it was a common thing; “but today when the bar-tender -took Jimmy’s nickel, and he was full, he throwed him out. He said he -didn’t want the kid to disgrace his place.” - -Three of the best officers were called, they went to the alley, and -took Jimmy home. Three of the five boys who were assigned this case, -belonged to a gang and were familiar with all the inside workings of -a saloon, they were never slow in showing their appreciation of a -saloonman who defended them, and who turned them down for entering -the saloon. The method adopted by the boys was their work. They knew -the proprietor of the saloon, and knew him to be a very kind-hearted -man. No person ever asked him in vain for a donation to any cause. His -own boys were model young men, stood high in school, and associated -with the best of church members. Strange to say the two sons of the -saloonman were regular at Sunday-school. It is a fact that when any -society, church or other organization desired aid, this saloonman was -sought after by a dozen persons. They knew he was easy. This man in -his home, on the street, in the lodge room (and he belonged to many -societies), in any public gathering, was recognized as an honest man; -but behind the bar he saw nothing but money. - -He never thought he was doing a wrong by taking the last cent from -a drunken man; it was business, and that was why he was there. When -reminded of it he simply replied that, “I might as well have it as any -one else, for someone will get it.” Often he said: “He is bound to -drink and the best way is to let him drink up all his money and that is -an end of it.” - -When the newsboys called upon him to plead for their friend, Jimmy, -they were received with, “the utmost attention and kindness.” The -following is what the chairman reported: - -“We said to the boss, we come to see you about Jimmy Smith and his -father. You see Jimmy has been in bad company, the bad company was -at his home, his father an’ mother. He learned the habit of drinking -by tasting beer he was sent after by his father, and he said when he -learned to drink that your clerk gave him a glass of beer every time he -came after it. So the other day your bar-tender threw him out of the -saloon. He had gradually taught the boy to drink, and when he began to -get so that it annoyed him, he didn’t want him. We come to see if you -won’t please stop giving Jimmy any more drink and tell your man to -throw him out of the saloon before he drinks. We’ll stand for that, but -we won’t stand for his pitching him in the alley when he’s got all of -Jimmy’s money and is drunk. As to his father, we don’t want you to sell -him anything when you see he has enough. Don’t take the last cent he -has when you know he is full already. Send him home. His family needs -every cent. And don’t sell Jimmy any beer if he comes with the bucket.” - -The boys were treated with great kindness by the owner of the saloon -who promised to do more than they asked of him. His bar-tenders were -instructed, under penalty of dismissal, not to permit a newsboy in the -saloon. - -“I realize the wrong being done to the boys,” he said to the president, -“and it is through thoughtlessness that we permit the boys to come here -at all. I’ll tell you what I’ll do. One of my relatives has an interest -in a commercial college. I’ll buy this boy, Jimmy, a scholarship if -he’ll go to school.” - -Jimmy was only too glad to accept. - -Two years pass, and Jimmy is about to graduate from the college. The -manager said: “I have four men after this boy. He has the right kind -of push in him to make a splendid business man.” - -Four years later Jimmy received a monthly salary of $100, and during -that time has assisted in helping many a street boy. - - - - -CHAPTER XXII. - - -At one of the auxiliary meetings the vice-president of the association, -who was always practical in his talks to the boys, gave a little advice -to the sellers. - -It is worth remembering. - -“Boys,” he said, “rain or shine be at your post, at your corner. Never -be out of papers, and never be out of change. Many a good boy who needs -money loses a sale for want of having change. Keep your eye peeled. If -a man wants a paper, you should see it, though he is a square away. I -know of one little boy, smaller than those who were selling with him, -who always saw a customer a block away, and when the evening’s work -was over he generally had ten to twenty cents to the clear more than -others. Be polite and always cheerful. Keep your face and hands clean, -and you will get many an extra nickel. If you are polite and civil you -will get a regular line of customers who will always wait for you. -Thank everyone who buys a paper. Tip your hat to the ladies and they -will speak well of you when they get home. Any little favor you can do -for a man or woman on the street (and not look as though you expect -something), will always bring you business. The wind blew off the hat -of a gentleman one day, and a little seller saw it. Quick as a flash -he ran after it, took his own cap to wipe the dirt off the gentleman’s -hat, and handed it to him. The gentleman said: ‘How many papers you -got?’ ‘Twenty-four, sir,’ said the boy. ‘Give them all to me.’” - -On the membership card it reads: “He does not approve of swearing, etc.” - -A probation member, a boy who received his membership card, and had -thirty days to wait for his badge, brought an old member to the -president, one evening, with this plea. - -“President, this boy swears like hell. I heard him on the corner.” - -“Aw, what you given us, you swear yourself.” replied the accused. - -“Yes that’s all right. Tell me something; how would I know what -swearing was if I didn’t know something about it,” proudly answered the -new member. - -“Well, you have no right to bring me here and accuse me of doing what -you yourself do. Read your card, kid, read your card.” - -[Illustration: FIRST SALE OF THE DAY.] - -Without showing any signs of worry, the little fellow said. - -“President what can you expect of a bationist. When I get my badge -things will be different. I cuts swearing out then.” - -“Yes, but you better wait instead of buttin in before you are a live -member,” said the carrier. - -They talked some time about the matter between themselves and finally -they locked arms, slowly walked out of the office saying: - -“Guess we better cut out swearing all around.” - -The following story illustrates a good method of treating boys who -disobey their parents. It may not meet the approval of many fathers and -mothers, but the sequel has in it the success of the work among the -street-boys. We regret that we cannot give due credit to the author for -the suggestions embodied in the story. - -A young boy was left alone in the yard to play. Everybody had gone -and left the house in his care. He was given the key and told not to -enter the house until the family returned. After a while he became -tired of the birds, the flowers, the the trees, the sunshine. The -spirit of disobedience entered into him and slowly he took his way -to the house. He unlocked the door. The first thing met his eye was -his father’s razor. He had always been forbidden to touch it. But the -spirit of license ran riot in his veins, and in using it he cut his -face until the blood trickled down. Next he made his way to a matchbox. -He had always been told to let it alone. He first built fences with -matches on the floor, then fires under the lace curtains. A hole in -the carpet, ruined curtains and his fingers blistered was the result. -Suffering with pain and ashamed of his disobedience he steals out under -the trees, and like Adam in the garden, he thought he could hide his -sins by hiding himself. So he stole away and crawled under some bushes. -When his father came home, discovered the ruined articles, he thought, -what can be done to restore and mend that which his boy had broken, had -ruined? His razor was broken, but he could buy a new one. His matches -were consumed, but he could buy more. The curtains and carpet were -defaced by fire, but they could be replaced and repaired. Wealth could -repair the damage done to the house and make all as before. Skill and -nature could repair the wrong done to the hand and the face, and make -them as they were before. - -But where were the riches and where was the teacher that could make the -boy’s heart as it was before his disobedience? None could be found. -Let me tell you what happened. The father came not to upbraid, but to -entreat; not to chastise, but to weep; The child’s hand was burned, the -father’s heart was broken. The boy cried for shame, the father cried -for sorrow. The father put his arms about the boy and with his head -upon his breast together they sobbed out their sorrow. One part of it -was the boy’s confession, and the other part of it was the father’s -pain. Together they made a new resolution and hand to hand, and heart -to heart, and love to love, they began together to repair the ruin that -had been wrought. - -During the early stages of a boy’s membership he is constantly reminded -that some day he will leave the street, he will seek employment -elsewhere, and his start in a business life depends upon his street -work. To illustrate this teaching, a boy found a small child’s savings -bank. It was filled with money, small coin; and it was heavy. It was -picked up on the street over a mile from the president’s office. As -soon as found, the boy started on a run, as they always do, for the -office. It was delivered with the usual instruction “to please find the -owner.” To try the newsie the president called him aside and said, in a -confidential whisper: “Why didn’t you sneak around the corner, into an -alley, any place where no one could see you, and take a stone break the -old bank all to pieces, take the money, and, my, what a good time you -could have had.” - -The boy quickly replied: “No, sir, Mr. President, suppose I wanted a -job, and stood in line to be questioned by the man, and he would ask, -have you always been honest? What would I say? Why! my face would show -I did something wrong—I took a little bank from some poor boy, and he -would say, I don’t want a boy I would have to be afraid of; no that -don’t belong to me.” - -This plainly shows what can be successfully impressed upon the minds of -these hustling, seemingly thoughtless, street-boys. And when the owner -of that bank proved to be a little girl—and how happy she was when it -was found and returned to her, the boy said: “I would rather have the -girl’s smiles than all the money the bank contained.” - - - - -_PART SIXTH_ - - - - -CHAPTER XXIII. - - -From the very beginning of the Boyville association there has scarcely -been a day without something of importance transpiring among the boys. -It has been gradually building up, incidents and noble acts showing the -willingness of these boys not only to do right themselves but to assist -others. - -The work so humbly begun in 1892, with one hundred or more members, -mostly the poorest boys of the streets, little outcasts, as they are -often called, developed so rapidly under the self-governing plan, -that in the early part of the year 1905 the books of the Boyville -Newsboys’ Association showed a membership of over three thousand boys -under fourteen years of age. This enrollment includes two hundred and -fifty boys who started with the association as sellers and shiners of -shoes, but who today have graduated from the street. The majority of -this number are engaged in some business, lawyers, doctors, commercial -travelers, clerks or working in some trade, and all ambitious not -only to earn a living for themselves but also to lend a helping hand -to those who are in need, ever having in mind the teachings of the -association. The following will show how well some of the principles -have been remembered and how long they remained intact. - -Early in January of 1905, a young man brought to the president an old -pocket-book containing twenty-two dollars and sixty cents ($22.60), -together with some letters, the contents of which revealed the fact -that the owner was a poor woman and had been visiting her relatives to -secure assistance in raising money to pay taxes, long since due, on her -home. Names were given, but no residence. - -The president said to the young man: “You know we advertise what the -boys find in the daily papers and do everything we can to seek the -owner and—” - -“Yes, sir,” replied the young man, “I know all this and have been -through it many years ago. That is just what I want you to do, please -try to find the rightful owner. I want no compensation, and I don’t -want my name mentioned in any way.” - -[Illustration: LINING UP READY TO GO TO CHURCH.] - -As it was necessary to know who the finder was, so that after the -expiration of thirty days the money could be returned to him, he -finally gave his name and address. When he had left the office, -something about his eyes reminded the president that he had seen him, -somewhere many years ago. Bringing out the Newsboys’ book he found -among the first names recorded eleven years ago, this young man’s. -Following the name was: “Seller, and shiner, age eleven, poor parents, -smart boy,” and on leaving the street, as a seller, became a graduate -member. So, he was a newsboy eleven years ago, and still retained the -desire to do something for others. - -About a week after the money was advertised, a very aged lady called. -She minutely described the contents of the pocket-book; she said: “I -was returning from a visit to my son, where I went to get $22.60 to pay -taxes on my home. This amount included some back taxes. The property -was already advertised for sale. What to do when I lost that money I -did not know. My mental suffering was most intense. I walked from the -depot towards the court house and did not miss my pocket-book until I -crossed the bridge. Yes, this is mine.” - -During the recital of her story her eyes were filled with tears, -and she showed the mental strain under which she was laboring. When -the pocket-book and the money were handed to her, the change in her -demeanor was beautiful to behold. When the young man was told to whom -the money belonged and the great good it did, he said: - -“No money reward could pay me for this. I am only too glad we found the -owner, especially as it belonged to so poor a woman.” - -Does it pay to be a life-member of The Boyville Newsboys’ Association? - - - - -CHAPTER XXIV. - - -The finding of valuable articles and turning them over to the -president, with a request to find the owner, is not a rule of the -association. - -All these little acts have a tendency to cultivate a desire to assist -others and many times violations of the rules are corrected by members -who are not officers. - -At almost any time of the day can be seen a man with a two-wheeled -cart, slowly circulating around newspaper offices, especially about -the time the dailies are out. The newsies purchase a penny’s worth -of ice cream, or cheap candies, and often these old men become quite -confidential friends of certain boys—particularly the shiners, who are -on the street almost constantly. One time a new member, a bootblack, -a boy about fourteen years of age, before he understood the secret -workings of the association, had a dispute with a vendor of ice cream -and peanuts, about the loss of several sacks of peanuts. The boy was -accused of stealing the peanuts. “Yes, you didn’t see me steal ’em,” -said the shiner, “an if you don’t catch a feller, how youse goin’ to -prove it?” - -The boy was about to leave the wagon, when several sellers came to him. - -“Say, Muddy Water,” cried one of the boys, “we seed you steal the -peanuts. You must settle wid de ole man.” - -The boy came back, but pleaded that he did not have any money. - -“All right, we’ll chip in an’ pay de debt.” - -The money was raised, and the boy was required to pay for the stolen -peanuts and make an apology. - -“I’m sorry, but I didn’t know it was again’ the rules of the -association,” he said. - -“Of course it’s again the rules, an’ it’s our business to give all new -members warning when they do things like that. Don’t do it any more.” - -This was a warning well heeded as after events proved. - -One of the greatest benefits gained by the newsboys in belonging to the -association is the securing of suitable positions; for boys, as they -grow older, naturally leave the street work. - -Wholesale as well as retail men, frequently ask for good, honest boys. -During the twelve years existence of Boyville it has been the delight -of the president to secure some two hundred places for newsboys. With -all this great number it is a pleasure to state that not one in fifty -proved unworthy of the positions, or unfitted for the kind of work. The -majority of boys for whom positions were secured were from very poor -parents, mostly widowed mothers, needing their assistance. - -Unless a person is familiar with street boys, no conception can be -formed of their energy and determination in following up anything they -want. - -A young man, who had outgrown newsboy’s work called upon the president -and wanted a position as brakeman on one of the railroads. - -He was kindly informed by the president that he knew the superintendent -of the road he wished to work for had already over five hundred -applications from young men wanting to be brakemen. Instead of asking -the president to see the superintendent, as is generally done, he said: - -“Please give me the name of the man who does the employing of brakemen. -I want to see him. I think I can show him he wants me.” - -“I am afraid it won’t be of any use, but I like your pluck. Here is a -note to him.” - -This note simply said the bearer was an honest young man. - -A few days later the young man called. - -“Well, I got a job. I’m brakeman on one of the fast trains.” - -This he secured through his own tact, for this certainly was necessary. -His street experience taught him to hustle for himself, and it became -part of his nature as he grew older. He did not sit down and wait for -something to come his way, for something to turn up. He turned up -something for himself. - -His frank and honorable method of working the superintendent, his -earnest but manly appeal, his push, his politeness, his tact, secured -for him what five hundred young men were “waiting to receive by -letter.” When the matter was referred to the superintendent he said: -“His every action showed he was a willing worker and not afraid to work -overtime if necessary. He works as though he owned the entire road.” - - - - -CHAPTER XXV. - - -Commercial men, some of our best merchants, sometimes, in their -eagerness to make money, forget the first principles of honesty, and -often make assertions that upon second thought they would not make. -Sometimes in their advertising they will say things which they would -never think of saying under other circumstances, though lying in -business matters is equally as dishonorable as in private life. The -relations between the public and the merchant, as well as between -master and servant, must rest on mutual respect and confidence. Here is -an illustration, by a close observer, a boy fourteen years of age. - -Walking along one of the principal streets, a newsboy noticed the -following sign, in large type, in a show window and attached to some -article for sale. It read: “Regular price, one hundred dollars. Our -price, twenty-nine dollars.” - -“Say, president,” said the boy, “is that man telling the truth when he -says a twenty-nine dollar article is worth one hundred dollars?” - -It was a question that required a wise answer, but put it in any -business way possible, nothing could satisfy the boy that it was -strictly honest. - -“When I go into business,” said the seller, “you bet I’ll not fool the -public; when I say a thing is worth so much it will be worth that much.” - -What time would develop, what changes come over this young man, no one -could tell, but the right principle had a good hold of the boy, and it -meant success and a clear conscience during his manhood. - -That the success of the association does not depend upon the efforts of -the officers entirely, will be seen by the following: - -Three newsboys called upon the president; two of them were leading a -ragged little fellow with a shining-box thrown over his shoulder. - -“Say, president,” said one of them, “here’s a boy shining shoes on the -market an’ the way he swears is puttin’ men out o’ business.” - -The accused bootblack was a sight. To the question where he lived he -replied: “I have no home. My father’s dead an’ my mother, she’s no -good. There’s no room fur me in the house.” - -[Illustration: THE TOUGH FROM MARKET SPACE. - - _See Page 152_ -] - -By further questioning it was learned that the clothes he had on were -given to him some two months ago and had not been taken off since he -put them on. This may seem strange, but it is only one of the dozen of -cases where parents do not require the removal of their boy’s clothes -when they go to bed. - -The peculiar odor coming from boys who are treated in this shameful -manner will prove this. This boy walked from a neighboring city, or -stole a ride on some freight-train. He had been shining shoes around -the market-space for a month or more, and declared that to be in the -push, to be recognized by men, and to secure business, it was necessary -to swear and be tough. - -“I wouldn’t be a bootblack,” he said, “if I couldn’t swear, the men -wouldn’t shine if I didn’t.” - -The newsboys who frequented the market were very much put out by this -boy’s swearing and general tough appearance, so when opportunity -favored they began their missionary work, with the result of persuading -the shiner to accompany them to the president’s office. - -The boy had a very attractive face. He was worth saving. - -“So, you come to see me about joining the association,” said the -president. - -The boy replied: “The boys say I can make more money if I cut out -swearin’ an’ belong to the association.” - -“They tell me you swear and sometimes don’t know how to give correct -change to your customers. If that’s so you are just the kind of a boy -we want. You little hustling fellows make our best young men. You don’t -wait until someone comes to you for a shine. I have seen you follow a -man who had red shoes a whole square. You will make a good business -man, and these little boys, friends of yours, are just the kind of boys -who will help you, will bring you business, will tell you where to get -something good to eat, and I think we can throw away your old ragged -clothes and get a new suit, how would you like that?” - -His face had a surprised look. He didn’t expect some one to offer -anything of interest to him, he expected to get lectured, to be “talked -goodygood to,” as he afterwards said. - -“Well, you see, mister,” said the boy with some familiarity, “we can’t -do business on the street unless we do as men do. They swear at us an’ -we must swear at them or we lose the shine.” - -“How often do men swear at you?” - -“How often? I can’t count ’em. Every other word.” - -“Well, it doesn’t sound nice, does it?” - -“No, an’ I could cut it out.” - -“Sure thing he can cut it out, an’ we’ll be right behind to see that he -forgets it,” put in one of the newsies. - -“Well, I’ll start you in the association,” said the president, “but I -don’t want you to be too good to start with. Sometimes you may forget -what the card means, and you will swear before you know it, but don’t -let that worry you, the next time you will do better and forget it. -But when you get the badge, in thirty days, then you mustn’t swear at -all, for if you do the officers will be right after you and your name -will be on a list that means something when you get older and want a -position in some big store.” - -The membership card was given to him, a new suit of clothes was -furnished by a kind hearted clothier, and the boys—including the -chairman of the executive committee—took the boy home. When his mother -discovered some one took an interest in him, she began to think he -amounted to something, and from that time on, he received attention. -At the expiration of thirty days the numbered badge was given to him -and he started on his new life. - -In the fall of the same year this bootblack was unanimously elected as -an officer of Boyville, and is one of the best boys on the street. Two -months later he brought to the president a gold watch, worth forty-two -dollars and fifty cents. The owner was found, and insisted upon seeing -the young man. He was sent, with the watch, to him. The wealthy lawyer -handed him ten cents, and gave him some good advice. The boy returned -the money saying: - -“No, Mister, you keep this, you need it more than I do.” - - - - -CHAPTER XXVI. - - -Among the great number of boys who called at the office, none cast such -a ray of sunshine about him as a little seller known as Sunny Willie, -on account of the smile he always seemed to have. But with all his good -nature and kindness of heart, he, at times, became very serious. - -One evening after the boys had sold their papers and were enroute to -their homes, Sunny Willie, as was often his habit, called upon the -president to say good night. Just as he was leaving the office, two -boys walked in and the loud talking between them indicated trouble. -Willie concluded to remain. Leaning against the desk he became a very -attentive listener. The smile had left him. He looked thoughtful. - -“I know you’re wrong,” said one of the boys, “you’re talking to hear -yourself talk. You are looking fur trouble. That’s what you are. I ken -prove it. I ken show you I wasn’t on the corner fur a week.” “That’s -right,” replied the other boy, “why wasn’t you there fur a week, -because you stole the papers from the poor old woman and was ashamed -to sell ’round the corner. Now, come off, you took de papers.” - -At the corner of the post-office is a small stand kept by a woman, who -has been engaged in selling papers for a number of years. One morning, -some papers were missing from a bundle lying upon the sidewalk. The boy -accused usually sold papers on the corner and his absence for several -mornings gave rise to the suspicion that he either took the papers or -knew something about them. - -“As I said before,” continued the accused boy, “I did not steal the -papers, an’ you got no proof to show I did.” - -There was silence for some moments when Sunny Willie, said, in a -whisper, to the president: - -“I saw de kid take the papers. Shall I butt in?” - -“Yes, you arbitrate the case—settle it,” replied the president. - -The usual smile was still missing when Willie said, quietly: - -“Sand the track, you’re slipping.” - -“What do you mean?” asked the boy, his face becoming very red. - -“You know the rule of the association is to warn a boy when he’s -slipping; when he’s doin’ something wrong. When I say, sand the track, -I mean you can’t go forward, you go backward, and some one must help -you or you slide back, see? I’m the fellow who’s ready to stop you from -sliding. I saw you take the papers.” - -The accused was surprised. He could not talk. Sunny Willie again came -to his rescue. - -“I’ll give you these pennies,” he said, and the smile returned to his -pretty face. In his little hand he held ten new pennies. - -“Now, didn’t you take the papers?” - -“Yes, but I intended to return the money for them, or make it all right -with the old woman.” - -“Come,” he continued addressing Willie, “I’ll go with you and we’ll -make it all right.” - -Out the three boys went and they were soon talking with the old woman. -Shortly, Sunny Willie returned to the office. - -“If I hadn’t a put sand on his track he would have slipped way back,” -he said to the president, “Everything’s all right. He will never steal -papers again.” - -Another little seller, a favorite on the street among business men, one -of whom the president often purchases a paper to please the newsboy, -came running into the office one evening and throwing his bundle upon -the lap of the president said: - -“Here, pres., hold these papers until I go into the hotel to get a -drink of water.” - -The act was done so quickly the president found the big bundle on -his lap before he really understood the wishes of the newsie, but he -quickly returned, took the papers, and said, as he hastened out: - -“Thank you, Mr. President.” - -The confidence this boy had in the president was appreciated, not only -by him but by those who witnessed the act. - -It has always been a source of great pleasure, to the president and -his associates, to see how deeply interested the officers of the -association become, as the following will show. - -Three officers were walking on one of the principal streets casually -looking in the show-windows when they heard music; looking ahead they -saw a newsboy, a seller, walking along, playing a mouth-organ. Coming -to him, it was noticed the instrument was an unusually fine one, and a -new one. - -“That mouth-organ is too expensive for that boy, there’s something -wrong,” said one of the officers. - -[Illustration: DIVIDING THE PAPERS.] - -“Where did you get that organ,” was asked the newsie. - -“I buyed it at Smith’s store, down yonder,” was the reply. - -“Well, I guess, not. You never had so much money. Come on with us and -show us where you bought it.” - -They walked to the corner when the boy said: - -“I didn’t buy it there, I bought it down on Monroe street,” giving the -correct name of a store on that street. - -“All, right, come along, we’ll go down there.” - -Around the corner they started and when within a block of the street -the boy again changed the place of purchase. - -“I buyed it of Mr. Jones, way out on this street.” - -That was five blocks away. - -“Now this is the last time,” said one of the officers, “if you change -the place again, look out.” - -But when they had walked four squares the boy again made an effort to -change. - -“No, you don’t my chappy,” said one of the officers, “We know you stole -it. We knew it from the first. Now you own to the truth or we will -take you to the president, and then what?” - -The boy squirmed considerable, but every movement gave evidence that he -stole it. - -“Now, where did you get it?” was bluntly asked, as the boy was backed -up against a building. - -This was too much for him. He owned he “hooked it.” Naming a prominent -department store as the place he took it. - -“You must go with us, hand it to the proprietor and beg his pardon,” -said the officers. - -This at first seemed a most difficult task, but when they promised to -accompany him to the store he agreed. - -When at the door of the great store he asked the officers to step aside. - -“If I do this you will not tell the president, will you?” - -“Of course not, he shall never know anything about it.” - -He walked in, took an elevator and soon stood before the manager of the -store. - -He told how he saw it on the counter and “hooked it when the girls were -not looking, but I will never do anything like this again.” - -The manager thanked the boy for his determination to do better and -told him he would forgive him for the theft, and promised to give him -a position in the store if the officers of the association would bring -him there when he was through school. - -The president learned of this incident a month later but never knew the -name of the newsboy. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVII. - - -As has been said, the boys are continually suggesting by their acts and -words, something new, something whereby the officers can build upon -their ideas. - -The membership cards were given first, to show the boys some of the -written rules; and, second, that the boys might have something official -to show in case they lost their badges; but a new idea suggested -itself to one of the graduating sellers, who was about to engage in -business other than selling papers. A prominent churchman advertised, -“a boy wanted in his manufacturing concern.” This young man saw the -advertisement and became an applicant for the position. He was received -very kindly and naturally so because he had an honest face, and was a -willing worker. The gentleman asked if the boy could give any reference. - -The newsboy took from his pocket a membership card of the Boyville -Newsboys’ Association. - -“Do you know any thing about the association of newsboys?” asked the -seller. - -“Yes, sir, I know all about them.” - -“This is my reference,” the boy replied handing him the card on which -the man read—“He does not approve of swearing, stealing, lying etc.” - -To the boy’s surprise and disgust, the gentleman took the card crumpled -it in his hand, and threw it upon the floor, remarking: “that’s no -reference—that’s no good in business.” - -The boy picked it up, and, to use his own language, said: - -“I waited until my temper cooled down and I asked him, ‘can you say -you never swore, never stole any thing, never gambled, never cheated -any one? I can, sir, and that’s what that card means. I wouldn’t work -for you.’ Oh, I hit him hard. As I was leaving he called me back, but -I said, ‘if you would give me five thousand dollars a year I wouldn’t -work for you. You have not only insulted me but the association.’” - - - - -CHAPTER XXVIII. - - -Before Boyville was thought of, a personal investigation into the -home-life of over a hundred boys was made, and this covered a period -of three years. Of the one hundred who were graduating from the street -work as newsboys not more than thirty were engaged in a business that -would lead them to fortune or fame. Seventy were satisfied with making -a living by earnings of vice and petty crimes. It was learned that a -boy who was permitted to go on in his own way would have no useful -training for later work. The seventy boys followed the rule of men in -wrong-doing. “No man is guilty until caught,” is the general rule of -men who make it a business of stealing. - -The progress of any humanitarian legislation is gradual. - -No one ever stopped to make inquiry about a newsboy. He lived in a -business, and social circle, all by himself. He was left to shift for -himself and in a most unequal battle. - -When investigation revealed the deplorable fact that seventy per cent. -of our newsboys were being educated and trained with their faces -towards jails and penitentiaries, the question arose, how can we -reduce this number, how can we turn their faces towards a better life, -a happier condition, a delightful ending? How make them honorable -citizens, good men, loved by all who know them, an honor to themselves, -to their parents, their friends, the State and city in which they live? - -The problem solved itself in personal experiences, convincing us -that we must try to catch the candidates for prison before they have -been debased and to keep them decent. “It is the Christian, decent, -brotherly way for one thing, and it is the cheapest way in dollars and -cents for another.” - -It is a rule, rather than an exception, that people have always -considered a newsboy bad, and he is therefore treated accordingly. - -Everybody knows or can soon learn to know, that the street is the great -school of crime. Betting and gambling are typical of the combination of -work and play of man and boy that street work produces. - -One of the greatest evils of the street was that of begging; of boys -working on the sympathies of the public by taking advantage of men and -women on street-cars or in public places. - -Some boys made a business of begging, the majority not from their own -choice, but by compulsion of their parents. - -One boy in particular was doing more to injure the success of the -association’s work on the street than hundreds of others who were bad -in other lines. - -The father of this boy would wait until the theatres were out, at -night, and instruct the boy to “work the car,” by begging, and if that -failed by forcing papers upon young men who were compelled to purchase -what they did not want. - -It took some time, almost a year, to stop this kind of business, and -then the president had to call upon the efficient Humane officer to -stop it. As every case of begging was traced to the fault of parents -the Humane Society had to deal directly with them. - -The Boyville association gradually stamped this evil entirely out. - -[Illustration: TWO NEW MEMBERS.] - -To stop begging, stealing, swearing and gambling, four leading street -evils among the newsboys and in guiding the footsteps of these little -wanderers, for this they are when seen upon the streets of our great -cities, that Boyville came into existence, and it is to co-operate, -when it is possible or desirable, with the parents and the home in -reclaiming boys who have gone astray or are likely to follow paths that -lead to ruin. - -There is no greater, stronger sign of love to young or old than when a -friend gives a warning in the right spirit. - -The children of Israel had no better friend than Moses, and when they -obeyed his warning they never went astray. We may be wrong in our -liberal methods of giving to charity; we may be wrong in dropping -pennies into the hats of the street beggars—the blind—the lame—the -crippled who stand or sit on our public streets pleading in a tone of -experience; and we may be satisfying an ever-warning conscience; but -there is one thing certain, we can never make a mistake by warning a -newsboy from doing anything wrong—from stealing, lying, swearing, or -gambling, and it is always wise and safe to give a boy the right start -in life. - -In every city, with a population of one hundred thousand or more, -thirty per cent. of the newsboys, the sellers, have no homes or their -homes are worse than none at all. If men and women would stop to -think, to investigate, listen to the stories as told by these street -boys; of the wants, miseries and degradation in the sad conditions that -surround many of them; these dirty, ragged boys would receive a more -Christian-like attention and care. If your nature to mingle with the -meek and lowly is forced, if your mission for doing good in this world -is cast in other fields, where better results may be reached, you can -take a personal interest in seeing that those who are familiar with -work among street boys, and who delight in trying to aid them, are -given proper encouragement and assistance so that their work may be -carried on successfully. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIX. - - -A few months’ experience with boys who spend most of their lives upon -the street, and pride themselves on being tough, will teach one a great -lesson. You will learn you cannot reach a boy unless you get near -him, are of his kind; and the most lasting and truest friendship, and -through which you can gain the best results, is where you place a boy -under personal obligations to you, through kindness. You may buy him -for money, but he does not look upon you with the same interest and -confidence as when you gain his love through personal attention. The -boy must be understood. No two boys are alike. Though many are endowed -with similar characteristics, each has his own individuality. The trees -are not all of one kind. Even the leaves on the same tree differ in -size and contour. One tree in the writer’s yard, one of the choicest -of plums; a long branch sprouted out every spring and grew so rapidly -that before the leaves in the fall began to show signs of decay, it -became strong and reached several feet beyond any other branch. It made -the tree look awkward, unnatural, but when trimmed down, even with -the others, it produced more and better fruit than any other portion -of the tree. The boys are like the birds who are unlike in plumage and -song; the flowers in color and fragrance, and yet nature would not be -perfect were it not for these different lines of beauty, strength, and -fragrance. - -In the cultivation of plants the gardner considers the nature and needs -of different stages of growth, furnishing the nourishment and care -that will be most helpful just at that time. So in boyhood we observe -various stages of development, whose natures and needs must be studied -that we may properly provide for them. - -It has been said: “That the home, the church, the school with their -natural and uplifting influences have been responsible in the past, and -must continue to be in the future, for the manhood and womanhood of -this nation.” It is a well-known fact that the home sometimes fails, or -there is no home, or one which the church and the school do not reach. -There are times when even these have no power over a boy’s acts. A boy -who violates the laws of the land is answerable not to the home, the -church or the school, but to the State. - -Crime among boys, in America, is greatly on the increase. The reports, -official and unofficial, that are made public, of the per cent. of the -criminals serving time in our jails, workhouses, reform schools, and -even our penitentiaries, are astounding, and almost beyond belief. - -How to check this is a problem of the greatest importance, and it -cannot be solved without the hearty co-operation of every person. - -Among the first things to be done must be the recognition of the power -of home and our neighbors. We cannot live without our neighbor. Each -home depends upon some other home; and when the boy leaves his home -to go upon the street, he is at once overcome by the stronger power -and influence of a boy of some other home, and, perhaps where the -rearing and training was not good. The boy is a result more or less, -of all influences and environment of the lives of his companions. -Every good mother recalls the pang that came over her heart when for -the first time she led her boy to school, knowing that her influence -must be shared with that of the teacher. It is not long until the -boy quotes his teacher, and sometimes in defiance, when he says: “My -teacher says so an’ so.” And how many times we hear this from the boy -when away from home, more frequently than the sayings of his mother. -The boy’s school life soon begins to develop self-reliance, full of -possibilities, of curiosity and questionings, the period of formation -of thoughts, feelings and desires. And when a boy reaches that stage in -his life when he is permitted to go down town alone—he at once begins -a new life. And there is not a mother in our country but who makes this -pleading request to her son as he is about to start: “Don’t go into bad -company.” - -It is on this line that the Newsboys’ Association, with all its varied -interests and objects, through its many channels of work, backed -with that true spirit of Christianity characteristic of everything -that means good, with the aid of its president and its many working -officers, in the name of God and humanity, aims to make the bad boy of -the streets of our cities and towns good, so that the mother will not -find it necessary to say: “Now, my dear son, don’t go into bad company.” - -Let us all hope, and pray, and work for the time to come when there -will be no “bad company” on the streets. - - - - -CHAPTER XXX. - - -At one of the auxiliary meetings the question was asked a carrier, -why the association “kicked against drinking whiskey when my father -drinks four times a day.” In a talk at the meeting the vice-president -said: “Your father may have been a respected citizen. He was all right -when he started out, but today he is a physical wreck, I know him. -He drinks too much. He paid no attention to warning. Perhaps he had -no one to tell him. He trembles now, and I have seen him fall to the -ground, helpless. Some day he will fall and get up no more. Every boy -has in his mind a real desire to do good, but if you start in life -as a whiskey drinker, if you stand around and see your friends drink -without giving them a warning, some day you will regret it, something -will come up in your life to remind you of your carelessness, your lost -opportunity to help a fellow being, and his ruin means more to you than -you think it does. - -“There was a man once rowing in a small boat above Niagara Falls, -where the water was quiet. He got funny and ventured down stream too -far until he got into the current and not having strength enough to -pull out of it, he was going faster and every second he saw certain -destruction ahead of him. It was too late for him to think and act. The -thinking should have been done up the river on peaceful waters. So you -boys better do your thinking now if you don’t want to follow that kind -of people over the brink. No, boys, don’t drink intoxicating liquors, -don’t start it, cut it out, forget it. - -“We do not believe that temperance is really promoted by compulsion, -but this we do know, that the boy who will let whiskey and all spirits -alone is very fortunate, and has a bright, happy future. He is the boy -who will succeed; he is the young man that is wanted; he will be the -man to be trusted.” - -[Illustration: “TENEMENTS ON THE AVENUE.” - -IN THESE OLD BUILDINGS, AT ONE TIME, LIVED SEVENTEEN FAMILIES. - - _See Page 178_ -] - - - - -CHAPTER XXXI. - - -The problem of the boy is a great one, and the more we have to do with -his life upon the street the greater the task of solution becomes. It -is said that two great factors make the sum of human life—heredity -and environment. We are told that if you will gather up soil from the -arctic regions and carry it on a steamer southward, you will soon see -it covered with vegetation. If the soil of the tropics is taken to the -frozen regions of Franz Joseph Land, it will become barren. The soil -of both regions is full of heredity, but the difference of environment -greatly modifies the result. There are in all of us hereditary -tendencies to both vice and virtue, and under favorable surroundings, -these tendencies will be either dormant or developed. - -A thief may come from a morally healthy family, a happy prosperous -home, but he is an unhealthy exception not the rule. It is the -offense of our day that the tendency of life is toward destruction -of character. The crowding of population to the cities, is gradually -destroying the home feeling. This rapidly increasing rush from the -country and small towns to the centres of individual energy, brings a -dependent class of boys, and the official reports show a significant -increase in the number of juvenile criminals, from small towns, and -also that they are much younger than formerly. This does not mean -that the energetic young man of the country should stay away from the -cities, or should not seek employment or business in a city; it simply -means that christian people should take a greater personal interest in -trying to make the boy good before he leaves his home, and that the -city people should make city life purer. - -So long as our best reputed citizens, the first men of many of our -churches, own the dilapidated tenement houses, receiving from such -occupants a rental sufficient to pay taxes, and without caring who -occupies the premises or for what purposes, the criminal tendency must -increase. - -For a time charitably-inclined people may check and partially correct -an evil, but the tendency will remain, sure to assert itself in one -form or another. If the present cheap-John tenements should be wiped -out, and it were made possible for the proper classes to secure homes -in the country, modest as necessarily they would be, it would go a -long way towards correcting one of the greatest evils of the day. - -“The prison returns of one of our great States show that fifty per -cent. of all young criminals come from bad homes, from tenement houses -owned by rich men, and only nine per cent. from good homes.” - -Since the Humane societies are so well organized, and doing such -magnificent work, much may be expected for the better in the condition -of the houses of the poor. There are many streets in our great cities -where people shudder when compelled to walk, on account of their bad -reputation. - -The tenants may be bad, but are they worse than the owners of the -property? Have you ever stopped to think who owns a building under -whose roof lives a dozen bad characters? - -One Sunday morning, a gentleman in the city was walking down an avenue -of considerable importance when he was surprised to see two young -newsboys coming out of the rear door of a saloon, each trying to keep -the other from falling to the ground. - -The building was old and rickety. On the second floor were not a half -dozen whole panes of glass in eight window frames. - -Astonished at this, a question was asked, of a passer-by who owned the -saloon property? - -“Mr.—— owns all the property on that side of the street. He is now -teaching a Sunday-school class while boys are in his building drinking. -This thing’s repeated every Sunday. It’s headquarters for young men.” - -When our leading men of business, our wealthy citizens, men of -influence, men who stand high in the commercial world, are renting -their property to persons who, for the money they make, are ruining -hundreds of young lives, what can we expect? - -We need an era of enforcement of law, less of pretense, more of -purpose. Whether the laws be good or bad, is not a question. If they -are good, they should be enforced for the welfare of the community and -the vindication of the State. If they are bad, they should be enforced -so that their injustice may prove sufficiently oppressive to lead to -their appeal. - -The saloons will always be with us, and so long as the State, and the -city receive the price for their existence, and grant them recognition -and endorsement, they should be protected in accordance with the laws -governing their business, but beyond all this, there is a law, a moral -law, a law of decency, of respect, for the welfare and happiness of -mankind, that should appeal to every man engaged in the selling of -liquors. - -Five men, of our acquaintance, engaged in the saloon business, have for -many years mutually agreed to do certain things. They do not open their -places of business on Sunday. They do not admit a minor into their -saloons for any cause. They will not sell liquor to a man who shows the -least sign of being intoxicated. - -If every man engaged in the saloon business would follow to the letter -these few simple rules, thousands of good wives, and innocent children -would be happy, and the influence for good could not be estimated. Our -Sunday-closing laws should be enforced. - -The lives of a majority of men, hard-working men, are dreary enough for -six days of the week without having all of the desolation compressed -into the seventh and drilled into them through the avarice of selfish -men who aim to take advantage of a man under the influence of liquor, -and take from him his last cent and then throw him into the street. - -We are learning to regard the majority of youthful offenders, -especially in our large cities, as the victims of environment, -sufferers from lack of opportunity for good. In nine cases out of -ten, boys who are found in saloons come from well-to-do families, and -are permitted to be there through neglect and carelessness of their -parents. - - - - -CHAPTER XXXII. - - -A question is often asked, why young men do not more frequently attend -church services. May not one of these reasons be traced to neglect and -carelessness on the part of the parents? Nothing in the religious world -can be more important than the proper training of young men. It is said -that the only place where real religion can be taught is in the home. -By this it is not meant religious forms, but real religion. To go to -church every Sunday and sing religious hymns and listen to eloquent -sermons is not all there is to religion. The formation of character, -the stimulus of the moral sentiments must be done largely outside of -the doors of the church. To assist in building up the boy who roams our -streets at will, and to take an interest in and to encourage the boy -to live up to and follow the instructions he receives at his home, is, -indeed, to practice real religion. - -It is a well-known fact, often repeated by the guards at our -penitentiaries, that no man ever entered these institutions but what at -sometime or other declared that, if he had followed the admonition and -religious instructions of his father and mother, his life would have -been different. If father and mother do not practice in their daily -lives this real religion, and if the boy is not brought up to believe -that some people are to be avoided, and held in contempt, all the -churches in the world cannot correct such mistakes, because they have -but few hours one day in a week to accomplish what six days can undo. - -It will be seen, then, how important it is that the boy on the street, -whether he comes from a good religious home or a bad home, should be -watched and carefully guided and taught. - -Our work in the garden is not to pull out onions, radishes, tomato -plants, but carefully to destroy the weeds, and not only those weeds -that are crowding the tender plants, but all weeds. Get the wild -sprouts out, pull up the weeds by the roots and throw them away. This a -good gardener will do, and he will carefully pull the soft, rich earth -around the plants to brace them up. - -[Illustration: “I WILL BUY FROM THE LITTLE FELLOW.”] - -[Illustration: WAITING FOR THE LAST EDITION.] - -If the same interest is taken in our newsboys, to pull out the weeds -so that the boy can grow, it will be doing what the preacher often -says: “A good man’s goodness lies not hid in himself alone; but when he -endeavors to strengthen his weaker brother.” - - - - -CHAPTER XXXIII. - - -Men often lose great opportunities to assist their fellow-men through -neglect, through carelessness and indifference. It is so easy to say, -“you have my sympathy, you are doing a noble work,” when many times the -speaker may be better adapted for the same kind of work and be far more -successful. And so an opportunity is allowed to slip by all for the -lack of taking advantage of it. - -The influence a man or a woman teacher has over a boy is wonderful. In -the eyes of a boy, a teacher stands for a model of perfection and is -supposed to be in reality, in daily life and actions, what he seems to -be when he shows his best side to the pupils. - -From the school, from the teacher, from a trusted friend, the boy -carries the influence back to the family, into his daily life upon the -streets, and many of the teachings follow him through life. The boy at -school is taught to be kind, to be generous, and to remember his little -friends whenever opportunity favors. Heartfelt sympathy in a newsboy, -comes like a flash of lightning, and he is ever ready to fall in line -when the boys want to remember a friend. The president was taken by -surprise one day when the street sellers, the poorest of our newsboys, -through one of their hustlers, presented him with a gold badge. The -money to purchase it was raised by subscriptions from the boys, in -amounts ranging from two cents to twenty-five. A few days after the -presentation the president was walking on one of the main streets when -he was accosted by a little seller, from the opposite side of the -street. - -“Say, president, come over here.” - -A boy never called the president to go where he wanted him to go but he -complied at once, and cheerfully. The little ragged fellow stepped in -front of him and said: - -“Pres., have youse got de gold badge we gives you?” - -“Yes, here it is,” and the badge was taken from the coat and handed to -the boy. Looking at it closely, and calling several companions to him, -he said: - -“Pres., youse see that diamond in the center?” pointing a dirty finger -to it. - -“Yes, sir, we all see it, and it’s a beauty.” - -“Well, you see,” he said straightening up above his natural height, -“I subscribed four cents to this here badge, and all the boys put up -the dough. When I went home and thought it over, I says to myself, we -ought to have a bigger badge than this fur our president. So when I -comes down town I see de boys and we concluded to have a diamond put -in the center. It met wid de kids ’proval, and it was done. You see de -diamond?” - -“Yes,” replied a dozen voices. - -“Well, I blowed eleven cents in it,” he proudly replied. Adding, “Ain’t -it a bird?” - -Happy youth. - - - - -CHAPTER XXXIV. - - -How many prayers have been offered for the salvation of the slums; how -many sighs and expressions of regret and sympathy have been given, by -well-meaning people, for the “poor and unhealthy boys of the slums.” - -Those who are familiar, and it is to be regretted that they are so few, -with the real conditions of these, supposed, unhealthy and certainly -unpleasant districts, will substantiate the declaration that the boys -who live there, in these ill-favored spots, and who have followed -the vocation of selling papers or shining shoes, until they arrived -at that age when it was necessary to seek other and more lucrative -employment, are ninety per cent. healthier and stronger and better able -to fight disease than boys raised in the most sanitary districts and in -wealthy families. The slums of Whitechapel and Westminster, in London, -inhabitated by a squalid and criminal population, as well as the slums -in New York and other American cities, maintain a healthier condition -among the inhabitants. - -In a period of six years, with an enrollment of two hundred and -fifty newsboys, who belonged to the sellers auxiliary; a majority of -them living in what is called “the worst part of the city, the most -unhealthy; the most degraded; the most undesirable,” and boys who from -necessity were compelled to sell papers or shine shoes, thus requiring -an almost daily appearance upon the streets in all kinds of weather, -there were but three cases of sickness, and but one death, and this -death was caused by an explosion at a Fourth of July celebration. - -Little Barney Frank, one of the brightest and most promising members -of the association died January 28, 1903, having been injured by a toy -cannon. - -The president attended the funeral of this little boy and being asked -to say something touching the life of his friend, he said: - -“Barney was an exceptionally bright and happy boy, loved by his -companions, and almost worshiped by his heart-broken parents. His happy -disposition, his smiles and great interest in his fellow newsboys will -live forever in the hearts of those who knew him. It is often asked why -are the young and innocent taken from us? Some of us believe that the -road to heaven opens wide to welcome little boys. - -“One of the most pleasing remembrances of Barney’s life was shown in -the following incident. It was a cold November evening, with a heavy -fall of rain and sleet. I was standing in the street looking for a car -to take me home, when little Barney came running to me and said: ‘You -go in the store, in a dry place, I’ll watch for the car and I’ll call -you,’ and in spite of protestations, he stood in the rain until the car -passed. So it was always with Barney, ever looking after the happiness -of his friends.” - -They took the remains to another town, and buried him in a village -graveyard. There he rests in peace. In summer the grass grows green and -the daisies and violets keep watch; and in a tree, whose branches shade -the unmarked grave, there comes a robin red-breast, and every morning -at the rising of the sun, and every evening just as the sun is sinking -behind the hills, he sings his song of love. - -Who knows but that it is an angel who comes to the grave of that little -newsboy? - -[Illustration: “BILLY BUTCHER, WE MUST HAVE AN UNDERSTANDIN’, WHICH -CORNER OB DE STREET WILL YOU TAKE?”] - - - - -_PART SEVENTH_ - - - - -CHAPTER XXXV. - - -After more than fifteen years’ experience among the newsboys we can -say with considerable force, that the only way to give substantial -assistance to the poor boy is to give him a start in life, helping him -to work his own way through a hundred little temptations that would -easily lead him wrong. Today Boyville Association boasts that it has -driven from the streets of a great city all kinds of begging, gambling, -swearing, smoking cigarettes, and instead of insulting, impudent -newsboys, we have the finest lot of gentlemanly young business men in -the world. - -How to carry on successfully work of this kind, with results as -previously stated, is the desire and wish of thousands of people in -our country today. A person must bring himself in touch with the boy, -he must learn his ways, his habits, by so doing he learns the best way -to approach him and gain his confidence. This done, the rest is easy, -because the boy works with you and you simply guide. - -Education cannot be given, it must be achieved, and the value of an -education lies not only in the possession, but also in the struggle to -secure it. - -Everybody knows that the infallible receipt for happiness, is to do -good, and under the right conditions it is as natural for character -to become beautiful as for a flower. In scores of instances it has -been seen that the principles early established in the minds of the -street-boys, especially where they are watched by their companions, and -warned when they do something wrong, leave a lasting impression that -time cannot efface. - -Life is full of opportunities for the young man to do good, and if in -his early career he begins to do right it soon becomes part of his -life. The street-boys who first join the association are so gradually -led into the good fellowship of their own making that the toughest -natures thaw out, they are subjugated, submit cheerfully to the -controlling powers of truth and honesty. Their manners soften, their -words become more gentle and their actions show a willingness to be -little gentlemen. The good that is in them is brought out by their own -unselfish acts, and the hidden sleeping humanity bursts into a fuller -life. - -Today it takes a high order of men to succeed. - -With the world as a competitor, where profits are figured by fractions, -it requires young men of brains, combined with hard common sense, men -of good moral characters, and a willingness to work. - -For a young man to reach a rich inheritance he must work; he must -remember that the root qualities of character are sobriety, industry, -unselfish economy, and he must be honest in all that the word implies. -Swearing, stealing, grafting inclinations, expecting something for -nothing, smoking cigarettes or drinking intoxicating liquors will -prevent securing good positions. - -Already some of our great railroad systems will not employ a young man -who drinks intoxicating liquors, or smokes cigarettes; and some go so -far as to forbid swearing while on duty. - -To gain this rich inheritance, to build up the boy who has no chance -in life, who, in many cities, is regarded as a sort of a pest, -something to be kicked and cuffed out of the way, is the great aim -of the Boyville Newsboys’ Association. It is a kindergarten in the -great school of business and citizenship, and many years experience -proves conclusively not only that the boy of the street is capable of -conquering himself, and of mastering his own will-power, but also that -he can assist his companions, to be honest, patriotic, and self-reliant. - -Many a boy goes astray simply because home lacks sunshine. If home -is the place where faces are sour and words harsh, and the boy is -continually hampered with don’ts and censures, he will spend as many -hours as possible elsewhere. A personal investigation of twenty homes -of boys who were upon the streets a greater portion of their time, -especially at meal hours or after nine o’clock at night, revealed the -fact that nine boys were away from their homes on account of there -being no restriction on the part of the parents. These nine families -did not know, did not care, at what hour their sons returned at night, -or whether they were at home at meal hours or not. - -Home should keep in sympathy with a boy. His little troubles, his -sorrows are made much easier and lighter through attention and -sympathy, and if the boy can’t get this at home he will go elsewhere; -and he will often find it in society he would otherwise shun. No boy -ever grows too old for love. And should the boy seek companionship -in our crowded streets and discover some one in whom he can place -confidence, his whole life is wrapped up in that love. - - - - -CHAPTER XXXVI. - - -In the Boyville Association it has always been the rule that, no -matter how great a wrong committed by a boy, and the fine or sentence -be what it may, if the boy looks forward to doing better, to putting -his whole soul into trying to do right, if he hates and despises the -act committed, that boy has a right to be honorably reinstated, and is -heartily welcomed back to his friends. - -“Often” says a thoughtful writer, “men and women mourn over past -wrong-doings with which their present identity has no connection.” - -A good preacher once asked a despondent soul, whose life was shadowed -by a wrong committed in early years: “Would you do the same thing -again?” - -“Do it again?” answered the man, “No, a thousand times, no.” - -“Then,” said the preacher, “You have outgrown the conditions that -caused the wrong-doing, and you are no longer responsible for it.” - -The best way to correct wrong-doing is to prevent it, to warn a boy -against the evil vices that tend to his ruin in later years. And one -way to prevent crime is to reward virtue. - -[Illustration: “HE WAS FISHING IN THE LAKE.” - - _See Page 205_ -] - -Hon. Ben. B. Lindsey, of Denver, Colorado, Judge of the County and -Juvenile Court of Denver, after many years of hard work, intermingled -with the kind of experience that brings good results, declares that in -the work of the Juvenile Court he has found a way to make our boys of -today, who are inclined to be bad, follow paths of virtue and honesty -that will lead them to good and honorable citizenship, and his success -has been along the same self-governing plan of the Boyville Association. - -We do not think there has been a more interesting official report nor -one of so great a value to the thinking people as the publication of -“The Problem of the Children and How the State of Colorado Cares for -them,” by Hon. Ben. B. Lindsey. - -“Power under any law,” writes Judge Lindsey, “may be abused. Mistakes -under any law may be made. No system is perfect. If any conceives -the idea that the Juvenile Court was created for the purpose of -correcting or reforming every disorderly child, they are, of course, -mistaken. Jails and criminal courts never did that. On the contrary, -criminality among the youth of this country has been amazingly on the -increase. Over half of the inmates of jails, reformatories and prisons -combined are under twenty-four years of age. They are there largely -because of uncorrected delinquency in childhood. While the Juvenile -Court and probation system will not, and cannot, entirely overcome -delinquency and waywardness, it will do a great deal better than the -jail and criminal court ever did. The Juvenile Court generally deals -with cases in which there has been a failure in the home, the school, -and often the church. These three institutions are the places through -their various influences to form the character of the child. The -Juvenile Court is rather an aid to the home and the school in the moral -training of the child. If these two latter fail, the court, through its -officers, can supply the deficiency. In the Denver Juvenile Court none -are convicted of crime or subjected to the contamination of the jail. - -“The Juvenile Court does not tolerate the idea of the child being a -criminal. It does not consider the question of punishment the important -thing. If the child cannot be corrected at home, for its own good and -for the good of society at large, it is simply sent to a State public -school, where discipline is superior to that of the home, and where -it is intended to correct waywardness and to serve as an example to -prevent waywardness in others. The purpose is, in delinquent cases, to -inspire and receive obedience, to improve and strengthen character. -We never release a boy upon probation until he is impressed with the -idea that he must obey. It is explained what the consequences will -be if he does not obey and keep his word. It is kindly, but firmly -impressed why all this is so, and why, after all, he is the one we -are most interested in and that it is for him we are working and not -against him. We want him to work with us and not against us. He must, -to do this, obey in the home, in the school, and of course, he must -obey the laws of the land and respect the rights of others. We must -know that he obeys. We know this by reports from the school, signed by -the teacher, every two weeks; by reports from the neighborhood, when -necessary to investigate, and frequently, by reports from the home, -and, in exceptional cases, visits to the home. And more important than -all this is the trust and confidence we impose upon the boy himself -through the administrative work of the Court. We arouse his sense -of responsibility. We understand him as best we can, and we make him -understand us as best we can.” - -Nothing could be said or written of the history of Boyville and the -intention of its workers that could explain the great object in view -better than the above report. - - - - -CHAPTER XXXVII. - - -There is a city ordinance in Chicago which prohibits fishing in the -lakes of the city parks, and persons caught doing so are treated as -trespassers. No one would blame a boy for wanting to fish. - -A boy, ten years old, left home with line and hook for one of these -artificial lakes. After securing a pole from the drift-wood near-by, he -sought an inviting spot to fish; and amid the green bushes, the songs -of the birds and the breeze that brought sunshine to his young heart, -he cast his line into the peaceful uninhabitated waters. - -A protector of the peace, a defender of the law, saw this little boy -fishing in public waters. While earnestly waiting for a bite the boy -was arrested. He was taken, by the policeman, to the station. He did -not have any friends to give bond for him, so they locked him up and -left him there all night in a cell alongside of men who were in there -swearing and cursing, using the vilest of language. He was placed with -hardened people whose association could not be anything but injurious -to a ten-year-old boy. Next day he was brought into Police Court, -accused of fishing in the lake, sentenced for violating this great and -important law of the city of Chicago, and sent to the work-house, to -serve a time in the city prison. - -This was twenty years ago, and, just such incidents as this, caused -good honest-thinking people to try to introduce something that would -protect and care for similar cases. Now, the boy who violates a law is -not arrested and placed in jail or even a Police Station, but under the -splendid Juvenile Court system the boy is brought into the presence of -a judge who has an opportunity of showing what he would like to do in -other courts, by extending an encouraging hand to the wayfaring boy. - -The boy is greeted kindly and the strange feeling, which even men -and women have under similar circumstances, is removed. Instead of -the judge looking sternly at the criminal, as has been too often the -custom, thinking, perhaps justly, the dignity of the law requires it, -he kindly explains to the boy where he has made a mistake, where he -has violated some law; and after gaining the friendship and confidence -of the little offender, he is placed in charge of a kind-hearted -Probation Officer, who personally looks after the interests and -welfare of the accused. The Juvenile Court has power to require the -boy to go to school, and the boy is impressed with the fact that it -is for his benefit. Truant boys are looked after by this method, and -the Probation Officer goes so far as to visit the homes of the boys to -learn their surroundings. This has been the means of influencing many -families to take better care of their homes and to keep things in a -neat and tidy condition. This has never been accomplished before by any -methods of a legal nature. - -With the valuable work of the Juvenile Court and the Humane societies, -together with the self-governing plan of the Newsboys associations, -all working harmoniously, what must naturally be expected of the boy? -The home is the natural environment in which to develop a boy in the -direction of true, self-sustaining manhood; and it should furnish the -conditions most likely to bring about the happiest results, not only to -the individual and the family, but also to the State. When this fails, -as it often does, the Juvenile Court steps in and the results are -wonderful. - - - - -CHAPTER XXXVIII. - - -Boyville has made itself known to all classes of citizens, and has -attracted intelligent attention throughout the country. The newsboys -have learned to work together harmoniously, and this is one of the -valuable secrets of human society that all must learn in order to be -successful and happy. In the auxiliary monthly meetings the newsboys -conduct the business with more decorum and intelligence than the -average political conventions. So much for the self-governing plan. - -The following interesting talk on “The Evils of Cigarette Smoking” was -part of an address delivered at one of the Sunday afternoon meetings, -and is well worth the time spent in reading: - -“Smoking cigarettes causes both insanity and the degeneracy that -ends in crime. The cigarette slave is always enfeebled in body, in -mind, or in moral sense, and generally in all three. Whatever be the -cause—whether it is opium and other drugs mixed with tobacco, or oil -created in the paper by burning, or the immediate absorption of the -nicotine from the lungs by the blood, to be lodged in every nerve and -brain-cell in the system—the fact remains beyond dispute that the -cigarette is a deadly poison. - -[Illustration: PASTIME—THE BEGINNING.] - -“It not only deprives the blood of the proper quantity of oxygen and -thus prevents its purification, but it also loads it with filth, so -that the heart becomes clogged and the delicate convolutions of the -brain, upon which the mind’s attitude toward intellectual concepts -and moral principles depends, are paralyzed. Cigarette smoking also -creates a perpetual irritation, like unquenchable thirst, in the -nervous system. It sets up a continual discomfort, a kind of a gnawing -in the nerves, which makes the victim eternally uneasy except while -he is inhaling the poison into his lungs. The result of all this -is, that he lives in a constant state of nervous excitement, which -reacts upon his poisoned brain and makes him incapable of serious and -consecutive thought. His body is weary all the time, except when it -is being stimulated by the alcohol which cigarette slaves inevitably -seek and find, and at last cannot do without. It is a fact that crime -and cigarettes nearly always go together. Prison records show that -criminals, almost without exception, are cigarette slaves. Such is the -history of the cigarette slave, and while, if he is a natural man of -good family history, education, intelligence and ample means, he may -avoid crime, yet he is in eternal danger. Boys, newsboys, for your own -interest and welfare, for the love you have for your parents, if you -are cigarette smokers, stop it at once. If not—do not begin.” - - - - -CHAPTER XXXIX. - - -The question is often asked: “Do you want us to go out upon the streets -and bring those ragged, dirty boys with us into our churches, and have -them sit in the same pew with us?” - -No, indeed, no. Both you and the boys would be unhappy. - -The idea is for you to take an interest in preparing them for your -church. To shove them out of your way, into the gutter, and say, “they -are only newsboys,” will never bring these boys to you or into your -churches. They are the strayed sheep. - -When upon the street you meet these “dirty brats,” instead of avoiding -them, of paying no attention to them, say pleasantly, “Good morning,” -and say it in a tone that means you are sincere and really wish them a -very good morning. That would be easy and a thousand times better than -to throw them money, as you, perhaps, have often done, to get rid of -them, or thinking you have done them a great act of charity. All this -costs you nothing. - -Instead of having in your heart the desire to destroy; encourage the -desire to rescue, to uplift. Instead of hating, cultivate love. “Go -forth into the world and seek for light and light is yours.” - -If you would learn the secret of real happiness, mingle with the -children. They are messengers which come to bless. - -But you must understand them. They will teach you things you never knew -or dreamed of. - -A speaker at one of the auxiliary meetings asked a boy to give him an -illustration of, “who is my neighbor?” - -He answered: “This morning I shoveled off the snow from the sidewalks -in front of our house. After I got through I went across the street and -cleaned the snow from the sidewalks of a widow lady. A friend passing -asked me ‘why I did it,’ I replied ‘why, she’s our neighbor’.” - -We often hear it said that time is wasted in trying to save these -newsboys, not perhaps because of the boy himself, but because of that -which makes him what he is. It is argued that his environment, the -influences which surround him from the day of his birth, will make him -a criminal in spite of all we can do. - -The Bible holds man responsible. - -If you kind reader, believe in God, believe in the Bible, you will -find the divine law (Ezekiel XXXIII.) determines your personal -responsibility. “So thou, O son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto -the house of Israel; therefore thou shalt hear the word at my mouth. If -thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked _man_ -shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thy hand. -Nevertheless, if thou warn the wicked of his way to turn from it; if he -do not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast -delivered thy soul.” - -Following down the ages the same responsibility is required of -Christians (James IV-17): “To him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it -not, to him it is a sin.” - -The man who fails to rise above the level of his own selfish interests -is the man to whom these apply. - -The church, at large, today, is like what Napoleon once said: “The army -that remains in its entrenchments is beaten.” The church remains mostly -in its own entrenchments of conventional practices and indifference -to the unsaved young men. There is but one remedy for this present -indifferent condition, and that is to be found in an awakening of -consciousness of personal responsibility for the salvation of the boy. - -We need a new doctrine, not a new law, that will bring people back to -the Simple Life that demands some self-sacrifice. - -If we follow these teachings what shall be our reward? - -Do you remember what Pharaoh’s daughter said when, winning that strange -prize from the bulrushes, on the Nile; she called to the woman whose -child might have perished? - -Pharaoh’s daughter said to the mother: “Take this child away, and nurse -it for me, and I will give thee thy wages,” and that message is given -as the crown of all motherhood on whom the divine mercy falls today. -There comes this same message: “Take this child and nurse it for me, -and I will pay the thy wages.” - -The good that you have done you shall know, “not here, but hereafter.” - -We should never forget that the best and truest lives are those who -strew all the years with the sweet aroma of loving and self-sacrificing -deeds. Did you ever go, in summer, to the great marshes of our -fresh-water lakes, and in the little bayous, where the muck and -grasses are so thick it is difficult to even row a boat? If not, it -will pay you to go. You find the white water lilies, dotted here and -there all over this forsaken waste. They take root and grow silently -amid the slime and mud in the quiet waters, until, in mid-summer, -they open their creamy beauty to the persuasion of the sunshine, the -glory and idealization of all flowers. So amid the lowest and poorest -of humanity, among its shadows and mists, we can sow, day by day, our -small seeds of gentle and generous deeds, not knowing when they take -root, or expecting to ever behold their unfolding into the blossoms on -the great river of time. - -To have a perfect government we must have a perfect people, and that -cannot be accomplished unless we educate, unless we train, our boys in -the right direction. If we do our share in this generation it will be -easier for those who follow. - -The more you mingle among newsboys the easier it is to learn how to -influence and guide them in the right path. - -They will open out to you a world you have never found, a world full -of sunshine. If you are inclined to serve these boys, and are willing -to try to teach them how to live right, you will build for yourself a -crown of happiness in this world that all the wealth of a nation cannot -purchase. - -[Illustration: PASTIME—THE FINISH.] - - - - -CHAPTER XXXX. - - -It is hoped that the preceding pages have given the reader some idea -of the workings of Boyville, of the self-governing plan carried on -successfully for many years. It has demonstrated the fact, to the -president and his faithful associates, the trustees, and the officers -of the auxiliaries, that boys can govern themselves, that they can -build up and carry on the work that has usually been done by older -persons. Corporal punishment is not necessary and no arbitrary -authority is needed. There is nothing compulsory about the entire work -of the association. The simplest methods are always adopted, keeping -in view the wishes of the boy. Not by advanced theories that reach -beyond the comprehension of the boy, but by gradually introducing good -principles that have a tendency to uplift the boy, and following as -nearly as possible the lines he is interested in. - -Through the ever-willing assistance of the Humane officers, and later, -the splendid work of the Juvenile Court, the association has been able -to get behind the cause of much of the wrong-doing of the newsboys, by -reaching their parents. Any good physician, to cure a disease, will -make every effort possible to discover and cure the cause. There is an -old saying: “A stitch in time saves nine.” This is certainly true and -applicable to work among newsboys. We agree with the many good things -said and written by the late Samuel M. Jones, and this in particular: -“The only way to help people is to give them an opportunity to help -themselves.” - -Our cities are full of boys growing up to manhood without advice, -without help. They are turned aside to do the best they can, to battle -with life with everything against them. The question to thinking men -today is, shall we permit these boys to continue on the certain road -to ruin, or shall we turn a few steps out of our way to lend a helping -hand? Shall we wait until they become confirmed criminals and are -serving sentences in prisons before we try to help them? - -It is much easier to save a soul in a healthy and satisfied, -comfortable-feeling body, than in a body wasted by want and with a mind -diseased by injustice, cruelty and wrong. - -The good accomplished by the members of The Boyville Newsboys’ -Association, we hope, will go on forever, and that this generation may -prove the best and our people continue to be the most prosperous, and -our boys grow up to be God-fearing, honest men, is the prayer of every -man and woman of our land. But prayers will never be answered if we sit -with our hands folded waiting for someone to do the work. - -In these hurrying days, when life is becoming complicated in so many -ways; when the love of money is greater than the love of mankind, you -wonder where can real happiness be found. - -Let us kindly suggest a new work, a new field of labor; a field that -may test human goodness and human ability, but where you will reap more -than riches, more than fame. - -Begin today, go out upon the streets, work among the newsboys, reach -down to those below, and offer a hand to lift them up. Throw around -them the proper protection and influence. In your own city, your own -town, at your own doors, are acres of diamonds only waiting for you to -help in the work of polishing. - -[Illustration] - - - - - TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES: - -—Obvious print and punctuation errors were corrected. - -—A Table of Contents for Chapters was not in the original work; one -has been produced and added by Transcriber. - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Boyville, by John E. 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