New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1870-10-28
SUNDAY NEWSPAPER CRIERS
Their Suppression in Washington
THE NEwsBoYs' INDIGNATION MEETING
SPEECHES ON THE OCCASION

Sunday sale of newspapers on the streets
The newsboys held an Indignation meet |
ing one evening last week, over which one |
of their number, John Fitzgerald, familiarly |
known as Fifty" presided. This is his |
opening speech;
Fellow w-Newsboys-W have assembled |
here tonight to express our Indignation |
against a petition which appeared III the |
Rep,.bhcca of Wednesday, to stop lis from
"crying Sunday papers, signed by some
men who think more OF q few hours lazy
rest in bed, than OF poor widows and or
phans, whose whole support depend on the
small pittance which we newsbOys make by
hard and honest labor, probably think that
thev are respecting the Sabbath. Very few
persons know what we suffer by getting up
at three and four o'clock in the morning
and standing i'll the snow or rain with
hardly clothing enough to cover us, while
they are warm in bed; If they did, probably
they would not have signed their names TO
that list.
There is one thing, boys, noticed in that
article, and that is, that several names ap-
pcared more than once i'll the list of signers:
probably the persons VIM got that list up
can tell how that happened; We can only
guess at it, and don think it hard work
to tell how. | have no doubt that some
have milk-wagOns come to their doors
Sunday morning and ring large bells for
about a quarter of an hour, thing which
not only is apt to wake them up, but also
the neighbOrs. | would like to know il our
cry is worse than that
Some of the names on that list | know to
be men who spend their Sahbaths III visit
ing beer gardens, creeping III side alleys
that lead to bar-rooms, and III other ways
worse than that.
Those names don't look well on that list.
AM tar .lpW
have signed it. Now what respect have
they for our Sabbath! Who makes more
noise than their children in the streets on
the Sabbath
Boys, | tell you what there are certain
persons in this world who you can get to
| stick their names to anything that will be
| put in the newspapers, and | think that Is
why there is So many names to this list.
! But some of them will see their names i'll the
| papers some day where they won't like il to
| be if they don't look out
| After thinking this all over think that
| the best thing We can do Is to get up peti-
! ton, to which we will all sign our names,
| asking the Mayor. Board of Aldermen. and
| Board of Common Council, not to stop us
| from crying papers on Sunday, as 1t Is VIII
| not sell half as much as before.
Mike Lynch was unanimously chosen sec
! retarv and in acknowledg dgment of the com
pliment made the following remarks:
| Feller Newsboys-Me and you and all
| of us is going to suffer by this here law If
| them City COuncilmen is a going to pass this
| here law what will stop Ills from crying ont
| our papers On Sunday. If they does stop
| us how is we a going to let the people know
where we is on a Sunday morning. Now
| the people of all kinds wants TO read the
| papers on Sunday, and we viii have to
| either ring the bells or toot a horn for TO let
them know where we is. hope that you
| 1ellers will behave yourselves tonight. and
act dixie fellers what knows what they is
| about. Don't you be scared. There is
| plenty of your friends in the Councils, and
| if We only ask 'em right why they'll see that
we is not imposed on by them men who
| signed that perttiOn.
Mike took his seat amid great applause,
| and then the assembled boys were told by
the presiding Fitz to hear.
. Fifty called on Patsy Miligan for a few
remarks. and this is what the latter said:
Mr.. President: | don't keer about goin
| back to blackin boots agin for them roosters
that wants us to stop holleIin papers on a
Sunday moinin. l gifts up early, and works
| hard enuf with my jaws to try to turn an
| honest penny; and now some of them telafs
that's too lazy to git up on Sunday mornin
| till afternoon comes wants to splle the blsI-
| ness.
If them COuncimen won't stick to us,
may be we can get a bill to sell the papers
on il Sunday afternoon to suit the church
people. There's George Basset, Klarance
| Barton and Ben Palmer, Johnny Murray
| and Artur Shepherd and his big brother,
| who is in the Aldermen and plenty of Coun-
cilmen wat will stick for early news on a
| Sunday mOrnin, cause tGey don't lay abed
asleep till dinner time. There's plenty Of
| big men in the country watts followed our
| trade, when they was boys Il hollerin news
! N
and it amt Il fair shake to come any slch
dodge now. If them farcO banks and bill
| Hard saloons and draw-roker tables Will
| shut mp earlier on a Saturday night, them
| fellows that signed that paper agin us KIN
| get more sleep and rush out early on a Sun
! day after their paper when they hear lis a
! yelln. Let's all 90 to the City Hall a Mon
day night and show them city fathers our
| ragged clothes, and ask EN- if they kin go
| back on us.
The following letter was read by Fitzy,
| who pref;tced that it was written by Frank
| Carr, who could not be present on account
of being obliged to sell his New York
papers:
! Fellow Newsbovs and Citizens-I con
| gratulate you all at this meeting tonight,
| which involves for our interest The Oh
| .iect Of our meeting is to discuss this question:
| whether we will be allowed to cry our
| papers out on Sunday. There appeared in
| the Reputlicon of Wednesday a list of our
| merchants of this city-there were l239
Among them We're such men as Perry N
Bro, A. Saks, and a great many more OF
men that have very near made their for
| tune; those are the kind Of men that signed
| this Petition for to prevent the newsboys
from crying their papers on Sunday because
they do not make anything of Sunday and
we do.
| Sunday is the day we only make our liv-
ing; the worhingmen are all home on Sun
day to pass away their time. 1t is the poor
man that supports us, and not the rich man;
there might be few good men among them
rich fellows! II you ask them do they want
a paper this morling:-No; 90 long, you are
a poor newsboy; You ought to be at church.
They must remember that they were boys
once; and maybe some of them as poor as
any of us. hear to-day that a clergyman
was going around this city, those few last
days, hunting up all the Councilmen to get
their vote for to stop the newsboys from
crying papers on Sunday Let every Coun-
Gilman consider this over, and then give
their idea on this question Ii there is any
good man among them they will surely
be in favor of the poor newsboy
when this bin comes before them
next week How do they expect us
to sell papers on Sunday without
crying them out! Have we to 90 and ring
every mans door bell. know now. if any
man be i'll his house eating his breakfast or
fast asleep, he would not like us to make
them get up from their slumbers or break
fast. He might accidentally throw hot
water or some other thing down on us. OF
course we would not like that, or would he
like the other experiment and so we or the
gentleman would have to sue each other tor
ringing his bell or he throwing hot water