The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1872-04-04
A PAINFUL CONTEAST-WAKE Ur,
BOYS!

To Soutlcrner visiting the popu-
lOua and stirring centres OF trade i'll
the North, one sight strikinSly con-
traSts With some things which he is
accustomed to see at home. We al
Jude tOthe active employment of boys
and young men in New York and
other large cities. The stranger meets
with hundreds Of youths, varying in
age from fourteen to twenty, who are
engaged in the thousand different
branches Of manufacture, traffic and
business. These boys move along the
leading thoronghflres with an energy
and d,rectness which give the most
hopeful promise Of future success.
With brOws knit, lips compressed,
eyes that look right onward, they urge
their determined course amidst the
the eager t houSandS that throng the
streets. Here one bears an order book
OF shipping list; another carries Il
bank deposit book one has Il handful!
of circulars for distribution; one an
armful Of matter just received from
the postoilice; u third II bundle of
iilSIlttJllto li1kJ llhN y u NDlitb oNtl tilC
wires from the most distant portions
Of the wor!h. Here II parcel boy is
DELIVERING purchases to distant pur-
chascrs. A brawny bare-armed lad
pushing along II hand cart loadel with
wares, threading his way among
hundreds Of bustling vehicles that
block up the narrow street. a sooty
disciple OF Faust tolls along under the
weight Of n huge form Of type, which
he IS carrying to the neighboring press
man, while from the opposite quarter
his ink-bespattered companions come
bringing huge bundles OF pamphlets or
newspapers already printed and ready
fortlle hands ofthe mailing clerks and
post bags. Here is II boy lent double,
pulling along with a pyramid OF
paper boxes towering above his
head. AT the corner we run against
the carpenters apprentice with a fold
ing ladder upon his shoulder, and a
complement Of tools in his swart
hands. There goes the brazier's boy
with smoking furnace, AID here the
tinman's boy with Il staggering load
Of brightly polished pipes, ready for
use. BY the curbstOne sits the street
merchant, a beardless lad with u gilt
tering store OF gaudy lrinkets, indus
triously assailing the eye anu ear of
every paSaer-by. Here is your soda
water vender, aglib-tongued youngster
who seduceS the thirsty wayfarer into
II three cent Investment for question
able syrups of dubious flavor. Within
doors the embryo merchant thrives
and expands in every stage Of strUg-
Cling adolescence. Scores of cash boys
dart in aud out between counters piled
with tempting goods. Young men
stand ready and alert to attend the
customers lightest wish. The news
dealers distributing rooms are alive
with a wriggling mass of noisy and
eager boys. The market stalls resound
with boyish cries of "Here's your
prime beef" In the immense store.
rooms of wholesale houses, as well rs
the narrow quarters of the thriving
ragman, boys and young men are ill.,
stalled rs active and effective workers.
In machine shops and fOundries they
are found showing the plane, or WELD
ing the axe and swinging the sledge-
hammer, fitting themselves for the
tolls of the busy wOrkday
world. You see but little idling or
about street corners. The
traditional whistler, with his ever
jack-knife is an extinct genus.
Every where, on the contrary, you
lind energy, activity and exertion.
In the South, We are glad to know,
hundreds of boys and young men in
The country districts have aroused
themselves Of late years to tie neces-
of the situation. An increasing
number have gone into the fields,
aside traditional pride and con
'titutional indiiierences; and with hon
st and faithful toll have these worthy
men vindicated their claims to n noble
manhood. All honor to these hardy
n. .. .". -H|N