The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1878-03-09
What Our Boys Are Reading.

Prof. Sumner, of Yale College, has been
examining the flash story papers SO widely
read by boys, and in Scribner for March gives
some earnest words Of warning to parents.
accompanied by specimens of the types de-
scribed in the stories. Here is one;
Another type of hero very common
in these stories is the city youth, son of
a rich father, who does not give his son
as much pocket money as the latter
considers suitable. This constitutes
stinginess on the father part, although
it might be considered pardonable, see
ing that these young men drink cham
payne every day, treat the crowd gen.
orally when they drink, and play bill
iards for 800 game. The father, in
this class of stories, is represented as
secretly vicious and hypocritically pious.
In the specimen of this class before us
the young man is discovered'' in the
Police Court as prisoner, whence he is
remanded to the Tombs. He has been
arrested for collaring big policeman,
to prevent him from overtaking a girl
charged with pocket-picking. He in
terfered because he judged from the
girls face that she was innocent, and it
is suggested, for future development in
the story, that she was running away
from insult, and that the cry of "stop
thief was to get help from the police
and others to seize her. The hero, who is
the son of a man worth S., 900, 000 and
who is in prison under an assumed
name. now sends for his fathers clerk
and demands $1,000, saying that other
wise he will declare his real name and
disgrace his family. He gets the money.
He then sends for notorious Tombs
lawyer, to whom he gives $500. With
this sum his release is easily procured.
He then starts with his cousin to initi-
ate the latter into life in New York.
They 90 to a thieves college, where
they see young fellow graduated. His
part consists in taking things from the
pockets of hanging figure, to the gar
ments of which bells are attached, with
out causing the bells to ring. OF this a
full-page illustration is given. The two
young men then 60 up the Bowery to a
beer saloon, where the hero sustainS his
character by his vulgar familiarity with
the girl walters. Next, they hear row
in side street. They find crowd col.
lected watching a woman who hangs
from third-story window, while hel
drunken husband beats and cuts hel
hands to make her fall The hero
solves this situation by drawing his re-
volver and shooting the man. AS he
and his companion withdraw unob
served, the former wards off the com
pliments of the latter by saying mod
estly that he could not bear to stanC
there and see such crowd looking on
not knowing what to do, so he just die
the proper thing, Next day the hero
meeting the thieves college graduate
in the corridor of the Fifth Avenue Ho
tel, agrees to receive and hold for hin
any booty he may seize IN the bar-roon
which he does. At night he and his
friend 90 to a disreputable masked ball
where the hero recognizes his father il
disguise amongst the dancers. Securing
place in the same set, during paus
in the dance he snatches the mask from
his own face and his fathers at tn,
same moment. This edifying inciden
is enforced by a full-page illustration
) A friend suggests the question: VIVA
demon of truthfulnesS makes the arts
! put such brutal and vulgar faces on tn
J men? In this class of stories, father
| and sons are represented as natural en-
emies, and the true position for the sol
is that of suspicion and armed peace.