Middletown transcript., 1880-02-21
"THE DISADVANTAGES OF CITY
BOYs.''z

OOlIC 1HOnL4lo dSOy 1bGf. w aS1l0R
ton GLADDEN., of Springfield, Mass.
believing that if he could find out how
the active and prominent men of his
own city spent their boyhood, it would
help to solve the problem of what is
the best training for boys, prepared
the following circular, which was sent
to the one hundred men who could
fairly be said to stand at the head Of
the financial, commercial, professional
and educational interests of the CITY.
my DEAR S1R IL desire to find out, for
the benefit of the boys, how the leading men
Of this city spent their boyhood. Will you
be kind enough to tell me.
81. Whether your home during the first
fifteen years of your life was on farm, in a
village, or in city, and
| 20. Whether you were accustomed, dur
| ing any part of that period, to engage in any
kind of work when you were not in school !?
Il should be glad, of course, to have you
go into particulars as fully as you are dis
| posed 10 do; but do not wish to tax your
patience, and shall be greatly obliged for a
simple answer TO these two questions"
No less than lightweight of the busy
gentlemen who received this circular
were kind enough to answer the ques-
tions, some of them briefly, most of
them quite fully, and it turned out
that few had been brought up like
most of the boys who crowd the ball
grounds and fill the streets of our cit
les in these later days Here is brief
summary Of the returns:
Of these lightweight men, twelve
spent the first fifteen years of their
life in the city, twelve in villages, and
sixty-four were farmers boys.
Bat of the twenty-four who lived in
villages and cities, six were practically
farmers boys, for they lived in small
villages, or on the outskirts of cities,
and had the same kind of work to do
that farmers boys have. One of these
village boys said:
Il learned to hoe, dig and NOW in
fact, was obliged to work, whether
| liked it or no. In winter I went to
school, and worked nights and morn
ings for my board"
Another said: II used to work
away from home some on a farm in
the summer and fall. In the winter,
when going to school, we three boys
used to work up the wood for winter
use"
Four others told substantially the |
same story. As these were about the
same as farmers boys, we may add
them to that list, so that seventy out of
eighty-eight,-almost four-ffths Of all
these men,-had the training of farm
life.
Now how was it with the eighteen
city and village boys on the list Did
they have an easy time of it? Five
of them did, as they testify; five of
them had no work in particular to do,
but one of the five says that he stud
led law when out of school, and that
was not exactly play. The rest Of the
eighteen were poor boys,-not pau
pers, by any means, but children of
the humber classes, many of them in
narrow and needy circumstances
and though they lived in cities or vii
lagos, they were accustomed from
their earliest years to hard work
"Was generally employed" says
one, during the summer months, and
in vacations, in doing any kind Of
work that offered"
Four Of the city boys were news
boys. One of them says: "The last
year was connected with the press, /
earned one hundred dollars before
breakfast"
Another: II have paid my own
way since eight years of age, without
any assistance except my board from
my eigth to my eleventh year."
Of all these Lightweight boys, five
only had nothing particular to do.
While these boys were growing and
a great many others,-sons
If mel chants and lawyers,-were
growing up in Springfield, going to
school and amusing themselves, as
boys Of their class are apt to do.
Where are they? Only five Of his
lass are heard from among the eighty
light solid men of that city. Some of
hem, perhaps, are prosperous men in
'ther cities. but the number cannot be
arge, for in Springfield only FIVE men
'ut Of eighty-eight came from this class.
Ninety-four and half per cent. were
ither farmers boys or poor and hard
town-boys.
Mr.. GLADDEN. made his report to the
'ublic of Springfield, in the form of a
ecture. The mere announcement of /.
he subject alone crowded the church,
'hich is large one, and the interest !!
a the lecture was so great that the !.
fayor and several of the representa- !
we citizens requested a repetition in
he Music Hall. When this came of,
he hall was packed and hundreds
'ent away from the doors unable to
ain entrance Y
Mr. GLADDEN. has rewritten tae lee u
Ire, and his interesting facts and log i
al deductions will appear in one Of +,
le leading magazines for March. He T
now engaged on "Talk with Girls" f
n the same magazine. 1t will be i
rinted before long, and will be of q
ital interest to girls, and suited to c,
leir requirements, as this paper is a
Iited to the boys. n
*From advance sheets of an article by Rev. -
ashington GLADDEN., of Springfield, Mass, "
nich will appear in the March number of ol
Nicholas tt
A young man brought this in: "The SO
Ilatial residence of our well-known su
L;unr Tnhu Grn.AL T. IL VI