Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1880-02-24
1.-THE DISADVANTAGES OF CITY
BOYS"

BOYS"
Some months ago, Rev. Washington
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, pro-
fessional and educational interests Of the
city.
Nv Dear Sir Il desire TO find out, for
the benefit. OF the boys, how the leading
men of this city spent their boyhoOd. Will
you he kind enough to tell me
/. Whether your home during the first
fifteen years OF your life was on farm, In
u village, or In city; and,
9. Whether you were accustomed, dur
ing any part Of that period, to engage In
any kind Of work when you were not In
school?
should be glad, OF course, To have you
go into particulars as fully as you are dis
posed to do; but do not wish to tax your
patience, and shall be greatly obliged for
simple answer to these two questions.
No less than eighty eight of the busy
gentlemen who received this circular were
kind enough to answer the questions
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 backgrounds and fill the streets
Of our cities in these later days. Here
is brief summary Of the returns:
OF these eighty-eight men, twelve
spent the first fifteen years Of their life in
the city, twelve in villages, and sixty-four
were farmers boys.
But 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 vii
lage boys said:
81 learned to hoe, dig and NOW; in
fact. was obliged to work, whether |
liked il or no. In winter | went to
school, and worked nights and mornings
for my board"
Another said: 81 used to work away
from home some on a farm in the sum-
mer 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-fifths Of 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 studied law when out OF
school, and that was not exactly play.
The rest of the eighteen were poor boys,
not paupers. by any means, but chill.
dren 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 vaca-
tions, in doing any kind Of work that
offered"
-Four of the city boys were newsboys.
One of them says: The last year | was
connected with the press, | earned one
hundred dollars before breakfast"
Another: Il have paid my own way
since eight years of age, without any
assistance except my board from my eighth
to my eleventh year"
Of all these eighty-eight boys, five only
had nothing particular to do.
While these bows were growing and
working, a great many others-sons Of
merchants 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 this class are heard from among
the eighty-eight solid men of that city.
Some of them, perhaps, are prosperous
men in other cities, but the number can
not be large, for in Springfield only five
men out Of eighty-eight came from his
class. Ninety-four and half per cent.
were either farmers boys or poor and
hard-working town-boys.
Mr.. GLADDEN. made his report to the
public of Springfield, in the form Of q
lecture. The mere announcement Of the
subject alone crowded the church, which
is a large one, and the interest in The
lecture was so great that the mayor and
several Of the representative citizens re-
quested a repetition in the Music Hall
When this came of, the hall was packed
and hundreds went away from the doors
unable to gain entrance.
Mr.. GLADDEN. has rewritten the lecture,
and his interesting facts and logical de.
ductions will appear in one Of the leading
magazines for March. He is now en-
gagged on a Talk with Girls" for the
same magazine. 1t will be printed be-
fore long, and will be Of vital interest te
girls, and suited to their requirements, as
this paper is suited to the boys.