Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1880-02-15
"The Disadvantages of Ctty Boys ,

"The Disadvantages of Ctty Boys"
Some months ago, Rev. Washington Glad
den, of Springfield, Mass, believing that if
he could find out how the active and promi-
nent men of his own city spent their boy
hood, 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, CONNER
cial, professions! and educational interests
of the city.
''MY DEAR SIR:-I 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 fif-
teen yaars of your life farm, in vii
lage, or in city, and,
~. Whether you were accustomed, during
any part of that period, to engage IN any kind
of work when you were not In school!
81 should be glad, of course, to have you go
into particulars as fully as you axe disposed to
do: but do not wish to tax your patience, and
1 shall be greatly obliged for simple answer
to these two questions.
No less than eighty sight of the busy gen.
tlemen who received this circnlar we're kind
enough to answer the questisns,-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 Ell the streets of our cities in
these later days. Here is a brief summary
of the returns, as they will appear in st.
Nicholas for March:
Of these eighty ight mon, twelve spent
the first fifteen years of their life in the city,
twelve i'll villages, and sixty-four were farm
ers' boys.
But of the twenty-four who lived in vii Ia
ges and cities, six were practically farme rs
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:
81 learned to hoe, dig and NOV; in fact, l
was obliged to work whether liked it or no.
In winter I went to school and worked
nights and mornings for my board"
Another said 81 used to work away
from home some 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 othsss told substantially the same
story. AS these were about the same as
farmers boys, we may add them to that list,
SO that seventy GU. Of eighty eight-almost
four-ffths of all these men-had the train
ing of farm life.
Now how was it with the eighteen CITY
and village boys Oh the list? Did they have
an easy time of it? Five Of them did, as
they testify: five OF them had 10 work in
particular to do, but one of the five says
:hst he studied law when out Of school,
and that was not exactly play. The rest
of the eighteen were poor bOys,-not
paIpers, by any means, but children of
the humber classes, many of them in
narrow and needy c!rcumstances,-a
though they lived in cities or villages, they
were accustomed from their earliest years
to hard work.
"Was generally employed" says one,
''during tbs summer months and in vaca-
tons in doing any kind of work that
offered
Four OF ths city boys were newsboys. One
of them says: sThe last year I was connect
ed with the press, earned ono hundred dol
lars before breakfast
Another: 81 have paid my own way since
eight years Of age, without any assistance
except my board from my eighth to my elev
enth year.
OF all these eighty eight boys, FIVE only
had nothing particular to do.
While these boys were growing and work
ing, great many others,-sons of mer-
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 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 cannot be large, for in Springfield
Only five men out OF eishty-eight came from
this class. Ninety-four and half per cent.
were either far :ners' boys or poor and hard
working town boys.
Mr.. GLADDEN. made his report to the public
of Springfield, in the form of a lecture. The
mere announcement of the subject alone
crowded the church, which is large one, and
the interest in the lecture was SO great that
the mayor and several of the represen tative
citizens requested repetition in tie Music
hall. When this came off, 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 deductions
will appear in one of the leading magazines
for March. He is now engaged on Talk
With Girls" for the same magazine. 1t will
be printed before long, and will be of vital
interest to girls, and suited to their require
ments, as this paper is suited to the boys.
Fond du Lac Commonwealth: piece of
match improperly used is capable of doing
much injury-a fact to which MIR. Emerson,
residing on First street can testify. Several
evenings ago he went home, and after pull
ing off his boots lighted match about
third of which burned away. The fragment
he careessly dropped and it fell into one of
his boots. On the following morning he
hastily pulled on the boot in which the
match had fallen, and which, strange
enough, stood in such position that the end
pierced his heel, entering the flesh about an
inch. The fragment was with some diff
Guilty extracted but left painful wound, the
result of which has confined MIR. Emerson to
his home up to this tine, and bids fair to
lay him up for some time to come. The
limb is badly swollen to the hip, and he ex-
periences much pain therefrom.
1t is believed that Deacon William Trow-
bridge, of Sheboygan Falls, is the oldest Ma
son in Wisconsin. He joined Morning Star
lodge, Worcester, Mass, in 1915. He located at
Sheboygan Falls in 1916 and connected him
self with the lodge at Sheboygan soon after