The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1880-03-03
" The Disadvantages Of, City Boys

The following is from an article in
81. Nicholas for March. .,....nl .r'rr p a.
Some months ago, Rev: Washington
GLADDEN., of Springfield, Mass, believ-'
ing 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 follows
hundred, men who could faftly be said
to stand at the head of4the financial,
commercial; professional and educa-
tiohal interests Of the city: nt".a' :, ,'E q
NIX DEAR SIM: Il decire to find out,
for the benefit of tho boys" how the,
leading men of this city spent their boy
hood: viii you be kind enough to tell
me I, = lo~t "- - ~ st~;,1"hnu .~TG' -
/. Whether your home during the
first, fifteen years Of your, life, was, on
farm. in q village, or in q city, and, 4
@. 2.oWheeher:: you were accustomed,
during any part of that period, to
engage in any kind ofWork when you
were not in school !? 9""I :,
- should be ghd, Of course, 70 have
you 20 into 'pafticulars as fully as you
are disposed to do; but do not wish to
tax your patience, and i Ishalfbegreatly
obliged Fl q simple answer to these 'eP
two LleStlOnH.H Hs1 Jr!vrrU irai aRlk I,
No less than eighty-eight of the busy
gentlemen who received tliisH Circular
were kind enough to answer the aues-
tions-snraeaof, 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 bah RroundS
and filth streets of our cities in these
later days. Here is brief surnmary OF
the returns: .Ynll~oT J.,
OF these eights-eight' men, twelve
spent the, first, fifteen years Of Their life
in the city, twelve in villages, and sixty.
four were farmers boys.nT"" roo'i"9rp :.
But of the, ,'twenty.four who lived i'm
villages and cities. six were, :prach heany
farmers boys, for they lived In small
villages, aor on The outskirts Of cities,
and had the SAME, kind Of work TO do
that farmers boys. haVe.u. One Of these
village boys said: '7"" ''.! %! :-t vi 81
tr" I leaTned to hoe, digand NOV = in
fact, + was obliged to de- work. whether
I liked it or no. In winter I went to
school, and worked nights ind mornings
for, my board.p,, "'' .!
Another said 81 used to4worh away
from home some on a farm inSthe9sumr
mer and fall" Inthe 'wifiter, wheen going
TO school. we, three boys used to work
up the wood for wiuter'uBe:"tt' ,uu -
Four others told substantially the
same story. AS these were about the
same as farmersaboys,we may add1them
to that list, 50 that seventy out Of eighty
eight-almost four -fitths tof ali these
men-had the training Of farm iife!7o, -,
Now how, was It with the eighteen
city and village boys on the listy, 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 children of the humber
classes, many of them in narrow and
seedy, circumstances-and though they
lived in cities or villages, they were ,ac-
customed from their earliest years, to.
hard work. ''' ,o',n. ~. ..,t, 40 " D.
"Was generally, employed" says one,
during the summer months ana IN va
cations in doing any kind Of work tha7i
offered" ... -, 20.
Four of the city boys were newsboys.
One of them says: 1.-THE last year was
connected with the press earned 500
before breakfast" ".....
Another: II 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 boys were growing and
working, 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?
O.lly five of this class are heard from
among the lightweight solid men of
that city. Some of them, perhaps, are
prosperous men in other cities. but the
number cannot be large, for in Spring
field only five men out of eighty eight
came from this class. Ninety -four and
half per cent. were either farmers
boys or poor and hard-working town
bows.