The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1880-02-10
.rhe plsadyanlaEes Of city noys."

81. Nicholas for March. !N' -gHU
Some months ago, Rev. Washington
GLADDEN., Of Springfield, Mass. believing
THAT II he could find out how the active
and prominent men Of bis own city spen,
their boyhood, it would help to solve the
problem Of what is the best training FOL
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: r--,....-. ..if
"MY DEAR srn-I desire to find out, ior
the benefit Of the boys, how the leading
men Of this city spent their boyhood.
Will you be kind enough TO tell me- NJ
81. Whether your, home during the first
fifteen years OF your life was on o farm,
in village, or in a city, and, 4
"2. Whether you were accustomed,
during any part Of that period, to engage
in any kind Of work when you were not
in school? ,.a
81 should be glad, OF course, to have
you go into particulars as fully as you are
disposed to do; but l do not wish to tax
your patience, and shall be greatly
obliged for o simple answer to these two
questions" .,,..5. SID, a
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
,,,ha a.au,1 tha hall t,nat,nAa a,d all, Az
streets Of our cities in these later days.
Here is a brief summary OF the returns:
ofthese lightweight men, twelve spent
the first fifteen years OF their life in the
city, twelve in villages, tand sixty-iour
were farmers boys.
But OF the twenty.four who lived in vii.
lagos and cities, six were practically farm
ers' 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:
I II learned to hoe, dig and NOV; in
fact, 1 wis obliged to work, whether l
liked It or no. In winter went to school,
and worked nights and mornings for my
board"
Another said: ~ used to work away
from home some in the summer aud fall.
In the winter when going TO school, We
three boys used to work up the wood for
winter use" 49,
-Four others ted substantially the same
story. Asthese were about the same as
farmers boys, we may add them to that
list, so that seventy out Of eighty.eight-
almost four.flths OF all these men-had
thu traininun nj farm life
Now how was 1t with the eighteen city
and village boys on the list? Did they
have IN easy time OF IT. Five oftthem
did, rs they testify; five Of them had no
work in particular to do, but one Of the
Ave says that be studied law when out OF
school, and that wat 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 mar
row and needy circumstances
though they lived In cities or villages, they
were accustomed from their earliest years
TO hard work. \
lF"was generally Employed says ono. |
during the summer months, and In yaca.
ions, in doing any kind Of work that Offer.
Four Of the city boys were asy.bsys.