Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1880-02-17
,r: In: 8 IA. 8 m. i =.
"The Disadvantages of City Boys,

MIR. Gladdcn'S full report will appear in the
March number Of tho st. Nicholas Magaz zine.
Similar statistics Of Alexandria and other ties,
though not more Instructive to the people thers.
OF, might provo moro attractive to them, from
the local interest they would naturally excite.
Some months ago, Rev. Washington Glad
den, of Springfield, Mass, believing that if he
could find out how tho active and prominent
men OF his own city spent their boyhood, it
would help to solso tho problem of what is tho
best training for boys, prepared the following
circular, which was ssnt to the one hundred
men who could fairly ba said to stand at tho
head of the inar cal, commercial professional
and educational interests of the city.
My dear sir: desire to find out, for the
benefit of tho boys, how tho leading men of this
city spent thcr btyhood. Will you bo kind
enough to tell me,
u. Whether your homo during the first
fifteen years OF your life was on O farm, 10
village. or in city, and.
- whether you wcro accustomed, during
any part OF that period. to engage 10 any kind
Of Wolk when you Wero not 10 SCHOOL,
Il should be glad. of course, to have you 20
into particulars as fully as yGu arc disposed to
do; but do not wish to tax your patience, and
/ shall be greatly Obliged for simple answer
TO !hesc two questions"
No less than eighty eight of the busy gentle.
men who received this circular were kind enough
to answer tho questions, s,-somo of them briefly,
most Of them quite fully, aud it turned out that
lew had been brought up like most OF the boys
who crowd the ball grounds and ill tic streets
OF our cities IN these later days. Her5 is q
brief summary of tho returns:
Of these eighty-eight mon, twcve spent tho
lirst fifteen years of their life in tho city, twelve
10 villages, aud siXty.tour were farmers boys.
But OF tho twenty-tour who lived in villages
and cities. SIX we're practically farmers boys, for
they lived in small Villages. or oa the outskirts
Of cities. aad had Tho ssme kind Of work to do
Tint farmers boy hsye. Ono Of thcs. village
boya saii:
II leaned to hoo dig aod mos; ia fsc;, |
5pas obliged TO wcrk, whether liked it or 40.
In ~iGtcs ] went 10 school. soa worked nights
ard moro;egH for ny beard"
Another said: IL used 10 posi, away from
fnroc 5amo GA q farm il the summcr aud fan.
ln ~li,'tr, uhCn gon. 70 school. 70 thrca boys
1sed to work W Tho wood fer winter uso."
tUHT Others told substantially the samo story.
As thtsa W:ro ah2nE tho ssmo as farmers
hois. WE may atiG Iinn, to that list, so lilst
sau"n;y oui Ct eighty eight Almost fur iitths
c' I'll thcs' TnD,---,Ad tho tIairiug Of falna!ie.
NnsF how wa8 ii with the eighteen city and
7'itHgl beys on tbs list? DID they have M
easy time Of it? Five Of them did, es they
tcsliis; two OF tho1n bad 90 work 10 particular
30, hut ono Of the five says that ho studied
law when cut Of school, and that was
not exactly play. Tho rest of tho
eighteen wcro poor hCys--not paupers, by any
means, bat children of tho burbler Glasses,
many 0l thom 10 narrow and needy ciroum
slaDoos-aHa though they lived in cities or vil-
lagos. they Wero accustomed from their earliest
yoats 60 hard work.
"Waa generally employed" says one, dur
ing tho suInmor months, and in vacations, in
doing any kind of work that offered"
taur Of tho city boys werc uewsboys One
OF them Gsya Tho last year J. was connected
With the pEces, [ oarnod oGo hundred dollars
before Breakfast"
Another: II have paid ny OWN way sinco
eight years OF ego. without any assistance ex
cspS my board from my eighth to my eleventh
yeer"
Of all these eighiy-oight boys, f7o only had
nothing particular To do.
Whilo these boys wcro growing and working,
a REeat many othcrs-sons of merchants and
lswyeEs--#ero growing up in Springfield, going
10 schocl and amusing themselves, as boys of
their GLASS "ro apt to do. Whero gro they :
Ooly tiVo OF this class are heard from among
| tho eighty eight solid men of that CITY. Some
OF thom, perhaps. arc prosperous men 10 other
CITIES, but the number cannot b, large, for 10
oDfln2hold only live men out of eighty eight
| camo from this GLASS. Ninety four and half
per ooat. we're either farmers boys or poor aud
rH rtrIn kovup