The Portland daily press., 1883-09-06
News on the Rail.
The Boys Who Supply Travellers with
Reading Matter-What They Are, and
the Positions Which Some OF Them
Rsach.
Boston Journal


cry passenger instinctively to grasp his
purse, not as one avoiding highwayman,
but welcoming the railway boy. The sharp
little fellow knows at a glance which paper
is wanted, and before the coppers are
reached out to him he has the favorite jour-
nal of the purchaser ready These news
boys are just in their element when selling
their wares to the ever changing variety of
travellers. Bright, active boys, with eyes
and tongues ready for any emergency, they
desire nothing better than TO test their pow
ers Of sense and persuasion, especially when,
as is the case on most of the Boston roads,
the more they bring these powers into play
the greater is their pecuniary reward.
On most of the roads leading out of the
city the newsboys receive u commission of
fifteen per cent. on their sales. The more
they sell, the better are their chances of be-
Ing staiisafHsd "Wtheh "hffsI" considered as
yielding the best returns TO the newspaper
boy. The rewards of the hoys vary, of
course, according to their ability; some get
only SO or $4 week, while others get all the
way from $12 TO S25. The highest returns
known were reaped by one of the lads
formerly on the Eastern Railroad, who in
one particular week earned over $50, while
his average returns ranged as rule between
$50 and $40. His ease. however, was an
exceptional one, and as a rule the hewsb0ys
earn little more than their living. With
this, while they are yet boys, they are con-
tent, and when afterward they branch out
into other business they find that the knowl-
edge of human nature, the shrewdness, the
hon rxofa Cd
The rail stands them in good stead for life.
Moreover as one young man who is now
at the head of the depot business, having
begun as a newsboy, said, there is fascina-
tion, continual excitement about the work
which attracts and holds the boys. At the
Boston and Maine Depot alone, as many as
twenty applications have been received in
one day. When they leave their youthful
pursuit, they scarcely ever fail of lucrative
position. There are many instances OF boys
who began few years ago, now acting as
conductors, or even as higher officials. Mr..
Lendall, the General Passenger Agent, be-
gan life as a newsboy on the Boston and
Albany. Others, who do not join the rail-
road force, are promoted to positions Of
trust at the depot news stands, and often
finally carrying on the business on their own
account. Mr.. Armstrong, who is at the head
Of the news trace on several of our rail-
roads, began as a newsbOy at the same time
with James Tent, the present Superintend-
ant of the News Company. Mr.. Powers, ex-
Mayor of Springfield, at one time sold pa
pers on the train for a living. Alderman
H. Devln of this city began as a newsboy
on the Providence Road, and at present has
control of the busines on that road. There
regular salary is paid, ranging from $3.50
TO 100 week, and on the Boston and Maine
fixed salary is also given.
The veteran news dealer of the Boston
railroads is Mr.. George Wheeler Of the Bos-
ton aud Maine. He started his news stand
at the depot in 1S48, and in 1850 the Boston
and Albany news stand then consisting of
a mere tabe-was put in operation. ToMr.
Armstrong aud Mr.. Tent, however, belongs
the honor of being the pioneers in the news
traffic on board the trains. In 1852 they
started out on their career, running on the
Albany trains. At first the newsboys were
also obliged to furnish ice water to the pas
sengers, but the custom now is for the rail-
road corporations to furnish their own
water carriers. leaving the newsboys TO pur-
sue their legitimate business. 1t is COM
mendabe fact that the newsboys are not
furnished with any style OF trashy or vulgar
literature to offer passengers of any class.
About ten years ago Mr.. Armstrong started
the opposition to this traffic, and soon the
good example.
Another praiseworthy trait of these rail-
road newsboys, besides their ability, is their
honesty. AS rule the young news agents
are as reliable set of lads as can be found.
There are, of course, exceptions, but no
more than in any other line of business. As
one gentleman whose experience covers at
least dozen years, said, "Why talk about
our boys being dishonest, they're far more
honest than half the passengers they have
to deal with. And as to their character, Pye
had only one complaint in the last three
years and that was from an old lady who
thought the boy was terribly depraved be-
cause he sold IngersolPs lectures on the
train She cared less about that than she
did of the retort the quck-witted lad quiet
ly made to her indignant scolding. Yes
the boy had said, He is hard hitter against
you hard-shell Baptists, no mistake ;"
The newsboys are more than once brought
to shsw their shrewdness in detecting a pas
senger thief. Many time, as one ex-news-
boy declared, he had found one of his books
missing after they had been ''lapped''-as
the newsboy slang would designate the pro-
cess of distributing the books through the
car. The boy counts his books before he
enters the car, and then again after be has
finished, so that he knows when one has
been captured. Then by little detective
work he manages often to "spot' the dis
honest passenger, after while he is sure
OF recovering the stolen properly. 81 tell
you,' said the bright young man. "He
couldn't get away then. One man spotted
denied ever having seen the book, but Just
reached over and pulled it out of his breast
pocket, where corner was showing. Then
he declared he bought it, but appealed to
the passenger opposite, aud he said l was all
right. came near getting in big row, for
the man wanted to thrash me, but you know
we're always hand-in-hand with railroad
men, and brakeman set the fighter down
in his seat so quick he couldn't wink. Then
again." he continued, ''there's lots of folks
that will quietly slip their coat or shawl over
book and be willing to capture 1t, If we
don't notice the trick. Besides that, we
have lots of greenhorns who think we're
giving the things away, and it takes consid-
cradle patience to convince them otherwise"
Incidents such as these naturally tend to
make lad sharp and quick-witted, and
their training fits them well for a business
career.
Iaou again their pvwsrs OF judgment are
continually brought inso play. As with pa
pers so with books, the boy acquires the hab-
1t Of telling at glance which style of litera-
ture suits each person. "Ouida" for the
young couple who always sit as if the seat
was made for three, Emerson" for the
the thoughtful young man with the glasses,
Somebody's Handbook for the man with the
linen duster and travelling hat, "Zola" for
the flashy fellow across the way, and Ned
Buntline" for the little chap ON the corner
seat. AS illustrative of the bloodthirsty
tendency of portion of our Young Ameri-
ca, Boston and Albany newsboy relates
how he sold two detective stories on
single seat. OF the two little fellows the
older bought one of these thrilling tales, and
while the other was hesitating the first hasti-
ly scanned the opening page. In an instaEth-
broke out: "By jimmy. Bob. there's fou
men killed on the first page. Buy another"
And he bought another. At the present
time "Peck's Bad Boy appears to be the
great railroad attraction. The Boston 81
Albany-which, by the way, is considered
the best news road in Boston-has already
sold 1900 of these books.
In selling ON the train, it'has been found
that the gentlemanly young fellows always
sell the most, and this has In a great meas
ure Influenced the boys to act as they
should There are, no doubt, many sly
tricks sometimes resorted to-such as
''purging" (picking up papers teft on the
seats and re-selling them); exchanging q
cheap book for more costly one when the
passenger has read the latter, and then gain
ing by resale; rubbing and chalking the
edges of book which have become soiled,
so that it will appear new-but as rule the
boys work on strict business principles, and
though sharp. they are honest and industri-