The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1883-01-13
What becomes of Knives:

A solemn problem is presented by the in
Qu,-y, what becomes of pins? TIE disap
pearance of cans which have contained
fruit, baked beans and other alluring arti-
Giles of diet, is another unsolved enigma.
No one is wise enough TO trace the where
abouts of the horse shoes which are always
coming OIL, anu which, of course, cannot
all be found But with the lost chords of
music and the lost arts must be reckoned
the immense body of disappearing con-
triyances for cutting and slashing, iamil-
iarly known as knives. Reference is here
made not to the table.kniic, putty
kuife, palet.knitc. or chopping,kn but
to the pocket-kniie, that humble instru-
ment of pleasure and pain, and TO the
knife of the boy, and not of the gravcr and
older class of whom the boys are fathers.
What becomes of boys pooket.knives2
Automatically the question is II large
one A country village with its hundred
boys loses at least on an averaged knife
and II half tor each boy every year The
boy who never loses knife is to be ranked
with the boy who never wets his feet, falls
OH a fence, shrieks, whistles, laughs or cries
when he ought not, the phenomenal chill
dfcu who are grave from tho first, and who
prefer to sit soberly by the iiresde with the
latest volume of the climbing Cherub
Series,n rather than to indulge in noisy
sports. If this village be multiplied by the
humble, OF towns in II state, and allowance
be made for greater population, the
annual aggregate is enormous Tor u single
state and what heap Of strayCd knives,
II brought together, would be the
result o, tabulating the statistics for all
hn "a nj at
lowest reasonable numbers, it is within
bounds to say, according to Professor Chit,
of the METROPOLITAN academy. that at least
>>7,0O0,C0 knives are lost each year in the
United States; or, TO use method of illus
tra,ion not unknown to the mental arith
metics, IL an active boy on bycicle should
take knife ut u time, and, starting from
the Park street gate of the Common; de-
post the knife IN the center of the parade
ground, aud return for another, allowing
Sneer minutes for each trip, the transpor.
Gtion OF these lost knives would take los.
900 900 minutes, or 100000 hours. These
hours would make nearly $4,000 days, or
about 20 years-at the end of which time
both boy and bycole would be worn out,
and the knives would have been lost again
several times,
Everybody loses knife at proper or i'm.
proper intervals Of time, but what right
minded boy ever iinds oncY The urchins
who find knives are the outcasts who Ia the
country stay away from school, possibly
hooking Jack, and catch u good string Of
fish; who crawl under the circus tent and
are not caught; or who in various ways
transgress the school and home laws, and
escape much injury. Or they are the city
Arabs whose eyes are keen Us those OF a
bird of prey, and whose hands are swim to
clutch bi. Of plumber out Of the mire
The respectable, proper boy by no accident
ever finds his own or any other boys kifc.
F, The chances arc altogether that q boy do.
serving a card Of merit or a
medal for good conduct would 10
across a state, certainly across
Rhode Island, In search OF wandering
knives, and report at home without q sin.
Gle trophy. There must be q measure Of
improprlety aud irrcgularity In lad who
finds iacknlves. A new teacher IN q boys
school Ia Idaho began his duties by the
simple inquiry, How many boys present
ever found q knifc' Four Of the pupils
hold up their hands, and were at once put
on tho black list. Before week was past,
these boys had shown their true cclors.
The knilc test for wlckedness Is as sure as
the pcppcrmint test for sewer pipes. There
ore undoubtedly deposits oflost knives sew. |