Northern tribune. [volume] (Cheboygan, Mich.) 1875-1885, 1883-05-05
The Wrong Kind Of Boy.

Speaking about boys. Did You ever
notice how some boys make an effort to
get along in the worldp Whena young
man starts out in life he commences by
looking for position in which he may
earn his daily bread and find clothes to
cover his nakedness. If he is one of
those reckless, vagabond sort of boys
whose thoughts don't run rod into the
future, or hardly keep pace with the
things going on around him, or has
grown up about as does lonely and iso-
lated weed in the garden that obtains its
strength from rich spot in the ground
and draws nourishment from the better
fed plants and vegetables that from their
value receive care and attention, it is
safe to say that he is one who never
thinks of what the next day, month or
year may bring forth, and though near
ing the age of manhood he is about as
as a mulley calf. Still, he makes pre-
tense at caring for himself, and claims
to be doing all in his power to get along
in the world. Such boy starts out to
obtain a situation. He is reckless about
his personal appearance. His hair is
uncombed, face and hands unwashed,
and the general appearance of tramp
is his exterior recommendation. If he
applies for position, the man who hap
pens to need young man sizes him up
and concludes that he had rather employ
Digger Indian. if he has got to reform
and make clean the person whom ne
hires. And again, he will wander
around for days and weeks, hang
ing around places where they have
no more use for boy than dog
has for two tails. He spends one
day loafing about the depot, expecting
some one will come around and offer
him fine situation at four dollars per
day and board. He will stand around
and talk with the baggage man at the
depot, or help the lunch counter clerk
carry in coal for his dinner, and in the
afternoon he loafs around some more
and scrapes the acquaintance of the
brakeman in the yard and helps him
couple cars and unload freight, while
the brakeman fills him full of tatfy about
how easy it is to get a soft thing work
ing for railroad company. The next
he spends at the police court listening
to the cases tried, loafs an hour or two
at the postoffice, awhile in billiard hall
and winds up with visit to saloon
All the time he is fairly aching to have
some one give him position and he
curses the country where young man
can find nothing to do. When you see
that kind of young man you can set it
right down that he don't amount to
row of pins. Men don't hire boys from
under the caves of saloon, and when
they are looking for young man to do
job of work they do not go through
the crowd loafing around the depot with
a search warrant, and pick out the dirti-
est young tramp among the number. No
one ever heard of a man who wanted to
hire young, bright, active, stirring boy,
with fire in his eye, energy and vinegar
in his constitution, looking over
the loafers at the police station
for such boy. At such places
all the boys you would find
would only have energy enough to mas
ticate chew of tobacco, or hold down a
dry-goods box on street corner all day,
and swear through the evening about
the cursed country where there was moth
ing for a boy to do. When farmer
comes into town looking for boy to
help at the spring work, at fifteen dol
idrS q mOuIn anu DOdTu, He uOu LOOK
through the corridors of the post-office
and pick out the slouchiest looking loafer
in the crowd, or hunt up billiard hall,
and hire the boy who can pocket the
most balls at pool, or drink the most
beer. Though boy may wear ragged
coat, or his pants may be out at the ell
bows because he has no one to mend
them, it is no reason why he should not
be trump, and take the highest trick.
Many q ooy with holes in his boots and
his coat torn, but whose face and hands
were clean, his eyes bright, and his sys-
tenn full of energy, has carried off the
persimmons when other and better
dressed boys have stood around with
their hands in their pockets, cursing
their luck. But the boys can make up
their minds that while business man
sees them loafing around depots, police
courts, the post-office, or street corner,
he would not hire any one of their num-
Der to carry swill to his pigs. That's
about the way business men feel about |
it, and it is time the boys knew it. The
cleanest, brightest boy is the one who
catches on every time.-Peck's Sun.