The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1886-04-08

=
unkempt and dank hair falling over his
side face and shoulders. His face is
noble one, but full of unutterable woe and
desolation. Turning over the leaf, we
are informed that this boy can be taken
care of for twenty dollars.
Such pictures are generally regarded as
an appeal of the artist for the sale of his
work, and without real meaning or its in
tending to convey the fact that thousands
of little waits all over the land, every
evening in the cleaning, may be found
in just such wretchedness. The waif and
street gamin are sufficiently cheerful
during the day, when their antics are
applauded in some low dive and their
blasphemy encouraged by donations of
beer, which they are there taught to guz-
zle before their heads are even with bar
counters but at night, when the shadows
lengthen, and they are left alone, hungry,
and without bed, or home, their hearts
sink within them, and the terrors of dark
ness come upon them quite as much as
the timid boy who passes his first night
under the roof of school companion.
All of us remember it; that, even while
brothers and sisters of our friend at
tempted to entertain us, how we would
turn from the games, and our hearts would
sink With u as we thought of the mother
at home VII tucked us in bed so comfort
ably and safely, near her own bed ell
though that home may not have been a
mile Distant and then, too, we can
all remember that, after passing the
night under a strange roof, disturbed by
every shadow and frightened at every
football, we awoke from uneasy slum-
bers and treasured by the sunlight, our
hearts bounded with joy that the ordeal
was through with and again at night we
would be in the accustomed place at
home.
Does any one imagine that these waits.
these homeless boys who by the criminal
neglect of parents are left to wander upon
the streets by night, snatching from the
cold few minutes sleep now and then
through the night, in some goods box or
under some door step or in so2le newspa-
per Office, do not feel the same terrors
multiplied thousand times by the knowl-
edge of utter desolation? Not a soldier
on battle field in the imminent deadly
breach, fights drawer battle than these
little night wanderers on the
The terrors of life are too
much, after all, and he yields
imself, body and soul, to the only per-
sons who offer him shelter and protec-
ton, criminal classes of the community.
His fight for bread soon sharpens his wits,
and as his associates are with the vile and
abandoned, he is found serviceable by
them, and is soon taught trade by which
he, as boy or man, preys upon society. A
state that permits such thing to be pos
sible, state that neglects these waits and
thus encourages vice, must expect her
criminal classes to increase and "pari
passu" her police expenses to increase.
There are in this city just such waits,
little boys from six to twelve years of age,
that have no home, no guardian, no pro-
lection from the wicked and vile, no hand
to lead them to virtue and usefulness.
1t is not question of how they happen
to have become so. They are so. 1t is
fact that they are on our streets, through
the night, often begging the homeward
bound pedestrian for nickel to buy
loaf of bread.
While this is the case, there is no au-
thority under our laws by which the city,
or county officers are empowered to take
charge of these helpless victims of vice,
and in any way provide home for them.
There is no home for them, no home of
refuge or correction, where they could
he placed under proper authority, and
trained into life of virtue and useful
ness.
There are many reasons why this au-
thority should exist, beyond the mere hu-
manitarian view and consideration of
the sub ject, The expense of sustaining
house of refuge would not be as great as
the police expense incident to the long
criminal life of each one of these waits,
which is certain to be incurred in their
behalf unless authority exists to prevent
them from becoming members of that
class. The next consideration is the value
of these men as good citizens, in two
ways; first, in their contribution to the
general welfare, and secondly, their inhu-
ence for good upon the political purity of
the country as honest interested citizens.
We have space only to state these
propositions, which are selfevident and
will have their weight with all thoughtful
men. 1t is only by agitating such sub
jects as these that proper legislation will
be forced to enact the laws that will
remedy the evil.