The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1888-11-19
GOOD TRAITS IN NEWSBOYS
Col. HIGHLANDS Experience in Leading
the Little Fellows to Better Lives.
A Speech Giving Incidents Illustrating Man
illness aud Se!f-Sacriice-The Convention
to Consider How the Young Can Be Saved.

Girls National Home and Employment Associ-
alton, spoke last night at Roberts Park Church
relative to his work among the nswsboys. After
reading the third chapter of First Samuel he
said that while his talk is termed 'Ten Years
Among the Newsboys.- get it is seventeen years
since he first became interested in them. at was
shortly after the war. in Louisville" he contin-
ued, that Icamc in contact with these little
fellows. / found them running wild. with no
one to look after them. and I also found that I
had q talent for managing boys. A night school
was established and the work of getting homes
for the boys began. Many of those boys, WHO
are prosperous business men to-day, are con-
t~ributing OF their means to the aid Of other
boys. AT ST. Louis. four years ago. I went 10
the chief of police and told him that / wanted
to have q newsboys' aud boot-blacks' parade.
Said he. You can't do anything with them; ]
couldn't manage them with the whole police
force ! told him l did not want . policeman.
I spoke to a number of boys on the street and
told them to tell their friends, and We had q
procession of five hundred Of them. They had
a few fights on the way to TIE courthouse, but
they would jump up aud join the procession:
At the courthouse they lis, sn.S
attention. at the hotel that night q
good-looking, well-dressed young man came to
me and said he was one of my old pupils at the
night-school in Louisville twelve years before.
Il own $50 acres of land in Tennessee said he,
'and am we'll of. / have o mother living In @
good home IN Louisville. and / want to thank
you for making q man Of me. 1 quit oiacSlre
boots the night you said that any boy over four
teen years of age who desires TO make a man or
himself will quit backing boots and learn a
trade. l took your advice and am glad of It.
The next morning the papers had an account OK
my speech. The chief of police said to me, I'm
glad you have come. We haye loo boys sleeping
around the heaters at public buildings, and I'm
tired of arrestiug Them Some OF the citizens
interested themselves. and we started OUT TO
raise $40, 900 to furnish a home for them. we
obtained $40. 600 in a short time. and with that
we put up q building for the homeless BOYS
neat Terre Haute the chief of polise said to me-
We have got the worst boys in the world. You
can't do anything with them said. Il want you
to show me the worst boy in the town. well.
said be, there he is across the street. Iaey
call him Jesse James. and / don't know what
his other name is. He has been arrested many
q time, but it does him no good called the
boy to me, and said: Jesse, what ID YOUR rlghO
namsP He told me- it was Edward. Well SAID L;
Edward. We are going to have a ooot-oiacK anu
nswsboys parade to-night, and | want you TO
get them together and carry the dag Said ne;
Il guess / can make them come, Ii anyooay can.
At z o'clock he had City Of them rallied at the
hotel, and we started, and by the time We go.
to the place of speaking we had 300 OF thea and
1000 citizens following. When there. the COY
they called Jesse introduced me. SAID ne
Colonel Hogeland is going to make yong q
speech and 1 want you fellers to keep quiet
talked to them for an hour, and never saw bet
caYne to me and said: Colonel, what is the
PROGRAMME for tonight l told him l was
going to speak at the Baptist Church. and il the
boys would come would like to have them.
Let me have the flag be said. and III GO
down to the botto ms and bring them up.. About
the time services We're to begin We heard .
crowd coming I'D the street, and they stopped
in front of thu church, and Jesse shouted 'Ihree
cheers for the Baptist Church. and they were
given with a will. The congregation was hor-
rifed, and 1 was shocked myself. / rushed to
the door and stopped them just as they were
about to give three cheers for me. They
crowded into the church and were as quiet and
orderly Is anyone for the hour / spoke. AZ the
close l asked if any of the boys could say the
lords prayer, and Jesse James, the worst boy
In the city, stood up and said the Lords prayer.
1t was a revelation to the people. They Were
willing to do something, but no one had told
them what to do or how to do 1t, and that is the
work of our association
Some OF these boys OF the streets. said the
Colonel, are noble fellows, and only require
half q chance to make them good men. He
made q Decoration day speech two years ago,
and the next day addressed the newsboys. That
evening after supper . boy said: Colonel. L
wanted to hear your speech yesterday at the
cemetery, but l was fixing up mothers grave
and didn't get back in time" TIL Colonei
asked him bow long his mother had been dead:
and he said elk years. The boy was then asked
how he knew his mothers grave after that
length Of time, and he said. with pride, that he
had saved Sill and put a tombstone over 1T 80 he
would always know it. 81 inquired into
"snd found he had no home, but
SLEPT in a carriage N a livery stable
and ate whenever and wherever he could set
anything to eat. Think of That. a poor h:tle
homeless rat of a newsboy and boot-blacks saving
up Sll to put up a stone over his mothers grave.
Such q boy as that is worthy of a chance. and /
said he should have it. / took him with ne and
got him a home at Pekin, H.. and | hear from
him often and he will make a good and prosper
Gus citizen and a Christian gentleman"
The speakers time was mostly taken up in
relating incidents of his experience amone these
waits of society. a Christmas dinner, in
Kansas City, two years ago. for the newsboys."
said he. there were $50 boys at one table, and
six little girls, who sold papers on the streets, at
another. They were all eating away as only
hungry boys can eat, when one of them stepped
ND to me and said: 'Say, Colonel, there is a
girl over there who won't eat any thing I've
been trying to get her to eat, but she won't,
and something ought to be done. You 60 see
IL you can't manage her," / went
over and found q little girl, seven years of age,
called Mary, who was sitting at the table. with
her dinner untouched before her. | said, Mary,
why don't you eat your dinnerP She would not
answer, but finally she said: Mamma is hcms
sick. and little sister is sick, and they have no
dinner, and l wanted to wait until the other
girls got through eating. and then take my din
ner home to them: and O please, sir" said she,
i'm ploringly. won't you let me do itP
The chief of police'of Kansas City told Colonel
Hoeeland that twenty years ago n farmer came
to him and said he wanted q boy, and he pointed
out two as being the worst in the city and said
he might take his choice. On being asked il
they would 60. one Vt the boys replied the city
was good enough for him. but the other one said
he was tired of living like a dog, and being
kicked and cuffed BY everybody, and he would
be glad to leave. The boy who went is now q
Baptist minister and an earnest Christian gen.
tleman, and the boy who stayed is
serving q twenty-year sentence in the States
prison. "Its cheaper aud better to cave a boy
and make q man of him" said the Colonel.
''than it is 10 prosecute him and keep him in
the penitentlary. II takes less money. There
ars 1000 men in the penitentisries OF the United
States, and it cost an average or 81. 600 each TO
convict aud put them there; and in the mean
while, not a dollar is spent In looking after the
boys and finding them homes and employment.
and that is the work of our association. Several
legislatures have taken hold OF the matter, and
several more will soon"
Colonel HogelanG remarked that he had lect-
ured in go cities and in more than 1000
churches and factories, that through the work
of the association more than 5000 homeless
boys had found homes. and he himself had
found them for more than 300. At Memphis,
Tenn, be got homes for five boys in ten
minutes. There are homes for all these boys
he said. and all it requires is an effort In find