St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1889-09-15
The HOMELESS KIDS
Who Take Advantage Of the
Aid of the Newsboys'
Home.
Good Work Accomplished by
: the Home in the Past
Year.
Boys Who Live and Thrive No
One Possibly Knows
How.
Interesting Points Drawn
From the Report of Miss
Johnston.

This odd remark was delivered by an
independent little fellow who had
curled himself up on the sidewalk in a
niche of the big GLOBE building and
was throwing jaekstones while he
waited for an afternoon paper to come
out. The remark was prompted by an
inquiry as to what he thought of the
newsboys' home, the institution on
Robert street that has proved so sue
cessful in aiding the street boys of his
class to lead better life.
3 why" he continued, I'VE didn't use
to have no regular home, no place to
eat, nor nothin'. No kid couldn't make
no money that way. Now some of US has
got as much as $50. After while
s'pose I'll have as much money as any
body, an mebby I'll own bank or a
circus. Now we've got regular home
too. just like anybody. and we don't
have to stay down town."
The home is appreciated by the boys,
has been great benefit to them, and
its influences for good are becoming
more apparent every day. During the
two years of its existence the institution
has been productive of so much good
that the worthy people who maintain
it must feel greatly encouraged. The
street boys who have availed them
selves of its advantages have derived so
much good from the home that it can be
but matter of time when other people
will take an interest in the project and
render financial and moral assistance.
The board of directors are about to
issue their annual report IN pamphlet
form, containing reports of the treas
urer, secretary and manager. The re-
port of Miss Johnston, the manager, is
particularly interesting.
MISS JOHNSON'S REPORT.
1.-The mere feeding and lodging of
given number of boys" she says, lis
but the smallest part of the work ac-
complished by the establishment of
homelike home for homeless boys. By
the term homeless is meant not only
those who are orphans, waits of human
ity. but all who. from force of circum-
stances, are deprived Of home. Rum
away boys, boys driven away from home
by cruel Step-parents, or Incorporate or
hard-hearted parents, sons OF poor wom-
en- who have no place for their boys,
boys adrift in strange city-all kinds,
sorts and conditions of boyS-have
found shelter during the past
year at the newsboyS' home. The
work has branched out Unexpectedly
from work for newsboys specifically to
work for boys in general. The relief
society and the st. Vincent de Paul So
ciety send all their homeless boy appli-
cantS TO the home. and one little va,
grant was sent to us from the municipal
court. All tramping boys and road
boys naturally gravitate towards the
place where they can get the most to
eat for the least money. These and our
own city street boys are the class Of
boys we have had to look after and to
care for. In the year Just passed liz
such boys have lived at the home
for longer or shorter periods. and
a large number of transientS
have also been entertained. OF course
we have been imposed upon more than
once, and by the most guileleSS and in
nocent-looking boys. 1t is the fate of
every institution to be more or less i'm
posed upon, and home of this kind is
particularly open to impositions. When
one considers that most of these boys
have seen the darkest side of life. have
experienced little or nothing of
LOVE OR LOVING CARE,
have had all their vicious prOpensities
sharpened by rough contact with hard
and unsympathetic world, and have
brought with them the prejudices and
pecnliariIieS pertaining TO their various
creeds. natiOnalitieS and temperaments,
a faint idea may be had of the difficulty
of keeping the home harmonious and
pleasant and of helping the boys indi-
vidually and collectively to a higher
plane of life. Then, too, the boys are
expected to pay for what they eat and at
the same time to render strict obedience
to the rules of the home. They all
understand that good behavior, even
more than this % cents day, is essen
tial to their residence in the home. A
homeless boy is an easy subject for a
criminal life, and many of the boys who
come here have led criminal lives and
are familiar with the inside of jails,
actual count from the records of the
home of the 112 boys who have been
here the past year-good, bad and in
nine arrests were made
of boys while they were living
at the home. OF these three were
arrested for wandering around the
streets of Minneapolis and were held one
night and discharged in the morning
under suspended sentences for va
grancy; one was sent to the reform
school for the larceny of shirt, one
was fined for disorderly conduct and
the rest were arrested on suspicion and
were either discharged or had their
cases dismissed, because there was no
proof of guilt. We cannot claim that
all the boys are good boys, and that
some of them have not deserved to be
punished because they were not found
out, but from personal knowledge OF
some of the worst boys. knowledge
that extends over a period of four years,
we know that the boys have improved
in manners and morals
under the influence of home life.
Last winter it was
PITIFUL AND SHOCKING
but not uncommon sight, to see some of
the boys staggering home under the in
f1uence of liquor. During the past six
months | cannot TecOllect a single in
stance of even a slight intoxicatiOn, and
most of those very boys are living here
vet. OF all the schemes that have been
invented for the salvation of these boys,
nothing succeeds so well as putting
them to some kind of congenial work.
Ii has been the aim of the
home to get the boys of from
the streets as quickly as possible
and to get them to work. Through
the agency of the home about thirty
places have been found for boys who
wanted work. 1t is often trying to our
patience to have idle boys around, and
IN summer it is hard to get them to
work, for street life seems to unfit them
for anything in the shape of continuous
effort, but when colder weather comes
MANY of them would be glad to go to
work. We have living out at
the home at present twenty
bows, and there are more who are
anxious to get back for the winter. Ten
Of these have steady work, and will
probably do well. An industry of some
sort in connection with the home would
be of great benefit to the boys: and
would protect the home from impoSters
-idlers who would like to live on trust.
A night school would also do great good
# properly conducted, but the boys
have not the thirst for knowledge they
ought to have, and great patience would
be necessary. For all these improve
nents we look to the future"
The above is but an extract from Miss
Johnson's report. which contains many
incidents of life at the home