Los Angeles herald., 1891-04-18
TRUANTS FROM HOME.
TRIALS AND TEMPTATIONS OF RUN
AWAY BOYS IN NEW YORK.

n
Few Examples from the Records.
Having already referred in a general
way to the evil effects that usually fall
to the lot of boy who is SO foolish and
headstrong as to run away from home
and try his fortuHes in the great city,
will cite few cases of the many with
which the records of our police depart
ment abound. All teach thesam lesson.
In January, year or two ago, boy
eleven years old left his home in Albany
and came to this city, as he afterward
said, "to see the sights" AS day after
day passed and he did not return, his
parents, greatly worried. made inquiries
for him in many directions. The police
of this city were asked to join in the
search.
The boy had been absent about three
weeks when one day an officer who was
patrolling post in the neighborhood of
the docks came upon boy who stag
gered as he walked. The officers first
impression was that the boy was intox-
icated, but upon making closer exam
ination and questioning him it turned
out that he was not intoxicated, but
weak from lack of food and from ex-
posure in the wintry weather.
The policeman took him to headquar-
ters and gave him good meal. After
ward it was discovered that he was the
boy from Albany whose disappearance
had caused so much concern.
HE 40 xxya,.a ,,,oy,, y,+1v o~,,,,
Gated with, and he was very glad indeed
to go home with his father, who came
after him without delay.
A few months after this occurred our
police were requested to look for two
boys-one fifteen years old, the other
thirteen-who had run away from their
homes in New England city. They
had good homes and kind parents, but
they had tired of going to school.
The idea of wonderful adventures had
been put into their heads by the books
they had been allowed to read, and they
determined to see life for themselves in
q larger city than the one where they
had been brought up.
They wandered about New York for
five days, but found life here sterner
reality than they had supposed The
little money they had was soon spent,
and at the end of the five days they were
glad to give themselves up to the police,
and tearfully asked to be sent back to
their homes.
One day policeman attached to one
of the down town precincts saw a boy,
evidently a stranger in the city, sitting
ON the porch of a house, and soon found
that he was exhausted from hunger and
partially overcome by the heat The
boy was only eleven years of age.
He had come here alone from town
in Massachusetts,, first because he wished
to see what the great city was like, and
also because he had an uncle here, and
expected to be Hospitality received He
had the address Of his uncle, but as he
was totally unfamiliar with the city he
could not easily find the house.
When at last, after much wandering,
and number, to which he had been SO
often directed, he was worse off than if
he had not found them. The hope of
finding his uncle had been the one thing
that cheered him during his journeyings
through the labyrinth of streets.
But now his uncle refused to aid or
harbor him. Giving him little bread
and butter wrapped in a paper, he turned
the boy adrift upon the cheerless streets.
Under our law the uncle was arrested
for his inhuman conduct, but he was
discharged in court on his promise to
see that the boy was taken back to his
parents.
fight Indians perhaps the desire to go
upon the stage is the strongest motive
animating boys who take a plunge into
the wide world for themselves. More
girls than boys are 'stage struck" but
the girls do not run away as the boys
do--at least not when they are so young
as most of the runaways of the other
sex.
No doubt the experience gained in
running away from home is often salu-
tary. The glamour and glitter that are
imagined to surround life in big city
are speedily seen to have no existence
save in the fancy, and the difficulties in
the way of strange lad in strange
place who is seeking situation, even of
the humblest kind-difficulties which
amount practically to an insurmount-
able obstacle-are soon deeply impressed
upon the mind. Fortunately, before the
matter has gone much further, in most
cases a successful search is made for the
missing one and he eagerly seeks his
fathers door again.
But this experience is not one that
rational parents would choose for their
growing boys. The stern realities of
life will come all soon. enough in the
natural course of things.
As have already more than intimated,
many years of experience in police work
convince me thatscarcely anything worse
could happen to boy reared in the
country or in a small town than to be
thrown upon his own resources in busy
and bustling city like New York. The
chances are all against his earning a
livelihood, even in an humble way, and
all in favor of falling into bad company
and leading worthless, If not posi-
lively wicked, life.
The alluring pictures OF city life
which are drawn in. certain books and
papers that are widely circulated have
no corresponding reality, and once
more lwould caution parents to use the
utmost care in the selection of their
children's reading matter. Here is one