The morning call., 1893-01-21
HE WANTS SLEEP.
No. sos Plea for More
Hours in Bed.
ALL WORK AND NO PLAY.
Youthful Mercuries Who Take Care of
Drunkards and Purchase Opium
for the Fiends.'

in some sort Of fashion with very few hours
of sleep.
But they break down early in life.
A full grown strong man cannot get
along without enough sleep. Everybody
knows that.
Then how about growing boys.
They need sleep even more than men.
That is trulsm so generally accepted and
so widely known that it seems trite to re-
peat it.
But how about the messenger-boys who
work all night and 90 to school in the day
time?
Many OF them do that.
In fact. many a bright boy in this city is
eager to get night job so that he can keep
on at school for few years yet.
When do they sleep?
They don't play ball and run about over
the hills and jump and yell, like every grow
ing boy should. They are satisfied without
that. Recreation is stranger to them. All
they ask is enough sleep.
And they don't get it.
What kind of men are they going to make
How many Of them are going ever to be
meG at all?
Perhaps you think this is an exaggerated
statement - that schooiboys do not get
enough sleep.
1t is not, though. CALL reporter who
started out to find one of these boyS-t0
find il there were such boys In this city
struck half dozen ofthem without search
ing very hard.
One Of these lads was selected as fair
sample OF all the rest OF his kind. His
number happened to be SO. He proved
rather bright boy, awfully sleepy though,
and more knowing by far than any boy
OUGHT 10 be.
No. 80 thinks he is hoodoo.
Well, for various reasons. as he himself
explained TO THE CALL reporter.
'In the first place | was born on the 18Th
of the month then when | was IL | had 10
go TO work as messenger-boy. aud now my
number in the Office is three times thirteen.
What chance has fellow got with such
hOGdOo Oh him?"
Little enough, TO be sure, il it be true-as
everybody knows it is-that the number
thirteen is as unlueky as Friday itself.
"The only thing that's lucky about me is
not being born on Friday, but I've never got
no good luck from that yet.
"0nce got $50 tip and | thought that
was my good luck coming at last for not
being born on Friday. but the next morn
ing found the other fellow who was with
me got tip of S45 from the same party"
Parenthetically, 1t may be observed at
blood boy of 10 summers whose name
is joe Carey He does not support a
widowed mother. but he more than sup
ports himself. He has a father and a
mother, never was an orphan, lives al home
and eats three very large square meals
every day. His home is in the Mission, his
father is fireman for a stationary engine.
But for all This lack of romance in the boys
home environments his story is an interest
ing one. as you will see.
bow did come to get such big tip?"
said No. SO. repeating THE CALL mans
query.
why, one night me and another fellow
got the call 10 90 to the Baldwin Hotel and
stay with rich old fellow from the country
till he got through with us.
Eyes, that often happens. We get calls
to take these fellows about town and see
that they don't get robbed. They usually
give US a good tip. for they most always get
full before they wind up at the hotel.
''fhis fellow was pretty drunk when he
started cut. We went up TO Chinatown
with him and then out on tile Barbary
Coast. in all the tough saloons there. He
needed the two of Us with him, for he soon
got silly and would have been robbed on the
streets If he had been alone.
I'VE turned up on Mission street near
Third about o'clock in the morning. aud
there two caupers got held of him and he
began 10 throw dice with them for So q
y
after awhile they tried TO go through
his pockets. Then we hollered Tor the
police. This scared off the cappers and we
finally got him back to the Baldwin and put
him to bed. He was that glad to get back
safe and sound that he gave US all the loose
money he had about him. thought he
shared it equal wth us. But Bill told me
the next day his tip was S45.
That was just my luck. but then don't
care; Bill is near head taller than / am
and s'pose the old man thought he ought
10 get the most.
Of il, mister. Amt it bad luck to work
thirteen hours day and go to school too?
When do you think | sleep?'
Not at nights, certainly for it is between
p. NJ. and 8 A. NJ. that No. SO answers the
Western Unions calls for messengers
But after A. M-couldn't he sleep then
The CALL man put il as query.
81 doE't g. home like the rest Of the boys
when Pm done work at the office. l only
wish / clud. | go to the newspaper
office aud get the morning papers. You see,
have TO serve part Of paper route for one
Of the carriers before | can 90 nome. Dad
cot me the job. 1t pays S14 a month, and
that amt so bad. but l'a hard Oh Teller.
don't you think So?
but when you have served the papers,
then what?" asked the reporter.
Breakfast and school," came the reply.
> . u
| get through; Sunday mornings it's later.
Eyes, after school | go to bed. Some
times | get a nap during school hours-I
can't help it.
'sHow long have | been at that? It's a
little over year now-l amt quite Is.
How much do L make? Well, S35 a
month when / don't get any tips. But
mostly get some, and that brings it up about
$40 a month higher. It's more than most
boys of nv age are making and getting an
education. too. but If | wasn't so unlucky
I'd get different kind of job where the
hours wouldn't be so long"
Are your parents so very poor that you
have to work like that?"
"WeII, they own their own home: but
then dads work is not steady, and ii
didn't bring in as much as | 90 we'd find it
hard to get along and dress decent. It's
hard enough as II is. but it's been harder,
when they was paving off for the home. It's
Just been paid off about three months now,
and II dads work gets better he says / can
give up one Of the jobs"
"Do you study very hard"
Cant; don't study at all, just keep
along at the tail end oil the class and just
get through at examinations. How do you
expect a fellow TO study when he's got so
much work to do?"
If you could have seen No. 80 rub his
ewes as he said this you would know that
he spoke the truth. No boy ever rubbed
his eyes as much as this lad. and they are
always red and tired-looking.
"What do you do on your day off, or
rather your night off 2"
"My night off? What do you mean by
that?" said No. 80, and you could see that
his density was not affected.
"Why. the night you don't work as mes
nger-bnv; you get q good sleep then,
don't you?" explained THE CALL man.
"There amt any such night"
"You don't work seven nights a week, do
your"
"You bet do. ard so does every messen-
ger-boy, unless his folks is rich enough TO
have him lay off, and them kind amt work
ing at all.
II never get night off unless / take it
and get docked for it. | had two nights off
last month. when | was sick-had the grip,
L crnoss-hnt [ had To serve tn nanars inst