The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1894-09-15
STORIES ABOUT TOWN.
There was a Day When Newsboys
Wouldn't Yell.
TAUGHT BY KANSAS CITY TALENT

Something Pertaining 20 the The@trA-
cal Ruaaness-ToO Many n Dung Girls
on the Streets
one Of the genuine @old time prints"
who came to the west almost before Kan
sas was born and who remembers so
many things in the history of the state,
that he should be filed away for refer
ence il the rooms of the historical So
ciety is s. ID. Mcdonald. who is still an
empIoye OF the JoURNAL's mechanical
department
Soon after the old State Record was es-
tablished about 1858, ne was here and was
one Of its employees. IL was about the
first daily newspaper IN Topeka ana was
the property OF MT , u McOOnalu anu
AIT f. T. Baker.
AS It was originally started It was
four column folio and very much hepuD-
lican in politics Captain Henry hlng'
now the editor in-cbief OF the oI LOUIS
Globe Democrat was the editor and NO
BILE Prentis now one of the editors Of the
Kansas City Star, was the sole reporter.
II was a lively little affair and many
Democrat Of the early days ieh the
scraping Of its 6ne tooth comb.
/ he legislature was meeting around
then most any where it got chance.
The senate met for awhile IN the rooms
above what IS now ROwley's ticket ONCE
while the house met IN a church On
Quincy street The senate afterwards
moved to the Congregational church on
Harrison. This was before the Temporal
nv capitol was built Kansas avenue
near Fifth street on the west side Inc
building has long since been changed
around aud is now occupied by stores
But to get back to the Record
ssThe towns population at that time
numbered about seven thousand, said
Mr. Mcdonald, sand We had a good pat
ronage il the Office was small and we
had only three printers We had an
idea. though, that we were built Tor bet
ter things aud concluded to put on lot
of news boys. Topeka had never then
seen newsbOy-that il, a live one.
1.-The newsboys were timid. Try as
we might, we could not succeed to any
great extent with them because they were
too new to the business to cry their
papers without blushing- They would
lake their papers and GO out on the street
and after one or two Intellectual little
who0ps sub5ide into most dlscouraging
silence. We tried coaxes and then tried
threats. The only result was that several
of the boys quit discouraged. We were
about to give the whole business up in
disgust when bright idea struck u.s. We
would import boy from Kansas City
and have him give our boys few les-
sons.
SIN due time our professor of street
elOcution arrived and began his duties
I{e earned his salary. He used to take
the BOYS out ia the vacant lots in the
edge Of town il tao mornings and try
them nnrly and in pairs and AZ
body. They were slow, but under
his tutorship they showed signs Of i'm
provement and their feeble little shouts
soon became yelIs of considerable dlmen-
sions. / believe he had to lick three or
four IF them to dc it, but the plan was a
success. and the boys were proud Of their
advancement.
"They Wed with each other for the
honor Of superiority. aud for awhile they
made such noise a bout the Office while
waiting for their papers that we had to
take Steps to prevent it.
".opeka has never since known a
newsboy who had not the moral courage
&c sr,ak right cut in meeting Whenever
it WAS necessary"