The San Francisco call., 1896-05-31
YELLOW DOGS SAFE
ON TEHAMA STREET,
Children Pledged TO Protect
Animals From Hood
lumS.
The Greed of Kindness Taught
the Jefferson School Band
of Mercy.
How Dominick Syce Saved China
man From Street Urchins-Dif-
ferent Methods.

marx the clange LudI has COLue over Iuo
spirit of the locality. A few years ago a
Chinaman was unsafe thereabout. If he
wasn't forced into unequal hand-to-hand
battle he was pelted with stones and made
to think that existence in this country had
more penalties than the annual poll tax.
Woe to the stray dog or cat which ran into
the territory of the young barbarians south
of Market street. The cur was terroriZed
with an appe ndant of old oyster cans, and
his noisy flight furnished amusement for
many block, while the feline became a
target for siungshot and brickbat till she
either succumbed to the assault or escaped
under some friendly house. When pugil-
ism was popular in the West the urchins
of Jefferson School had daily set-tos in
back lots, and skinned faces, black eyes
and broken noses, as well as bruised hands
and lame legs, were not rare things.
To-day the Jefferson School is one of the
most orderly in all the City. The children
don't fight as they used to; they don't
stone cats, or tie tin cans to the tails of
dogs or molest the sons of the Flowery
Kingdom. And whv2 Because every
school child down that way, as soon as he
is old enough to write his name, is made a
member of an army for the prevention of
all the old evils, and no blue-frocked, brass
buttoned guardian of the peace could ever
have done tithe of the good that those
children have accomplished. For the last
four years the principal of the Jefferson
School, Miss NJ. NJ. Murphy. has been or
ganizing the pupils of all the various
classes into Bands of Mercy, and although
at first the idea was combated in the dis
trict, it has gradually increased IN popu-
Iarity until now every child seems proud
of his enrolment. There are $50 members
in the organization to-day, and each of
them takes this pledge. which, if it isn't
impressive in the readers eye, is decidedly
effective where it is thoroughly under
stood:
1--WE, the undersigned, do solemnly
promise that we will not fight, and that we
will do all in our power to prevent others
from fighting.
1--WE do solemnly promise not TO stone
Chinese and to prevent others from
doing it.
"We do solemnly promise not to abuse
dumb animals and to do all we can to pro-
tect them from the abuse of Others"
Every Friday afternoon, before Jefferson
School is dismissed for the week, the diff
ferent classes gather in the assembly
room, each class being distinguished by a
badge OF a particular color-red, pink,
white, purple, gold or blue. In chorus
they repeat that pledge and then recite in
unison this stanza from Coleridge:
BE prayeth best who Ioveth best
All things. both great and small,
For the dear God who Ioveth u.s.
He made and loveth all.
Last Friday afternoon the children were
called upon to relate, as best they might,
such experiences as had come under their
notice to remind them of their duties as
members of the band. Before starting out
with the experiences, however, they all
joined ina song, and the voices blended
remarkably well.
Johnny Gould, lad of 10, had a story
with moral to it. "You see.' said he,
81 was walking down Harrison street and
/ saw boy my size with brick going for
cat and told him to stop and he says,
Shut up, who's doing this?' Then he
turns and chases me all his might, but he
tumbled over rock and fell down hill
and cut his face up. and the cat got away,
and got away, too."
''By that you may see" said the princi-
pal, "that sometimes people are punished
in this life for their misdeeds." And
Johnny Gould resigned the floor TO George
Philips, who had this to tell: "Last week
one day some boys on our street tied ii n
cans to dogs tail, and the dog ran like
ne was crazy, and I ran after it to take the
cans off. a policeman saw the dog and
ran, too, and / guess the dog knew we
were friends, for he ran right into us, and
one of the cans hit me in the leg and
had q fboh
policeman got the cans off; he said 'Pu
give $5 for the name of the boys who tied
cans on this dog But guess he never
found out"
Dominick Syce was one of the boys who
believed in heroic measures. and who
wasn't disposed to waste good advice
where sterner methods seemed to be re-
quired. He had few ideas of his owr
about how to prevent cruelty, and litter
ran through the hall as he reeled off bis
story:
zone day Chinaman with a bag O
rags on his back was going along, and {
boy began firing stones at him. The
Chinaman began to run, and the boy KEEP
a-chasing of him and firing at him, until
runs up and sticks out my foot and trip
the boy head over heels. The Chinamar
laughed and it made the boy madder ant
he jumps up wild and yeIls, What's tn,
matter of your rm all right says
How d'you like it yourself? Now go and
throw stones at another Chinaman, will
you9"
Try to avoid harsh measures, boys
whenever 1t is possible" advised the prin
cipal.
"A long time ago." said little Wilt,
Hammerschmidt, 81 found kitten on th
road aad it was going to die because i
never had anything to eat, and I took 1
up in my arms and brought it home anG
mother fed it and made it warm. w
liked the kitten SO much after a whil
that we kept it and gave our old cat away.
and now that little kitten is great big
cat and catches all the mice around.n
"That's the way the cat is paving voy
for saving its life," remarked teacher
Some recitations followed and the schoo
sang to the air of "Home, Sweet Home
this stanZa:
Taa ty;nd to auy,,h craafura nos orraon