The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-06-08
THE BACK-LOT COLLEGE
MIR. vOLNEY w. FOSTERS UNIQUE
AND USEFUL INSTITUTION.
The Year just Closed Was the Most
Successful in Its History, and 1t
Was FittingIy Celebrated.


bred young men in Evanston 1t is settling
their futures. 1t IS molding the minds of
the coming generaton-as much of the gen.
Grafton that has come under the influence
of one of the most practical and most
hopeful schemes ever devised for letting
budding manhood know the prospects,
promises and discouragements it will find
in the professions and the business world.
The scheme is called the back lot plan
the plan which made the shelter OF ten
mis- court in the rear end of an estate the
lecture room in which the members of the
Back Lot Society should meet twice
month and learn the road to success from
men who have travelled the way.
This society has just reached the end of
it's most successful years work. 1t had its
outing yesterday. The outing was a lesson.
1t was not a picnic, neither was it pur-
poseless jaunt. 1t is the wish of the men
who direct the society that nothing that 1t
does shall be without a purpose. Mr.. Fos-
ter does most of the planning and he
wanted the young men in whom he is IN
terested to get a glimpse of the working
Of a railroad and the success that can be
attained in that line by any young man
who takes a liking to it. He mentioned his
plan to A. c. Bird Mr.. Bird agreed. He
advised that the society be taken for
trip, piloted over the shops shown the mag
nitude of the modern railroad system, the
working of the machinery, the methods of
the men in the control of the departments.
He thought it might lead some of the
bright-eyed youngsters to go into the bust
ness and grow up TO take the place of
the men who are now gray in the service.
Mr. Bird would place two cars at the dis
posal of the society. The society took pos
session of the cars with its Whoop, enthu
siasm and yells and spent the last session
in the shops OF the Chicago, milwaukee, X
ST. Paul road at Milwaukee,. Mr.. Bird
took a day from his busy life ana went
along as guide, philosopher and friend.
Mr. Birds praises were sung or yelled in
one almost inceSSant cry from Evanston 10
Milwaukee. The society maSSed itself on
the platform at the start and the Shrek
which aroused Evanston long before It's
regular breakfast time was recognized all
over the town 1t was the famlllar cry OF
the back lot boy They SWooped into the
station and took possession of it, while Pro
feSSOr Bird dealt out bright yellow badges
which We're good for transportation, food
and anything else that Mr.. Bird had. They
piled into the coaches-piled in rather than
walked-piled and scrambled as any bunch
of one hundred pent-up youths would Pile.
They did not act like dumb-drlYen slaves
to the tyranny of education. They acted
like boys out for a lark. This was IN keep
ing with Mr.. Fosters idea OF the society
ting it know it was being taught-educauon
in homeopathic packages.
MERRY PARTY.
The Black Lot Society was given the back
end Of the flyer from Chicago. 1t ran the
train. The boys with the badges visited
from coach to coach, occasionally dropping
back to see Mr.. Bird and get from him the
secrets of success as traffic manager or his
ideas on the line of studies a man should
pursue to become president of railroad.
There was professor or two along to see
that none Of the members got lost. All the
passengers on the train started talking
about the idea which was being illustrated.
The people in the small stations learned at
least that the back lot idea is good for the
development of the lungs. When the boys
were not singing they were shouting, and
all the songs-national and collegiate-in
the books were gone through. They were
shown the mysteries of the private car-the
way men travel nowadays, with libraries on
the train, provisions for long journeys the
way trains are handled by wire, and all the
other facts which might help douDtlng
youth to decide whether he would like to
strike out for the executive department of
a railroad as his vocation.
Milwaukee heard about the Back Lot So
ciety the instant the train arrived. the
society had no sooner delivered itself of its
opinion of Milwaukee in tones which left
no doubt as to the liking of the society for
Milwaukee than competition appeared. The
St. Johns Military Academy had a dele
cation coming to town about the same
time 1t was then a struggle between the
back lot boys and the young soldiers for
vocal excellence. One yelled and the other
yelled They both yelled, and then repeated
it, and all the people for a block around
came to see what had broken loose. Mr..
Bird stopped it all by. getting his flock
aboard. A switch engine added it's noise
to the general din, and went tearing down
the yards with the back letters bound for
the biggest car works in the West. The
;V>rvo fnrc than
got down to business. They saw every
thing-under the guidance of the men-col-
lege and otherwise-who have charge no, OF
lesson over, Mr.. Bird gave his guests
luncheon and this was the end of the
winters course in practical things of the
world.
Mr.. Fosters idea is bound to spread. The
experiment has been going on for six years
and the plan has now reached that stage
where there is no shadow of doubt as to
it's usefulness. The single object is to give
the boys a glimpse of the world and its
chances before they get out of college. 1t
fills in a niche which the schools do not
oCcupy-a very essential and necessary
niche 1t was suggested that the trouble
with the modern education is that it sends
into active contact with the facts of life
young men who know absolutely nothing
of the trouble and hardship that await
them. This scheme is to aid the youth in
doing the hardest things he is called upon
to do-decide in what particular direction
he shall shape his energies. 1t is TO pre-
sent to the undecided the bright sides and
black sides, as well as the avenues through
which they are to pass in earning a live
lihood.
Young men rightly started in life cost $21
last year. This was the sum total of the
receipts and expenditures-not counting the
generosity of the founder. There came to
assist in the work an array of talent that
could not be hired for money. The pro-
gramme began in November with a plain
talk by D. A. Kimball on the credits and
the system of credits in the business world
and the things that a man ought to know
house j. H Raymond spoke of the adj
vantages of a liberal education from the
standpoint of a patent lawyer F. II. Revell
told of tour along the coast of the Medi-
terranean. N C. Inglehart explained the
workings of the freight bureaus D. r.
Forgan made elementary banking plain.
Rev. Father II. P. Smyth gave the requi-
sites of good citizenship. Rev. A, W. Lit
tie provided in the evening with Mars. d.
n Burnham pictured the South-shore drive
from the architects standpoint. +. II. Lew
is told of the manufacture and sale of leath-
er. John Burdsall pictured the promises
Ewell made the boys familiar with microm-
etr-y D. A. Kimball asked questions about
the life and work of the travelling man.
Thomas Bates recited his experiences with
resented the physicians, and Louis X. Gill
son promised the boys great things in be-
coming patent lawyers.
AN EXCELLENT PLAN
Prof Arthur H Wilde. who has kept close
tab on the results of the work, says it is
one of the best plans he has ever seen
to work along with the regular education.
1t makes the boys think for themselves.
1t presents facts which help them to fix
goal in life and to begin early TO work to-
fro, he ord re = h..