Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1898-08-12
IN THE SLUMS,
David Wizards Work There
Dsstribtd by a writer in the New York
sunday Herald.

David Willard ls young man VINO j.
devoiing bis life 10 the boys Of the slums,
and 20 boy criminals in particular II rs
purely a labor Of love on bis para abor
which deserves 10 BRING forth good fruit.
The slum boy is a type ~ 20 himself, and
not an inviting one Crime j. sort OF
second nature 70 him. Il is with view
Of inslling into him some sense Of mora
responsibility that Nj willard has sacri-
fce8 entirely his social career, and has
gone 90 live in the slums among his pro
teges
The nun who takes the veil scarcely
leaves the world behind her more com
pleiely than has this young man. His
timc Is divided between The University
Settlement al No. - Delaney street. bis
boys club al No. Il CAryste street. and
the Tanbs. where he Ia, established
sch0. for the beref, OF the boys and
young men who mud themselves behind
those grim walls.
Of,hese branches Of his work by far the
mOst interesting is the Tomos school.
Til, was started by Nj. Willard s5ou.
year and a half ago. ard even the keepers
adm ,h4t il has been productive Of much
goOc. "A, the invitation Of Nj. Willard ]
attended one OF the sessions last week, and
was deeply Interested in what ] saw.
DtmoraIi1ing Influence.
Fifty per cent Of the Tomhs boys when
they come before the grand jury are dis
charged They are presumably innocent
OF the offences charged against them
But the Hsys which they have spent in the
Tonbs and the Influences o. their sur-
rouudings have planted the seed of vice IN
fertile ground if the seed had not already
been planted, and the boys very often find
themselves back again To the prison.
!, was not a pheasant thing. this glimpse
Of BOY world IN the Tou.bs which ! had
the other day. A. one end Of a long cor
ridor was door with iron bars and graf
ings and through this l passed into the
schoo.r00m There Were abou, II boys
sea,e5 Oh long benches. A few charts
hurc Oh the bare wal. together with two
or three pictures Of a religious nature.
Nj Willard found 20 BE- a young man
Of - 1- ,hereab1g. His pale face is .u-
dicart4 81 intellectually and sympathy
He +, very earnest and very sincere. and
yet saw AZ once that he was a firm be-
lieya- .r discipline. Hi- experience had
tang. u. how 20 dea with the boys OF
The su,. he was their master
Criminals in Embryo.
Ar. the BOYS, How shall describe
then They were OF various uAtjoualities,
and seemed 20 range lu age, "a near as
could guess, from j. 10 20. judged more
from their sizes than from their faces.
They a. looked old. The children Of the
slums know nothing Of the freshness Of
cary youth The faces O. these BOYS were
piuched and haggari and very cunning
Suspicion seemed to be the dominant char
acteristic. Their contact with the world
had brought them 10 a belief that every
man s hand was against them
Nj. Willard was demonstrating, with the
aid Of q chart, simple lesson in physi-
ology. be told me afterward that they
seemed more interested 10 that than in al
most any other study. Some Of them car
neither read nor write and they DO no.
care 10 learn. Arithmetic and geography
are a so much Greek 10 their untutorec
minds. found them 10 be more dense.y
ignorant than had even thought possible
But in physiology they seemed to evinc'
some interest. possibly because it pertaine-
so closely 20 themselves. After concluCin!
his demonstration with the chart. chOosin!
the simplest words always. Nj Wil!aT,
took from a cabinet the skull Of a child
for The purpose Of explaining about III,
teeth and the care which they should re
ceiye
A Question OF discipline
ue ~ wa pa9seu S.u'''II W. "a an
meuts made upon it. had noticed tina
the bows were restless and inclined to b.
unruly and had attributed it 70 their de
sire 70 "show off, before visitors In thi
| found ! was partially wrong. The arts
who accompanied me had been maxim
some pencil sketches. and they didn't lik
il. some OF them even turned their head
aWav or hid their faces in their hand,
The seemed 10 think # was some hey
sor' OF roaues' gallery we were after.
Finally. one NJ the bows. surly-iace
YONG Tough of the kind usually the ieade
OF bis gang. 90, up and walked toward IA
door where Nj. Willard was standing
"Nhere are .ou co.ue9" asked MI W
LARD "I m gon' oar. was the reply. "
ain ro.u' ter stay il here"
"Hu' ,cuoo. isn't over until halfps-
ter demonstrated NJ Willard. The u3
wa new. He lad lust come iu the day be-
fore. and he tl.:r.'t know the SORT of a ma
he uas dealing with.
"Tha, don't en-, 10 ice wil me, 90 he SAID
"Im c0u out Seq
IL o." are H'C -"'A- "u'' sa'u NI' " j.
dow, yrnera van are and stav tbere - n
lo,le1 the b6y souar4Iy In he eve
Mr.. ~ ilfaTd Jriumphs.