Omaha daily bee., 1901-01-06
NEWSBOY IS HER PROTECE
winsoms Young Office Girl Educates q
Street Arab.
TEACHES THE LAD TO READ AND WRITE
Miss Irene Mccoy aud Mike Bnrto
Are the Principals In This
strange Friendship of
the streets.

Miss Irene Mccoy, Office girl in the en-
ploy OF DR.. Victor II. Coffman at Fifteenth
and Farnam streets. has protege in the
person OF a little newsboy named Mike
Barto. Mike is ~ years old and his fair
patron is Is. She is teaching him to read
and write and he calls at the ONCE every
afternoon at o'clock to recite his lesson.
This arrangement has been observed
since early in December. One day as Miss
Mccoy was returning from luncheon little
boy, absurdly dirty and picturesquely
ragged, stepped up to her on the street ana
holding newspaper within her reach,
cried
"All about the Cunning street hre!
Woman burned to death! Paper, LADY,
Now, It happened that Miss Mccoy has
some acauaintances on Cunning street SO
the lads cry interested her.
SHOW me the story about the hre, little
boy" she said. "and I'll buy the paper
The ''newsic" was obviously embar-
rassed but he was not to be bluned. He
pointed at random to one. OF the slug
beads' on the front page, which chanced
TO be an account OF the war in the Trans
vaal
Then Miss Mccoy knew that he was
lad who had never learned to read.
He had taken his cue about the hre from
"de odder kids" who had invented IL LOT
commercial purposes.
That afternoon Miss Mccoy conceived the
idea OF teaching Mike to read, write ana
SPELL She had plenty OF time as her
duties consisted mainly OF guarding the
office and answering questions over the
phone so the next time she met Mike on
the street she arranged with him to de-
he nfH r.
noon at o'clock.
Miss Irene Works n Ruse.
This was but ruse to secure his "at-
tendance"
Then she cultivated his acquaintance. He
was shy at first, but after the first two or
three DAYS he was willing to loaf, as
he called it, a few minutes after delivering
the paper.
Finally. with admirable tact, Miss Mccoy
laid her proposition before him. She didn
tell him that boy Of his age ought to De
ashamed not to know how to read or write
On the contrary, she led him to believe
that for an ofhce girl in n physicians parlor
TO constitute herself governess to news
boy was the most ordinary Of arrangements
How otherwise could a newsboy ever hope
to learn anything? she asked him. So
the compact was duly confirmed.
Mike proved 10 De "a DTlsht pupi,
fully yersed in the "woodcraft" Of the
streets and having large fund OF native
humor. He learned rapidly First 1t was
his A. q. Cs and then words of three
letters. .
One day Miss Mccoy brought down a
primer for him to read out Of, but he
would have none Of 1t. Newspapers were
the only text books he cared for He made
his living from newspapers, not primers
So Miss Mccoy, to humor him, read news
"stories" aloud, usually choosing some IN
structive subject. but his interest, In
yariably tagged after the first paragraph.
when he would very politely ask her to
read police story instead-something
about murder, suicide or fatal acci-
dent--these were the "stories" that SOLD
the paper on the street he said. And again
she humored him.
But all has not been smooth sailing with
Miss Mccoy and her protege. "De Kids got
wise" to the arrangement and tauntcd poor
little Mike numerically. Some even
threatened him with ostraclsm.
When he would take a nickel in payment
for a paper, explaining that he had nc
pennies, the big boys would cry "Oh
Mikie Wat will de teacher say" It's
getting so lately he can't even smoke q
cigarette in peace, The boys scof at hin
and say they will tell teacher"
He is brave, however, and. just to show
his independence. he shouts every day
"All about the capture of the kidnapers!'
though none know better than he that Pa
Grove is still at large.
Little is known about Mike Barto's anie
cedents. save that he was born in Omahi
and that his parents still live here. II HI
knows where and how they live he II
Iu oil LIANT hn inf a
as little interest in them as they do il
him. He sleeps every night in the hall o
down town building, close to friendl
radiator. and takes his meals in the alley
in the rear of the newspaper Offices.