The sun., 1901-07-28
ALADWHOPLAYEDHOOKEY:
ooyyxssroNs sHoUosr OUT ny A -soY
WANTED SIGN."

n RsoaIsA 20 This Catassn tAs Tine whsa
Hs Tired q scAeoi aaA essshs 70
Embark IL Busansss-A Bsssrd q One
Dozen Jobs n Two hsaths Which He Lost.
The rotund, comfortabls-looking man
NJ 40 stopped before q Broadway window
IN which a boy Wanted sign was dis
played and chuckledL
7 never clap an eye on one Of those signs."
bs rsid sta ohuckling. to his companion.
mat don't experience the old boyish
,suci 10 60 IN and ask EN- for tho Job.
Every time catch sight Of one Of them
l get TO thinking Of the season Of my hid
hood when I held down one even dozen
distinct and several Jobs within the space
Of something less than two months. and then
I get TO grinnlng 90 that s'poss folks that
pass me on the street think I'm crazy.
1T was when was Is. and living over
in old Greenwich Village. back In the early
1o. I suppose that I developed into the
champeen hockey player Of the whole
lower West Side. But at last my father
got on to my little game. When he asoer-
tanned that I'd been absent from school
for straight month. II was all of with M.
He beckoned mo out OF the classroom. and
walked me home figured on Q whaling
that would make all previous lambastines
seem like mere caressings. was amased
that the thrashing didn't como of at all
When we got TO the steps Of the old house
my dad simply said to me:
Go. get Job somewhere tomorrow.
and walked of 10 his work. This was on
the last day Of April.
MY father was In pretty comfortable
circumstances. but he had raised whole
raft OF boys before came along A. the
youngest. and he had 1t correctly figured
out that as long az wouldn't 60 to school
II was his business to keep mo OF the streets
by making me go to work. And that's
Just what l wanted to do. knew a lot
Of boys Of my age that were working and
staggering around on Saturday nights
with their - or - wages In their clothes.
and I'd been envying EN- for long time
so, right after breakfast the next MORN
ing, May 1, started out to find the Boy
Wanted signs l nailed a Job within three
quarters OF an hour after left home. Saw
the sign In the window OF big Wholesale
crockery and glassware plant not far from
Broadway. and went in. I was pretty
chesty. husky youngster. with a good line
OF talk, and the manager Of the place put
me right on. Salary. 81 per.
My Job was to sprinkle and sweep up
three floors, run errands. swab the clerks
cuspidors. carry packages and dog-rob
around generally from in the morning
until In the evening. You can bet that
slept O. nights during the period that
held that Job. which was three days Along
toward the wind-up OF business on the
somewhat bored over having nothing to do
for minute or so. and 80 l repaired TO
the rear of the store and began to practise
some Juggling tricks that I'd seen at a
circus with plates and glasses and vases
and lamps and such
We'll. 1t happened, all right. After a
crash that sounded heap like He'll Gate
explosion, all hands helped to dig me out
Of the ruins. guess l must have messed
up all OF SO worth OF crockcry and glass
ware, and l was nightly surprised when
the manager Of the store handed me big
silver dollar. my pay for three days and
I've always regarded that manager as a
pretty square sort of man ever since.
Il didn't cay anything about the loss OF
my lob when got home, but the next
morning act out to hustle for another one
Didn't catch sight OF a Boy Wanted pla-
card till late In the afternoon. The sign
was in the showcase OF Union Square
photographer. The Job was mine for the
asking Wages. $3.50 the week i started
in the next morning. IL was my business
to move the scenery and accessories around
for the operator. sweep up the reception
room. police the whole top works, help
dat In hA nf
the photographs and so on.
"The lob was all right, and ! got along
fine until the third day. when. in moment
Of absent -mindedness. l pushed open the
door OF the dark room while the operator
was In there developing negatives The
light spoiled about s2o worth OF plates
on the operators hands. and whole lot
OF folks had to be written to to come back
and take their sittings all over again. That
break let me out. They didn't even give
me the 81 rs that was coming to me. but
told me to hurry right away before they
sozzled me in the fixing bath,
When | got home l didn't mention the
fact that I'd lost that job. either. but
ought to say right here that by some mys-
terious process my dad was on to 1t that
I'd lost my Jobs almost as soon "a I'd been
fred from them. although | didn't know
this until the game got to be pretty swift.
The next day was Sunday, but on
MONDAY L Sni-
lied forth 10 scare up more work. Saw
the Boy Wanted sign in the window OF
A paint shop on Seventh avenue, and they
took me right on. Pay. s3 the calendar
week-big money. My duties were those
OF sweep-out and general knockabout
This job made quite hit with me and
was already figuring on the color scheme
OF the suspenders / was going to buy or
Saturday night, and the seat / was going
TO get for the show at old Niblos Garden
when. on the fourth day. stacked uI
against my finish In the paint store,
Il started out the alley gate 10 deiivei
a quart can Of turpentine TO man dowr
the alley. When got into the alley begaf
to swing the can Of turpentine, over my
head to see how much OF II ! couldn't spill
and then set II down while ! lighted on,
OF my fathers cigars that Ia swiped anG
boarded Somehow or another the mater
that used for the purpose dropped, SUI
flaming. into the open can OF uirpentlne
was miraculously preserved but ap0u
thirty yards OF rear fence on both sides
OF the alley were charred into useless meas
and the tenants Of the stores had all the!
could do to keep the firemen from choppint
their buildings into flinders.
Nope. | didn't go back to that pain
shop at all l concluded that didn't neeC
moved right along home. At supper m,
fireman he was Interested in all fires an hC
knew how that paint shop fire had started
was certain-but he didn't say anything.
by this time I'd begun to feel the disad
yantages and inConveniences of this YOKE
- iokor tbat ia tokap urnn my shoul1. |. r,