Evening star., 1902-01-25
TALE OF TWO BROTHERS

Much has been written and much remains
to be written on the subject Of early condi-
tions and surroundings In their formative
influence upon the young.
Take Jim and Jack Tadrow, that pair Of
Swampoodle brothers, for example.
Both Jim and Jack came along in the
early sixties, right over there in Swami
poodle. Jim was the first to arrive. Jack
happened along about eighteen months
later.
Both grew amain, as Swampoodle boys
do. and both were about the same kind of
boys until they attained the taking notice
age.
Then they began to diverge in their
methods. Jim took to the hockey playing
game like fly to moiasses, while Jack
never missed a day, and Jack could hardly
bolt his supper fast enough to enable him
to get down to the preparation of his les
sons for the next day. Jim Joined the to-
pacco-chewing clique and was tickied to
death when his reproachful mother told him
that he was becoming regular tough, no.
account reprobate, while Jack passed the
hard lot of boys in his neighborhood up al
together and trained pretty largely with
the girls of his age on the block. Jack
made 1t his business to keep himself look
ing as tidy as the slender means of his
parents would permit, while Jim affected
the slouchy exterior as the distinguishing
badge of his gang Of dead-games.
When Jack would sedately walk home
from school carrying a little girls books,
Jim, who had been playing hockey and
swimming in Rock creek or playing shinny
make 1t point to hurl mud balls at the
pair, If he met up with them. with an ac-
compartment Of derisive remarks.
Jim only saw the inside of Sunday school
once during his entire boyhood, and on
that occasion he crunched his hat into a
Wad and hid it under his jacket so that he
could bolt if the proceedings became too
irksome for endurance. He bolted, and
swore off on Sunday school for good Jack
on the contrary, went regularly to Sunday
school, and by the time he donned his first
pair Of long pants he was competent to
teach class himself.
Jim developed into a taciturn. gruff sort
of youth. who spoke straight from the
shoulder when he said anything at all,
while Jack, as he grew older, developed
mild soft-spoken manner of speech. and
became rather mealy-mouthed, as a simple
matter of fact
Jim at that age could look everybody
right smack in the eye under any and all
circumstances, while Jack had a somewhat
averted his gaze or looked upon the ground
as often as not when he was addressed.
Now, this was the state of this pair OF
brothers when they were respectively six
teen and half and fifteen years of age.
the time of life when most Swampoodle
lads are expected to go to work.
And yet, such is the strange habit of
nature and environment in molding these
affairs, Jim didn't all of a sudden assume
the stature of a fine man and citizen and
proceed to make a colossal hit with himself
and everybody in Swampoodle. If this
writer were in the habit of taking the end
by the persons who write swinging So
called "homely verse;" or If he had con-
tracted the insidious brand of fun-esis,
which aff1icts the mirth-squeezers attached
to the comic weekly press, he would pro-
ceed at this point in the narrative of the
pair of Tadrow brothers of Swampoodls
and expatiate upon how Jim, having abb
sorbed number of bottles of that subtle
medicine known as get-next-to-yourself,
had gained quick half-Nelson on his evil
instincts and won out royalty, while. on
the contrary, the goody -goody Jack, hav-
ing secured position as a trusted bank
messenger had skedaddled for the City of
Mexico with SIG, 4567S of the banks funds.
But this writer doesn't take the 'homely
verse" end, nor has he any visible symp-
toms Of the brand of fun-esis described
Even IL he were in such a state, the his
tory of the pair. of Tadrow brothers of
Swampoodle is too well known in this COM
munity to permit of any distortion.
The last heard of Jim Tadrow, he was
doing twelve-year "bit' in Joliet for hav-
ing used a slungshot and the 'knucks"
in an earnest but unsuccessful effort to de-
prive a North Side Chicago citizen of his
personal property. You may see Jack
driving around Washington almost any old
day in a neat buggy behind fast stopper,
attending to his large and profitable real
estate interests. Jack is a director in sew
eral local banks and other financial insti-
tutions. is we'll married and has lot of
children, smokes about twelve large, fat
black cigars a day, and has all kinds Of
fun with himself and his family twelve
months per annum.
When you base your calculations on the
fur-esis according to Hoyle," you are GER
tain to fall good 10000 geographical
Leagues beside the mark in nine cases out