New-York tribune., 1903-01-12


Mr.. Poole, a worker at the University Settle
ment has submitted some evidence along this
line that those who have seen it call startling.
He has devoted his time, night and day for
the last six months. to the boy outlaws
of New-York He found Newspaper
Row. over one hundred boys sleeping in the
streets. Other hundreds sleep in stables con-
demned buildings. halls of tenements and back
rooms of low saloons Mr.. Poole found mes
senger boys cooking opium pills in dives in
Chinatown In Chinatown alone he found
twenty young boys whose business it was to run
errands for the white women who live in those
dives, and every one of the twenty had con-
tracted the opium habit. OF the messenger boys,
large number do all night work between all
night houses and all night people In one office
of nineteen boys he found the oldest sixteen
and the youngest barely twelve. They went on
at . p. m, and the next morning at o'clock he
found them still there. In tracing the history of
boys who were plunged into the life of the street
at tender years. Mr.. Poole presented many reve
lations which are altogether shocking. Follow
ing is one of them:
'On Wall Street there are hundreds Of stock
runners below fourteen years of age. Harry
began at twelve. He must have been bright,
attractive little chap. for every liked him.
When the markets were widest. he was always
swift and sure He saw dazzling fortunes made
in day and slowly the spirit of the place got
into his blood. His spare time he began spend
ing in certain all night billiard rooms, centres
for the younger crooks of the Bowery. He be-
came famous winner with the dice At four
teen he began spending two nights of every
week in hideous resort. He died as result
of his excesses.
THE LII Or lf16
There are pages of similar cases, traced from
start to finish. Mr. Poole characterlzes the lile
Of the street on young boys follows: "Corrup-
ton of morals spreads among the street boys
like new slang phrase. Minds already OLD are
put wise by minds still older" He describes
the false morality of the street; its failure to
train for any permanent trade; its irregular
period for work and meals and sleep; its tense,
nervous life. sustained and poisoned py uoupte tt
O
know large number VINO average four po"i7
of coffee to a meal ~,
Out of one hundred newsboys talked WIN
sixty-six were twelve years old or UNDER thlf ~
seven ten years old, and eight from SIX 10 elsIt
years Nold Those who went to school SOLD 1r9i1i
40 toNmidnight some as late as Z a. m, walk
ing to their homes after that hour teacnel
whose class was made up NANNY OF new Woposs 1
and bootblacks cited numbers OF cases ~ So
the Wornout nervous and irritable conoluon o.
these boys in school. Following was one u
them: g.. cent for
papers daily but has no regular stand. Ihougi
he may not return home without pronts ~, Pr -
nortionate 10 the stakes his mother furnishes
him he keeps all his 'odds-that Is the iiloITy ne:
made over and beyond the expected pr0nls. ~
average earnings are aooul ~ cer' a. home hut
huvs his dinner for five cents or less IN school
he lacks almost wholly concentration L anu a. a..
tention and he is consequently very ullI uis ~ @
,-irta-es+ed in school work He Is an moor
rigible truant. The money, he makes pss . otIu
his normal profit he uses for gatnpiIns an anu hard
aretles; ;,+S he sIeens where he can. Twice he
has been caught stealing lead pipe When ne @ nes
not been able to make enouen ~. ~ 80 90, Sc IN
His father is ablebodied and makes from 90 -
SO week ,,,- children, or
local express company employs cnti9i en ~ u
eleven and upward. They begin WORK WORK O. 20 II IL
md make their last trip between ahu ~ ~
o'clock at night On Friday and SATURDAY lIey
work until midnight. If the packages aio ~. ~
WI = dei;zereS bv midnight on Saturday they
must return on Sunday morning 10 im niIrsit 80 IN
task There are children who deliver I.d,s e Ur,s
+iT1a
and girls work both before ana arter sctpoi, SC at
Cleaning halls and Easements Of the poorer raof
and hotels, or WaShlhs uisiieS ~
kitchens.
FEW CASES OF NECESSITY
The committee declares that a large proper
t5or of tre street labor is not financially neces-
sary Some were working so as not to be unoer
narentaI control Others were required to work
nv narents without regard to their welfare In
cases OF actual poverty, where the chid sf1lali
wage is urgently required, it is a case Tor cnar-
itv The burden is too heavy to be borne py
anv street boy The earnings for which all this
sacrifice Of child health, education and morais
is going on are absurdly small Twenty-elght
newsboys admitted that their earnings We're
Ices +ban 81 a week. Those who know the boot
blacks best say that they are usually at Work Oh
their own initiative, and frequently spend most
of their earnings in gambling =.
Following are among the sallent dI1ieIuii ~,
which the committee will incorporate In It's Dill:
That the health officer shall himseif ne sat
fsfied that the child is OF the legaL age, nus s
ing to a single responsible individual the power
to enforce the law ,,
The bringing Of office, messenger lelgsI p api =
and delivery boys and employees q! ilo'ela oiI 1l
apartment houses within the provision OF the
law. -, -, r,a.rr of
licenses which shall serve the same tuhction ds
the present working papers 1oi lileiN01i'4+ ~
factory employment .,o obi,d
hmone fhe executive officers of the chlio
labor committee are DR.. William h MaAMell, MaA
SIperintendent of Schools in NeW-aofrh f IaC5
TInnS RaiIroad: DR. Felix Adler, and Robert
Hunter head worker of the UnlVerslIy Settie .,
rnent Other prominent persons oehl1o tlie ne
movement are Abram 5. Hewitt, III. ~ 1!i -ls.
.T,,o4 Jacob A Riis, Robert c. Ogden bisHop
Potter DR. Abraham jacob and JACOB "a:
Schiff all of this city; Joseph l. Am Alllilg' IL ..
Rev Thomas A Hendr1ck ana 1T. IlaA nTi1iia1,
bere of Rochester; Frederick Airny, WllnaLn Wi
II GratUyick and T. Guilford smith OF bullalo; :,
George A Carnahan, Theodore r hanc0Th 11f1,; a
Risbop Huntington, of syracuse. anu w iiii' =;
=, a. H. Sobmer Building No. 10 Fifth-aVe-
The changes in the law advocated py I tnIS
,rnnoi++ee have been urged by the state rae.
tory Inspector and the Board Of oL Go"r G ~oIrernor
o5SI ,.oo5a an urgent appeal to the legislature
for amendments of this character ne ScIt ~ -
nort sThe laws relative TO the employ Illent u u
t1;l3,-en are in such unsatisfactory cohulIii
- tba;,' enforcement is almost Impossible:
The law which prohibits the employment oI
t.Iaren in factories does not prohlblt Lheli en-
ployment by such corporations, as 80 - ressoI
a+I,er companies l recommend that lhe pieoetti
H. he so amended as to make effectiVe .1-@ {,
statutes regarding the employment OF cIiiui eH'
rop BETTER CHILD LABOR LAWS
.hts State as in others simultaneous ehorts
, likely to make this winter noteworthy III 'le
e,ert to improve child labor laws throughout
+Iara mill %