Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-01-31
NEWSBOY WANDERERS
BAD INFLUENCES TO WHICH
CHILDREN ARE EXPOSED.
How the Life of the Street Tends to
Develop the Passion for
Travel.
Z Evening Post.

From the New York Evening Post.
The newsboy is forever restless. He
works only when the crowds are thickest;
he shapes all his habits to suit the chang
ing, irregular life of the metropolis, and its
life makes the life of his boyhood Some
times this spirit Of the street gets into his
blood, and molds his whole later existence
into an unceasing passion for travel. In
New York today there are some five thou
sand newsboys. Hundreds are homeless,
and Of these some are constantly wander
ing-to Chicago, San Francisco and New
Orleans, to London and the cities Of the
continent, wandering always-but return
ing always, sooner or later. to what they
think the greatest town on earth, to the
home that taught them to be homeless.
The first steps in the making OF these
boys wanderers I had from a little
Quincy" Qtalian) named Mick" whom I
met down by the Brooklyn bridge about /
o'clock on night in September. He had
begun selling papers when eight years old,
living at home and selling when school was
out. School was out for good and all when
away. All day he had playa de shoota de
crap-getta stuck bad-go home wild none
of de mon'-getta de beat" This unpleas-
ant experience he was trying hard to
avoid, but with only six papers in stock
it seemed highly probable that Mick
would not go home at all, but instead would
carry de banner"-a bit Of slang jovially
adapted by the street from all-night expe-
rience with the Salvation Army, and mean
Ing to stay out all night Hundreds of
newsboys sleep out during the summer;
and always from these. when the autumn
comes there are recruits like Mick" who
join the homeless Four Hundred.
The Attractions of Summer Tours,
Short summer tours are at this stage an
easy Introduction to wandering life Late
one night last October five ragged little
urchins appeared at street boys lodging
house. They had beat IT" in on a train
from "Philly." The crowd owned 35 cents
between them, which gave each a bed and
2-cent bowl Of coffee in the morning.
Meanwhile, one Of them found a friend in
their profession, and through his generous
help they secured credit at the newspaper
wagon, as all New York newsboys may. A
days hard work procured the needed funds
for two nights tour Of the town." and
tnen win the common purse thoroughly
drained they beat it, back home to
"Philly."
In this beginning of his career the wan
derer is often caught by his parents and
put away in an institution. BY this time
he has learned to despise all home ties. AS
l heard the other night from a ''banner
carrier: us kids amt built fer de home
an mudder racket; we won't stand fer it,"
But confined In reformatory, this de-
spised racket" often comes again into
play, as In the case Of one Bill, whose ma
rents seemed to have quite forgotten his
existence. once month regularly he used
10 dictate this brief but indignant eptstle:
Dear Pa, Confound yer, why don't yer
write me! Yer lovin' son, Bill"
Homeless Newsboys.
There are hundreds of homeless newshovs
and their glowing accounts of travel and
adventure do much to inspire the new re-
cruits. From the Newsboys' Home ten went
to Cuba in the late war, swearing they were
or age, and I know of two more who re-
turned last year from the Philippines An
other has been constantly travelling with
newspaper correspondent. One of the few
boylSh traits they retain is the liking to talk
about their travels, which lose not bit in
the telling. The other night 1 was walking
on Park row with one Mike, aged sixteen
when he suddenly sprang off and seized the
hand OF dflapidated young tramp whom he
hailed as Whitley" They had slept out to-
gether four years back in Newspaper Row,
and since then met but once In Texas
Whitley had just come on from Buffalo.
Mike. since leaving Texas, had visited Chi
cage, st. Louis and host Of other cities.
Ills descriptions were too accurate for
most approved form. Last summer he was
in Chicago and there was seized with the
desire to go abroad. He beat it, on a
train to Buffalo, riding on the iron rods near
train and its hour Of leaving prove that he
rode on none other than the twenty-hour
limited. Among other things scattered dur
Ing the trip was his desire for travel. but
two weeks in Buffalo brought 1t back, and
again he beat it'' to New York There he
Joined the line of boys at the pier Of the
American Steamship Company, and by good
luck in few weeks he secured the posi-
ton of cabin boy. Unfortunately, he had
but three days before the return passage in
which to do Europe. He lost no time but
beat it, on the first train from Southamp-
ton to London. His indignation was warm
against the stingy accommodations on the