Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-10-15
HE HELD MANY JOBS
Thought He'd Rather Work
Than Go to School.
A BOYS EXPERIEN CE
THINGS HAPPENED THAT MADE
HIM CHANGE HIS MIND.
Incidents That Were Not So Pleasant
Then as They Are to Look
Back Upon.
A BOYS EXPERIEN CE

The man with the ample waist band and
the general air of prosperity stopped before
an F street window. in which a boy
Wanted sign was displayed, and chuckled.
Take you back to the old days?' IN
quired his companion, smiling himself
with "reminiscences.
II never clap an eye on one Of those
signs" replied the rotund man, that l
don't experience the old boyish bunch to
go in and ask them for the job. Every
time | catch sight of Boy Wanted pla-
card l fall TO thinking Of the season of my
kdhood when 1 held down one even dozen
distinct and several jobs within the space
of something less than two months, and
then l get to grinning so that l suppose
folks who pass me on the street think I'm
a lunatc.
THAT memorable season came along
when | was thirteen-back in the seven
ues-and living down on the island 1
suppose that had developed into the
champion hockey player of Southwest
Washington. But at last my father got
wise When he aScertained that I'd been
absent from school for straight month
1t was all off with me. He beckoned me
out of the class room and walked me home
figured on a whaling that would maze
all previous lambastings seem like mere
caressings. But the thrashing, to my
amazement, didn't come off 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 off to his work This was on
the last day of April.
MY father was in pretty comfortable
circumstances, but he had raised a whole
raft of boys before L came along as the
youngest, and he had 1t correctly figured
that as long l wouldn't go to school 1T
was his business to keep me off the streets
by making me go to work. And that's lust
what l wanted to do. l knew a lot of bows
OF my age who were working and swagger-
ing around on Saturday nights with their
y or - wages in their clothes, and I'd
peen envying them their opulence and indie
pendence for some time.
His First Job.
So right after breakfast on the following
morning, May 1, I started out to find tho
Boy Wanted signs. l nailed a Job within
three-quarters of an hour after l left home
Saw the sign in the window of a crockerv
and glassware establishment that used to
be on 9th street and went in. I was a
husky youngster, with 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, carry bundles.
and dog-rob around generally from in the
morning till g In the evening You can
wager that 1 slept o. nights during the
period that 1 held that job, which com
prised three whole days. Along toward the
Wfnd-up of business on the evening of the
third day | found myself somewhat bored
over having nothing to do for minute or
so, and SO 1 repaired to the rear of the store
and began to practice some juggling tricks
that I'd seen at a circus with plates and
vases and glasses and lamps and such like
"Oh, yes, 1t happened all right. After