Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-11-24
BOYS HAVE CHANGED.
The Graduation Into Long Trousers is
No Longer an Event.
]. ENoS RAY. Jr..
THOMAS GRANT.
Vsf.1rStoos

The Graduation Into Long Trousers is
No Longer an Event.
From the New York Sun
1.-THE other day said the man with the
three chins and the ample waistband, zone
of my boys was shifted from knee breeches
into long trousers. / suggested that change
myself. The boy was becoming sort o big
and overgrown and loutish, like boys have
got to be at a certain stage OF their lives,
and he didn't look right to me in knee
breeches.
well. sir. dye know that that boy ac-
tually felt grouchy over being put In long
trousers? Yes, he did! he sure did.
I'D had it figured that he'd be tickled
almost to death when I told him that I
was going to buy him suit of clothes
with long trousers. But when l did tell
him and took him down to the store to
BUY the suit blamed If the youngster
wasn't actually sulky about 1t.
WAS never more mystiffed in my life.
When l stopped to reflect on what great
and glorious day it was for me when !
put on my first pair of the long ones /
couldn't make out that boy of mine at all,
nor the change which seems to have come
over boys nowadays.
And. another thing. When this boy of
mine made his first appearance on the
street with his initial pair of long trousers
on he didn't appear to create any sort of
sensation at all. All the other youngsters
on his staff of pals appeared to take the
thing wholly as matter of course, and
there wasn't any big hurrah boys or to do
about it at all.
well. sir, 1 sur. member how when I
was that boys age, or sometime before
it, for that matter, I yearned and hank
cred and ached to graduate from the knee
breeches into the long ones I was
ashamed of the knfckerbockers for long
time before I ever managed to break out
of them. and looked forward to getting
on the long ones as one of the events of
my life.
1T wasn't till I'd earned the price of
suit with the long trousers that 1 con-
trived to graduate from the knee breeches
class, at that. 1 went to work at the be-
ginning of the summer school vacation,
bent on getting the price Of a suit of jeans
at any cost Of labor and at the end of
couple of months of fierce striving, cleaning
up back yards and cutting grass and split
ting neighbors' wood and chores like that
and exercising the most patient economy I
saw an outfit of blue jeans in prospect.
The Saturday night when annexed that
suit with the long trousers-and got 'em
particularly long-too long. In fact-so's 1
could turn 'em up at the bottom on muddy
days or stick EN- into my boots Just like
the grown ups-and carried EN- home, I
was a pretty proud and chesty tyke all
right. could hardly sleep all O. that
night Tor hgur1ng on what the fellers 'ud
say when they saw me clomping around on
Sunday morning with those trousers on,
feit pretty sheepish about going out
at all when | got EN- on the next morn
ing. and l fingered around the house a
long time before I mustered I'D enough
nerve to show UP on the vacant lot where
the fellers congregated. All of the feIlers
were over there when, with a great burs,
of resolution. I skunk out of the house and
walked over to join them.
You could ha heard the yell they set
up five blocks away when they saw me
with those long trousers. They gathered
around me. the younger tads still in knee
breaches obviously impressed, but the
larger boys. already In long trousers them.
selves. in a derisive humor
they did all the Indian dance around
me, or course, and a lot Of the larger fell
lers christened my first pair of the long
ones by filling their mouths with water
from the corner pump and squirting water
all over those jeans of mine
Ihat was regular part of the initia-
ton into long trousers In my boyhood day
ana no boy was supposed to register any
sort OF kick over the christening Before
the day was spent however that sensa-
tlon mad worn off, and / can well remem-
Der how from that day l gradually ceased
TO nave much to do with the youngsters In
knee breeches. l became sort of patrouiz-
ing IN my conduct toward them and al
though some of them still In knee breaches
We're older than 1 was, / had a distinct
feeling that they were more or less out of
my class
Boys must ha' changed nightly when
they no longer feel stuck up over being
switched into long trousers, and that's
fact