The Washington herald., 1907-12-25
THE OLD-FAsHIONED BOY.
Hundreds of Positions Await Him in
OEees-PassinE OF the Type.

olLces-BassiuE OF the IyDc-
There IS price on the head Of the old
fashioned Office boy Somehow he has
disappeared. Business men are diligently
seeking him. and If he reappears he wlu
find hundreds Of positions awaiting him.
This is said on the authority Of one who
knows, says the New York Evening Post.
The other day % staid old merchant ad-
vertised for an old-fashioned boy, active.
intelligent. and square He hoped that his
advertisement might meet TIE eyes 0f an
old-fashioned father. who had "a chip Of
the old block at home This merchant
knows there are boys and boys, but ike
Eugene Field. he believes
There arc no boys Ike the good old boys
But the good old boys are scarce. The
race is almost extinct. one might ven
ture TO say. Where they have gone and
how they went are problems which others
must solve The fact remains thar their
number is few. which undoubtedly is
condition TO De deDlored
For the boys who started out % earn
their living twenty-five or Fifty years ago
were. in their humble sphere. useful
members OF society. You viii hnd many
Of them to-day occupying positions OF
trust, or perhaps at the heads Of the
firms they served inteuigently and wei
They began in the old-fashioned way.
by reaching the office long before the
others and sweeping IT, from end 20 end.
Then they busted the desks and filled the
ink wells, put fresh nibs in the penhold-
ers and arranged the blotting pads. Keep
ing hot fire I'm the office stove was an
other Of their duties. and they saw TO d.
thar the ashes did not ly over the floor.
The letters and bills they filed away in
such an orderly manner that none was
lost or nisiaid. and all were available ar
a moments notice. y taking press copies
Of letters written in long hand the old
fashioned boys were careful not to blur
them, and when the envelopes went out
they bore the proper amount OF postage
And the stamps. by the way. were not
used for their own corresrondeuce They
remembered that the stamps we're the
property Of their employers.
Such youngsters had been trained and
educated according 20 the methods of
their day. Polteness was properly -
stilled Ia them. They knew bow 70 re-
ceive an Office caller with courtesy They
could say Yes. SIR" instead Of "Au
right" OF -'Whatcher waut2~ and they
touched their caps to those whom they
recognized as their superi0rs.
And their personal appearance II was
pleasure % look Uuon them. The Old
fashioned boy went 90 bed early. had a
solid sleep. ana was ready fo- work next
day. with his wits about him His shoes
were BACKED his clothes were brushed
and his face had obviously been under
The pump Moreover. his fingers were not
stained with nicotine and If you turned
his pockets inside out you would not find
sturnps Of stale cigarettes.
When De ran erraads Le didn't ston 10
discuss The details cf the latest murder
trial or divorce scandal. for these things
were beyond his realm. Neither was he
familiar with the past performances OF
the ponies. n0T with The merits or de-
merits OF prize-hghters or popular ac-
tresses. The street-coruer game OF Grams
was not FOR shim. and the day OF tha
comic supplement. that lure 20 p-ocra sti-
nation and idleness. had n1t arrived