Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-08-10
THE oLD-FAsHIoNED BOY.
Hundreds of Positions Await Him In
OMces-Passing of the Type.


From the New York Evening Post
There is price on The head OF the old
fashioned Office boy. Somehow he has dis.
appeared Business men are diligently
seeking him. and II he yeappears he Will
find hundreds OF postshs awaiting him
This Is said on the authority OF one who
knows
The other day staId old merchant adj
vertised for an old-fashoned boy. active.
intelligent and square. He hoped that his
advertisement might meet the eyes Of an
oid-fashioned father. who had a chip Of the
Old block at home. This mechant knows
there are boys and boys. but like Eugene
Field, he believes
There are no boys like the good old boys.
But the good old boys are scarce. The
race Is almost extinct. one might venture
to say Where they have gone and how
they went are problems which others must
solve. The fact remains that their number
is few. which undoubtedly is a condition to
be deplored.
For the boys who started out to earn
their living twenty-five or Atty years ago
were. In their humble sphere. useful mem
bers OF society. You Will ind many OF
them today occupying positions of trust. or
perhaps at the heads OF the firms they
served tntelligently and we'll
They began In the od-fashioned way. by
reaching the office long before the others
and sweeping 1t from end to end. Then
they busted tho desks and filed the ink
wells put fresh nibs in the penhoders and
arranged the blotting pads. Keeping a hot
fire In the office stove was another OF their
duties. and they saw to II that the ashes
did not fly over the floor.
The letters and bills they fled away in
such an orderly manner that none was lost
or mislaid and all were available at a mo-
ment's notice. In taking press copies OF
letters written in long hand. the old-fash
toned 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 correspondence. They remembered
that the stamps were the property Of their
employers.
Such youngsters had been traiped and ed
ucated according to the methods of their
day. Politeness was properly instilled in
them. They knew how to receive an office
caller with courtesy. They could say Yes.
sir" instead of ''All right or "Whatcher
want?" and they touched their caps to
those whom they recognized as their supe-
riors.
And their personal appearance! It was
pleasure to look upon them. The old
fashioned boy went to bed early. had
solid sleep, and was ready for 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 wou.- not find
stumps Of stale cigarettes.
When he ran errandS he didn't stop to dis
cuss the details OF 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"
nor with the merits dement's of prize
fighters popular actresses The street
corner game of craps was not for him, and
the day OF the comic supplement, that lure
to representation and idleness had not ar
rived.