The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-05-10
NEW YORK NEWSBOYS
 CATCH ODD GERM
ChiIdren's Aid Society InOcu-
 tateS Street Arabs
THE GERM OF FARM FEVER
Units Them for Street Life and Makes Them Long for Country. Oxen Cure Boys From
 Swearing.

New York. May 9.-Inoculating New 1 York's street Arabs and leaders of boys gangs with germ that will fill them with disgust for the crowded streets of the city, and make them yearn for farm life. . Is one of the measures now being em- ployed by the Children's Aid society in it's work to provide good homes for the superhuous and unloved children of the tenements. Once the boys are inoculated the rest is easy. For the society has lists of thousands of childless farms and ranches all over the United States, where people are only too glad to receive a child, give him an education and affectionate care, and when he grows up, see that he has a start in life that will make him useful citizen of his adopted community. Many of New York's little waifs, of course, can be sent at once to happiness in the country, but there are other dere- licts to whom a sudden change of this sort would be uncomfortable. The typical New York newsie, to whom life, even though it be half starved existence. is made up wholly of the noise and excite ment of the street and the brilliant, noisy night existence of the Bowery or the White Way, would die of shock almost if he were suddenly transported to the rural peace of a Texas settlement miles away from a railroad. How could he ex- ist in a place where a newspaper is weekly event, instead of an hourly oc- currence, and where there is no way of ha ly." This type has to be introduced to the country by degrees. And the society has wisely chosen to give it's inoculation not too far from Park Row and the deeds of his pet baseball stars.
 This inoculating station where the New York boy gets the first real taste of open air and the first smell of freshly ploughed earth Is the Brace Memorial Farm School of 15o rolling acres on the hillsides near Valhalla station. It has all the features of a farm--the big barn, the horses, the cows and the oxen, which do not understand profanity the farming implements, the spring house and the fields, where corn waves and potatoes grow during the season. In lieu of the "crick'' where the farmer boy goes swimming on sultry June afternoons, it has an artificial swimming pool fed by pure cool springs And there Is even a country school house, though it is net a red one But it is not altogether farm.
 It has two great dormitory cottages ac- commodating 100 big and little boys. a summer hotel for the fresh air children, a gymnasium, library, laundry and clothes mending plant, and lastly, two ideal baseball diamonds, a merry-go- round and a dozen of swings and see saws. Also it has daily papers from the city so that boys may not spend sleep less nights in worrying about whether "Matty's" "fade-away" ball was too much for the Bean Eaters. This is very important.
 Beyond these things, the equipment con sists mainly of omission of matters com mon to institutions. There are no special rules, except that a boy must not smoke or swear too much, must get three meals and be happy There is no high fence or barred gate; a great open archway wei comes the boy to the farm, and he is free to leave whenever the call of the city grows too strong, for he is strictly a guest, with all of a guests privileges And the worst punishment inflicted is to tell little guest that he has worn out his welcome. and then hitch up and take him to the station and put him on a train back to the city.
 Some of the boys never catch" the germ, and strangely enough, large pro- portion of these are Jewish boys who are bright enough at trade, buying and sell ing, but who do not seem temperament- ally fitted for farm life. Once in a while, however, there is a Jewish boy who likes farming, and a few years later the socie- ty hears of him as owning broad acres himself Other boys manage to stand the farm at Valhalla for about a week, and probably get so uneasy that they finally run away"
 Of course. they cannot really run away, for they are free to go when they choose. The first disappointment comes when no one chases them, and. after waiting dis consolately for a week for the expected pursuit, so per cent of them reappear at the society's office, 105 East Twenty second street, and ask to be sent back. The germ has taken and they cannot en- dure cramped city life.
 These uneasy boys, C. Loring Brace, secretary of the society, finds. make the best material, because they have gump- ton and push and almost invariably make excellent farmers when sent a few weeks later to Texas or the middle west. The society doesn't at all mind the bird fly ing from the field to beat it's wings while on the high buildings and grow confused by the city's arc lights. A boy who at once settles down and thoroughly