Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1910-11-08
THE BURDEN OF THE LoAflNs COY.

THE BURDEN OF THE LOAFlk6 BOY.
Il have never seen in any other city
of its size so many young men who do
not work but who wear good clothes,
hang around the streets and pool rooms
day and night ana always have money,
as in Marshalltown.' said a travelling
resident OF the city. Who keeps them 2"
The man was right. except perhaps
in comparison. There are probably
no more young men of the sort to
which he refers in Marshalltown than
in any other cities of its size but there
are too many who fit the description.
fellows who refuse to go to school or
TO work or employ their time usefully.
There is a class in every town which
is growing up to graduate as bar fys.
tin horns buns and thieves, tramps
houses. pens and insane and dipso
hospitals They do have good clothes
and money Some of them have par
ents whose perverted affection takes
this form. Some of them. the mean
est and most utterly contemplate of
all are laying down on hard working
enough TO work their fingers TO the
bone because they love them. some of
whom would kick them out to shift Ior
themselves were it not for dread of
community comment.
Now these boys are not all bad In
deed very few of them are not possible
Earring, most of them. Earring hard.
One of the finest things that could oc
cur TO them would be to go hungry and
unhoused for month. Most OF them
need help and encoura cement also.
They get it from the wrong direction
and the wrong persons. Mind You the
them and calls them by their first
names. The tin horn who heeces them
in his crooked poker game always sees
and speaks to them. They are welcome
10 the lights and gayety Of the sporty
places There's row of chairs always
along the walls OF the pool room. Sure
plain of the boys going wrong, of the
loafns boys of the fellows who are
following the easiest way, know them.
speak to them or offer them any
brotherliness or helpful suggestion. The
ca siest thing on earth is to complain
and condemn. The hardest thing is to
fight the underworld for the boys who
need some one to fight for them. who
need jolt 70 turn them and friendly
push to keep them going in the new
direction. These boys are begged
down as they say in the COW country
And nobody Is riding the range to help
them with friend. pull to dry
grounds.
We don't use $ much sense with our
boys as with our cows. In the barnyard
the weak animal. the one which isn't
doing Well gets most attention. The
weak boy and the weak man in the city
isn't considered worth locking after
We ought 10 use little COW herds
sense. We ought to give a boy some
of the sensible care we put on a sick
calf We let man and woman who
are utterly unfit to care for and con-
troll children spoil and destroy human
life and call the patrol wagon for the
coal wagon driver who whips horse
Isn't it about time the grown men.
the manly men, the men VINO desire. or
at least say they desire to ra Use the
standards Of citizenship and lift citi
zens to the Standards isn't il time that
these men realized that they must
match their personal influence with
boys and young men against that Of
the tin horn the sport, the booze palace
and the prostitute? Has any man q
right to complain Of conditions which
he is doing nothing to change and al
ieviaten