Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-12-30
FOUR FEET OF SOLID GRIT
Crippled, and Failing Fast, He Is
Making Fight for Livelihood.
SELLS PAPERS IN GEORGETOWN
Fellow-W orkers Concede Him Right
to Corner of Wisconsin Avenue
and M Street.

This is story of tho Colonel" other
wise Freddie Hillary, known to his fell
loW-workers as the samesJ ''neWsie" in
Washington. His friends could go even
farther and call him the gamest news
boy in the country.
\ little more than four feet TALL the
Colonel stands each afternoon at the
corner of Wisconsin avenue and NJ street,
Georgetown. crying his wares. He has
been standing on the same corner for q
year and half, and when he first ap-
peared there he limped along with the
aid of q sawed-off crutch. Recently his
ailment has become worse and now 1t j.
an everyday occurrence to see another
'ncwsie" carrying the cripple in his arm;
10 the corner. Rain or shine, it makes
no difference to the Colonel. He is
always on hand. and the fight he is put
tins up has attracted the attention OF
the thousands who pass his co. ner each
afternoon. So interested are they that
they will not buy their papers down
loWn from other boys or stands, but will
wait until they can buy from the Col
onel Everybody in that section OF
georgetown knows him, and helps his
sales along.
Most people think that all "newsies'
care about during their business hours is
=. certain
extent, but in an absolute sense it is
wrong. They should see what care othe
newsboys take of the Colonel.
Other "Newsies" Get His Papers.
Say. Jimmy, take a chase after de
Coiners poipers," is an expression hear
every afternoon in the neighbol hood
Whereupon some healthy 'newsie" will
deposit his bundle with a friend and
take a chase By and by the poi
pers'' will come back under the arm of
the news-shouting Mercury.
where's de Coinel?' is the next And
the Colonel" not having put in an ap-
pearance, three or four of the boys VIII 20
sell afternoon papers IN that section
the city VIII depart for 1903 81 ID street
where they Will carry the Colonel down
from his second-story room. If the
Colonel does not happen to be feeling
particularly well, ANA he is suffer- &
from spinal trouble. the newsboy phil
antnropists will lift him tenderly in
their arms and carry him to his cor. err
Usually there is great and constant
fight on among the ''newSieS" for the best
corners. Not SO at the corner of Wiscon-
SIN aveune and NJ street, fOor the Colonel
is allowed to have the corner ali by
himself Once. couple of months ago,
there was II new boy who thought he
could do big business on that co.ner.
He tried to sell papers there The
story goes that there was a sudden
scrap" in the middle of Wisconsin az e-
nue. and that the aforesaid ne sbOy was
last seen going around a distant corner
with five or six OF the friends OF the
Colonel at his heels.
AT Christmas time The Evening Star
and the Washington Times gave a din
ner to the newsboys who sell their pa
pers each afternoon. The Colonel. being
badly crippled could notO come all the
way from his home to the Central Union
Mission. where the dinner was to be
held representative of The Evening
Star saw 10 it that he got in on the
eats.