Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-03-30
PITFALLS FOR BOYS.
o. E. DarnaII Warns Youths
Against Bad Companions.
PRESENTATION OF PRIZES
Rewards for Best Essays on Evils of
Cigarette Smoking School
Pupils Winners.

Boys. beware Of the individual who
calls you a friend but asks you to do
those things which can only do you
harm. Bad company is one of the
most dangerous pitfalls in life. Avoid
boys with bad habits as you would
rattlesnake. Indeed. il would be
better to be bitten by rattlesnake
than to associate with evil companions.
for a rattlesnake can hurt only your
body. but il you keep company with
bad boys it Will ruin your SOUL.
That was the advice given to boys
by o. E. Darnall. superintendent Of
the National Training School for Boys.
last evening al a meeting held In Wes-
ley NJ f. Church. under the auspices
OF the w. c. T. U. The occasion was
the presentation Of prizes to school
boys who had written the best essays
on the evils of the cigarette habit.
1T is sorry day in the life of any
boy when he is taken before any
court continued Mr.. Darnall. 1t
is a sign that he is going the wrong
way. The place for the normal boy
is in the public school and not in a
special school. Between so per cent
and 20 per cent Of the boys in my
school have smoked cigarettes before
being brought there.
Honesty is the first requisite for
success in life" he concluded. There
is no dual standard of morality
Avoid secrecy-adways be in the open"
Have No Place in Life.
DIR. William NJ. Davidson superintend-
ent of public schools of the District. who
presided, declared that the cigarette
and the cup that intoxicates have no
place in modern civilization in the boy
life, nor. indeed in the man life
Admiral George W. Baird. L. s. N,
who made the presentation address. de-
ciared that characters were usually
formed by the time that a boy was six
years old. Il have known boys to do
little tricks when they were six years
old and then to repeat those same tricks
when they were forty years older" he
declared Some of the bad characteris-
tics may be driven out by education, per-
haps, but not entirely
An American flag was presented to the
Polk School by +. NJ. Bradley on behalf
thirty-two essays entered in the contest.
but received none of the prizes. Mrs.
Bradley also spoke. Rev. DR.. Kennedy.
pastor of the church, delivered the invo-
cation Mrs. B. II. Smart sang THE
Star Spangled Banner" and several Sc
lections were played by the Rebew Or
chestra. The audience sang America
Winners Of Prizes.
The winners Of the prizes follow: Sixth
grade, first prize SIS. to David Shallen-
berger. Jefferson School: second prize
$50. to John H. Bragg, Emery School
Fifth grade. first prize, 1915, to George
Spefdel, Gage School; second prize, $40. to
Gilmore Walter Jefferson School: third
prize, S., to William r. Willsey, Lenox
School. Fourth grade. first prize, $40, to
Samuel Sugar. Van Ness School; second
prize, S.. Edward Grinder jefferson
School. Third grade, first prize, IS, to
Wilbur Gass. Amidon School; five prizes
81 each, to Clarence Porter, lexington
School: Edward Gardner. Emery School;
Harrison Kildare, Petworth School; AL
bert w. Tanner. Amidon School, and
Jesse Morgan, Emery School.