The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1912-08-08
THE REAL BOY.

THE REAL BOY.
have no boys of my own, but
have had the care Of them; | have
taught them. | have employed them;
[ have had their confidence and their
affection, and this throughout a score
or so Of grown-up years; and my con-
illusions are that there are very few
bad boys; there are a few perhaps
rather more-Very good boys; the
vast majority of boys are just human
ity, young and in the rough, but hu-
man, neither bad nor good, but SEN
sible of kindness, brains, and justice
in the commanding officer, as we'll as
immensely anxious to do we'll and i'm
mensely anxious for the rewards of
well doing.
For the past few years l have been
perforce obliged to deal with large
number of office boys. Has any bust
ness man observed how few really
bad Office boys there are? There are
to be found in offices many boys who
are. unfortunately. sickly. or stupid
or Eighty or idle. but how few who
are really, deliberately bad! 1 have
employed boys who have come to ME
with the worst characters from
mother and teacher. labeled as
worthless" contrary" careless"
''mischieyous." rude" and have
found them. after a brief novitiate.
industrious, painstaking. anxious to
please, with a careful politeness
which would put many an elder to
the blush. have never. in the cur
rent phrase. had trouble with" a boy
{of course. 1 except detectives and
those obviously degenerate}. I
should as soon expect to have
trouble with" the human race.
And why? Why does not the aver
age employer have trouble with"
the average boyf The reasons. as
know them. are as follows: The en-
ployer Is making good" II he has Sc
riOus weaknesses the Office boy is not
permitted to see them: he is driven in
spite Of himself to respect "the old
man" IL the boy does not behave
we'll the penalty is swift and certain
can this be said Of home punish
ment? The atmosphere Of the Office
Is. as q rule. kinder than that of the
home. This is a statement that will
amaze many a mother. but I know
1t to be true. The Office boy is rarely
nagged: when he Is scolded he is con-
scious that he has justly earned that
or worse. and he is never physically
ill-used. The casual slap. the ever
lasting shove. the steady stream of
oral abuse Of the oVerworked mother
of the tenements stops at $50 q. m.
Thereafter the boy is an individual
with rights and duties, a human be-
ing who gets all the respect and all
the blame that is justly coming to
him" Best of all. when he isn't
working he is let alone. He has, in
his lunch hour, the freedom of the
President himself And he has, per-
haps for the first time in all his
crowded, worried. confused little life,
somebody to look up to. The boy is
surrounded by his superiors; he sees
q number OF busy. serious. cour-
teous growA-ups. who do not tell him
TO be Industrious, serious. and polite,
but unconsciously show him how to
be. Their brusQue kindness reas-
sures him: he tries. oh. how hard. to
win their approval: he is for the first
time consciously measuring himself
with and against the real world: how
grateful he Is for its slightest praise,
how appalled, at its reprobation!
Cannot business methods be ap-
piled to the average boy in his own
home. to the fortunate CD boy who
is granted longer freedom from
the grind of daily toll? AS 1 have
said. I have known many boys, but l
have known few that 1 have ever
wanted to thrash; / have clicked
into shape" very many of them; but
l hope always l have done it with
kindness. patience. and a timely ap-
peal to self-esteem. At least, 1 have
meant to, and l have had many
proof from the boys themselves, bless
them, that they knew what / wished
for them and that they appreciated to
the full that wished for them the
very best they were capable of.
After all, boy is a thing of some
importance. He is not a toy, nor a
menace, nor merely a nuisance is
q creature that is going to be. and
that very soon, man of some kind,
and of what kind it rests largely