Arizona republican., 1913-09-07


 l the poetry" Well, then do people i buy the cards to use as orna aments l Say, they're dirty enough, that's a 1 fact "Then. Arthur, if there is nothing about the cards to make
 people want them, why do they buy 1 thema' "To help me out on account 1 of my legs, I suppose That is. 1 people give you their dimes because | of your misfortune, isn't that true2'
 Why, that's begging, after all' ad- l mitted the boy slowly, and his face fell. Come now treasured the agent. you did not think of it as l begging and you are still within a l few miles of your home. so there l is no actual harm done yet, Butt l she continued, mo manly man will l beg and the man without legs is 1 just as much a man as he was be- | fore his accident, and sometimes. he | is more of a man than ever be- i fore" Then she inquired his reason i for leaving his own residence and | in his crippled condition. going | among careless and uninterested 1 strangers T want to make-get enough money to buy a pair of ar l tificiaI legs. and after that, I want i to attend a business school for term or two." adding hesitatngly, 1 II have almost enough for the legs now" You see" he continued. I always did want some more school l ing" Yes, but why go among strangers to find help? I am in- terested in Arizona boys, and I am sure other people have the same sen | timent So come in again this af- l ternoon, and we will go farther into 1 the subject" The boy departed 1 tf i interest new to his face.
 l A long distance message verified l Arthurs statement of residence and
 the story of his accident, also estab l fishing his character as reasonably l good
 1 Late the same day. he again pre-
 sented himself The Charity agent
 made a proposition to him: to place | him at a stand on some advantag- 1 eous spot and permit him to sell pa pers for all or part of the day. | Then, tuition would be secured that he might attend the night sessions 1 of a business school. thus rendering | himself independent in the shortest l time possible. The boys face beam | ed. as he heartily agreed to the plan | But I do want to go to California; .'
 he said respectfully. That you can
  ! term is over and the warm weather
 begins" the agent reasoned. I'll come in tomorrow and let you know" he finally decided, and left the office The agent was eXper- l fenced and therefore hardly expect | ed to see the young man again. but midway Of the morning. Arthur ap- peared His face was sulky and his manner somewhat defiant. I've made up my mind that I want to
 see California first, and then I'll 1 come home with enough money to i start up the little business myself" l Further reasoning and warning were | of no avail. and the misguided boy l went forth, even forgetting to ask | help in transportation.
 Yes, Arthur came again to Phoe- l nix One dull day in January a lit- tie omre than a year later, he l stumped into the office on the same short crutches. easing the weight from the poor mutilated legs in the same way. He had gained no ar tificial limbs and no education. He was the same maimcd, helpless brok en youth. No, he was not the same
 The clear eyes had become dull the
 wholesomely red cheeks dark and
 mOttled and he even made pre-
 tense of not recognizing the charity agent. Have you come back to ac-
 cept our offer2'' asked the agent But she was fatally sure of the
 answer. It came with the glibness
 of the practised lie-"Yes, l have.
 If you will just help me to get on
 to Fl Paso, first, there Is a friend
 of mine there who promises to sc.
 Sc" But why detail the rest of the
 faIc he
 in soreness of heart, 70 boy, don't
 drift away again from purity and
 right and cleanness. Don't slip into
 the underworld from which no one ever returns without Divine Aid.
 Stay, and we will stand by you" But he would not stay.
 once more he came to Phoenix, but never to the charity office. An other year, possibly two had passed. Dull, vagabondish, living by undis guished medicancy even the pretense of the little card abandoned he spent his days on the sidewalks, either with out stretched hand or in a drunken half -slumber or he hobbies from business house to business house. or from dwelling to dwelling, droning out his false plea, and vast ing his harvest of coin in ways that are poison to any soul.
 What was the cause of this decad- ence? If Arthur were the only eX- ample, there might be a doubt of | the true cause, but of more than l thousand listed cases, watched and l investigated for years by charitable
 and religious organizations all show | the same origin: the ease of secur- 1 ing comfort with no return being ! exacted. There may be many con
 tributory causes. but this is the fun 1 damental one
 1 What is the result? The state l loses a citizen, society gains men
 ace, the man loses his true life