The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-04-19
Boys Being Trained

The citizens of the Newsboys Republic | In Birmingham are to be the citizens of | Birmingham tomorrow. These citizens are receiving excellent training in the court | for the nowsboys, with a newsboy as l judge and all the officers and attorneys ] of the court made up from the citizen ship of the Newsboys Republic TO properly maintain these institutions | a certain amount of money is required 1 The citizens of Birm.ngham, as a busi- ness proposition, owe it to themselves 1 to see to it that such institutions are maintained. The merchants and manu- | facturer here depend in a certain de- elee upon the future citizenship of the city Tor their ultimat> success If that citizenship is not of a high order then the success of the manufacturer will not be as great it otherwise could have been
 The Newsboys Republic and the News boys' court are in reality training schools
 Ter citizenship and the little fellows who are being trained never realize it. If com pialnt Is made that any boy has violated a law of the republic the culprit is haled before the newsboy magistrate and tried | before jury of his peers" If he is | found guilty he is punished according to l his deserts
 | The court is conducted with all the dignity of a regular court of law and the attorneys for both sides must con Form to the set standards competent instructor is always at hand to see that
 lar play is given to all put his services have never been required. The boys ruI, themselves. There is no restraint placed upon them except that which they them seiNes voted upon in legal manner for thlS reason they feel that they
 must be good citizens. They made their
 own laws and to violate one is to re-
 pudiate 1t. Violations are sometimes in- adVeftent, but the boys are careful. for IL IS indeed disgrace to be haled be-
 fore the court for a misdemeanor. me homeless boys of Birmingham ask no odds of any man. All they want is q chance to make good On next Sat urday, when the ladies of the city give the entire day to the disposal of tags for the benefit of the homeless little iellows. It will be an indirect appeal of these boys for a chance. They do not want the earth" All that is desired IS a chance to show what they can do They will make good from every point Of the compass.
 Is Unique Institution The Boys club is in itself a uniuue institution. It's activities tend towards promoting and developing other in- dlVlduals. organizations and movements rather than to that of self-help Of course, it helps itself. but that is more or an incident than a design. It has practically no physical effects. As Sec retary Burr Blackburn of the club puts It: The Boys club is a spirit un- cramped by narrow quarters nor tied doWn to apparatus so that it may reach out into the boy needs of a whole community, as the leaven. which at least has the opportunity to leaven the whole lump. Thus being unsettled we are able to disarm suspicion, our field is con
 stantly widening and our usefulness in- creased"
 In times past this city has been called Bad Birmingham" That was a misnomer, with small basis of fact Tn recent years it has been called Gen erous Birmingham" And it is generous The entire citizenship of the metropolis Is of broad. generous and tolerant spirit. Next Saturday will demonstrate whether or not that spirit of generosi- ty has in any degree lessened with the
 passing of year. There is nothing to
 indicate that it has, and that the needed $40OO will be secured with ease is not doubted.