Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1916-1918, 1916-10-17
BOYS TO
Gle AN LIVING

- utU - UsnO
Welfare of Youth Subject
of Addresses Made for
Fathers and Sons
The first meeting in the Clean Life
campaign under the auspices of the
Boys Welfare league, was held in OF
tumwd Sunday afternoon at the Cen
tral Y. M. G. A., William 8. Sylvester
of Waterloo being the speaker, who
pleaded with the people Of Ottumwa
to give the boy chance to grow to
manhood, leading clean life. His
audience was made smaller by the
rainy weather, but he held the interest
throughout his talk and made his
points clear to their minds.
The meeting was opened by selec-
tion by high school orchestra, fol-
lowed by several hymns by the con.
gregation. H. e. Blaekmar presided
over the meeting. Professor G. Dayton
gave a trombone solo. followed by
vocal solo by Mr.. Collins. The speak
er was then introduced and gave his
talk, Are the Boys Worth Saving?
Are Worth Saving.
In answering his question, he in
verted it and said: Are the boys
worth losing?" He argued that 1t
doesn't pay to lose the boys and yet
every year and every day thousands
of them are practically lost Some OF
the boys are In reality dead morally.
He comes to Ottumwa, he said, to save
the live ones and aid the others to get
back their life. He said that the cost
of boy, from the time he is born un.
til he is IA or Is years of age, figured
In dollars and cents is tremendous.
Yet some Of their parents are not get
ting dividends from their boys, for
many of them are ruined beyond re-
call. The business men, he said, are
keen for getting after opportunities
every day and follow up their chances,
yet they never realize the chance they
have of saving the boys or think Of
what they are losing by not saving
them.
Boys are lost every day, declared
Mr.. Sylvester, and while the people OF
the town see the loss, yet in a para
doxical way they do not see 1t. He
told OF the young men and boys gath
cred around the smoke shops and bill
lard halls Of the citv and said that
while people see them, yet they do not
see that these boys are being ruined.
For men, he charged, are interested in
dollars and cents and have not yet
come to realization that their boys
mean dollars and cents to them.
More Care for Animals.
II the boys were hogs or cattle, Mr..
Sylvester said, the state legislature
and the national government and the
business men would take care OF them.
II they had foot and mouth disease or
cholera. huge sums Of money would be
given to help them. Yet not "a cent is
given to help the boys. He stated that
men who turn out to be scalawags
went wrong as boys. The cost of boys
going wrong, he thought, is far greater
than If they are kept in the right path.
He spoke of the cigaret and tobacco
evil. He denied having come to OF
tumwa to make fanatical utterances
smoking and the cigaret
habit, and said that those things alone
we're not to blame for all the wicked
ness of the world, but it is fact, he
declared that nearly every boy who en-
ters q reform institution is a victim
Of the tobacco habit
10 a Mans Problem.
He believes that the boy problem is
4 man problem, for from the boys of
today come the men of the next gen.
Grafton Neglect causes many boys
10 go wrong he said. He realized that
many men are tired and busy and do
not think that they have time to pay
attention to their boys. and yet, he
said, what a saving there would be if
men would take time to look after
boys point of view in many cases, he
stated, and thus they neglect them.
Il Is time that the parents wake up
and do something to alleviate the con-
1itions. for once boy becomes vic
tim of the cigaret habit he seldom re-
covers. Concerning the tobacco busi-
ness. he said that there is tremend-
BUS amount OF ignorance. People wink
at the facts and the officials refuse to
enforce the laws. which are upon the
statutes of the state concerning these
things.
He closed his address by urging the
men and women to get behind the
for the saving of the boys.
and asked them to tell the boy what
10 do. and not bewilder him with a
mass of "dont's." He plead with them
10 see that their boys live clean life,
think clean thoughts, have clean bod.
les and clean speech
Mr. Sylvester also addressed
crowd at the East End Y. NJ. c. A.
Sunday afternoon and another Father
and Son, meeting at the Davis Street
Christian church Sunday evening. He
will conduct two weeks campaign in
the city for the saving of the boys.
IOWA'S WEDDING