Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1918-12-07
By CAPTAIN GEORGE F. LUMB

by CAfl AIN SEonOE Il. LthD
Acting Superintendent Pennsylvanis State
TsHERE is large department store
on Seventh street, where it inter-
sects Pennsylvania and Louisiana ave
Iiues, in the city of Washington, that
seems unchanged during .ho thirty.
three years that hava passed since I,
then a boy of ten. learned the first
hard lesson of life in its shadows,
Sickness and death made me a pro-
ducer by invading our large family,
so that with less than two years or
elementary schooling to my credit, I
became a merchant handicapped with
large head and a thin necn, the
symbols of diffidence and timidity.
ts Between the morning and evening
editions Of the daily papers l filled the
days by selling lavender flowers and a
certain brand of floating CASTLE soap
then popular.
By right of possession the corner
was mine, but competition Crept in in
the form of an aggressive young
Hebrew, swift of foot and keen {
eye, who, ignoring my feeble protests,
lar customers.
r, l was not trained to the street. 4
gentle, ,blue-eyed mother had solved all
of my problems by the Golden Rule
and the doctrine of the Sermon cl the
Mount. Now she had been laid away
and my troubles wSre my own.
Wise Cop Gives Tip
A tall, clean-cut policeman always
stood on my corner. His long, blue
coat with it's two rows of brass but.
tons, his rattan cane and white gloves
made him an object of awe, whose
keen, narrow eyes seemed everywhere.
One afternoon, my rival catching me
unawares as l stood on the curb,
knocked my arm in such a way as he
rushed by me that my papers fell
Scattering in the black mud Of the
gutter.
Hot tears of anger and disappoint-
ment ran down my face as l leaned
against the corner post of the store
burying my head in my arm to hide
my humiliation. Suddenly l heard a
rich Irish voice saying, Buck up
sonny. That's no way to hold your
corner. Give him the thrashing he
deserves and he will let you alone"
Z. looked up. 1t was the big police
man whom 1 had always looked upon
as a being separate and apart from
my little wprld.
watchful as ever, speaking out Of the
corner of his thin lips that no chance
inspector might observe his violation
of the rules against talking except in
the line Of duty.
He had spoken to ne; told me 10
fight! 1 think I would have faced
death itself to have won his approval!
was dazed. I was held for a mo.
ment by physical fear of my opponent
= at,x. -1,,, f~x.
thought of stroke of strategy.
Knuckling the tears out of my eyes,
/ looked up with hurried "all right,
sir!"
Trains to Beat a Bully
snack" Devlin's father kept the sec.
ond-hand hardware store and lock
smith shop under the tenement where
v Il lived He was the good.natured
champion who led all the neighbor
hood kids in our street games under
4 the corner arc light where we played
at night. Mack" knew the street
the police and the vacant houses as a
stock.broker knows the market. To
him I went with the story Of my
corner and asked him to go over with
me and "clean up for me-"
.sNaw," said Mack" "If do II I'll
get pinched sure. If you do it that COZ
never will pinch you cause he wants
you to lick that Jew and hold yer cor
i1er. Anyway, you got to learn tc
fight sometime or you never will be
any good. Come .on down cellar. II
Show yer how to punch and then al
you got to do is to hit him as hard as
you can and as quick as lightning un
til he goes down or hollerS enough
went with Mack" to the cellar that
night and two or three other nights
sd@ A few days later the early edition
was just out, the corner was almost
deserted. A man across the stree
whistled and thrust hand into his
pocket. My arch enemy made a dash
tripping me as he went. When 1 got
UP he was out of earshot.
A voice I knew at once growlec
down from ON high: "Now's YOU
time, Do it well; he deserves it."
4FI can see the leer of triumph OF
3 the boys face as he returned to the
corner. I can hear the trip-hammel
beats of my heart as I drew breatf
for my first physical encounter will
human being. In blind fury begar
my unexpected attack and kept at i
until he lay crying on the Sidewalk
rushed through my childish brain
"An eye for an eye" clashed will
"Thou shalt not KILL wondered
whether I would dare go again t.
Sunday school. Was / born to be ;
prize-fighter? Would the policeman
arrest me after all? But he ha,
clipped around the corner out O
sight.
All unconsciously I was then an,
there transformed from a grief-strick
en- backward child into a practical sell
reliant worker in the Great Universe
System. I had learned my first lessor
IN