Evening star., 1925-09-28

What becomes of the office and mes
senger boys when they grow up?
This paper some time ago carried
an interesting series of articles show
ing that many of its old carrier boys
had become citizens of influence in
this and other cities.
a like service remains to be per-
formed for all the hundreds of youths
who yearly turn themselves into "of-
flce boys" and so-called messenger
boys" in big business establishments.
OFTEN an executive finds himself
looking at these boys with some such
question in his mind as opened this
article. The youngsters are so full of
life, so intensely human. yet so ire
sponSible, sometimes so lazy, that
superior officers with philosophical
turns of mind often wonder as to
their future careers.
Many Of these boys" are almost
men, being around 18 years of age, or
even older. Yet they work for very
small wages. at jobs with no particu-
lar future. Most of the boys, after
performing we'll or indifferently the
tasks assigned them, disappear from
the office.
Those who leave realize that the
time has come for them to take to
their life work, whatever it may be.
Filling paste pots and running er-
rands is not IA life work. After MAX
ing this discovery, the office boy often
decides to buckle down to the study
he formerly shirked, and SO there is
hope for him.
Some of the boys manage to work
themselves up in the ranks. but their
number is not large. since all such
messengers, the pages of modern busi-
ness, work under one tremendous
handicap.
Once Jimmie the messenger boy"
one is likely always to be Jimmie
the messenger in the eyes of those
who have the disposition of the
higher positions. SO the wise office
boy finally strikes out in new fields
where he can begin all over again.
X \ ); X
Perhaps this is too sober a view
to take of the life of the average mes.
senger boy. Usually he is a light.
hearted youngster who seems 10
spend much of his time trying to get
out of work.
He scuffies with his mates at every
opportunity. is very apt to be among
the missing when most wanted and
has a penchant for the consumption
of foodstuffs at the most unlikely
hours.
Knew Il messenger once the
weighed about l80 poundsJ who nor
mally topped off his lunch with a
dozen bananas. He. too. disappeared
from the office and has been lost TO
my sight 10, these many years.
l wonder, when | stop TO recall
him, as / do now, what he is doing.
Wherever he is and whatever he
makes his present walk in life, there
is one thing | am sure of-and that is
that every lunch finds him imbibing
bananas. When bananas once get
their grip upon man or boy they never
lose il.
If any reader is inclined to think
that the problem has been overstated.
let me cite the following story told
me by a young business man the
other day. He related 1t as an in
stance of the lack of forethought
common with these boys
The messenger in question was Is
years old. He was making SO a
week, 81 of which he paid to his
grandmother, with whom he lived for
his board and keep; 81 he turned
over weekly to the savings fund which
the Office had instituted.
Recently he came to the young bust
ness man and made known his desire
to withdraw from the savings fund
plan. AS this system paid an interest