Evening star., 1933-11-12

gang and the character destroying in
f1uences The boys club says; Come
on in; bring your gang with you; we
don't care how wild or mischievous you
are. II you are boy, it Is our Job to
help you"
Warden Lawes also estimated it costs
about SIS year to give a street boy
all the benefits Of boys club, while it
costs the Government about $400 year
to maintain a man in prison. In
Washington, however, the per capita
cost to furnish club facilities to boys
averages between $1l and Sl2 year.
Welcome at All Times.
q place where boys may go at any time
they have leisure; to furnish a place
that welcomes the boy at all times.
The technique Of boy culture Is built
around the use Of recreational and vo-
cational activities as q natural basis
for constructive influence.
! The programs are not standardized.
Each club uses those activities found
most effective for boys of its COM
munity. The programs also vary with
club facilities. A qualified and trained
staff leads and supervises all activities.
Game rooms to which boys have free
access are features of all boys clubs.
Entertainments to which they can
bring their gang" supplement daily
programs.
Vigorous athletic activities also have
a prominent place on the club pro-
grams. Each club has some kind Of
gymnasium facilities. Libraries, glee
| clubs and orchestras, likewise, are
among the activities available to the
members.
The clubs in Washington, as else
! where, are open to all boys on a non
| sectarian basis. Dues are small and
vary according to the age Of the boys.
The idea In making the boy pay for
membership is not to raise funds, but
to make him feel he is not getting
| something for nothing" which has the
psychological effect OF increasing his
interest in the club
Regular Dues Required.
For instance, at the Merritt Club the
| junior boys, those under IL years, pay
| rs cents a year. The dues of the next
group, between IL and 16, are 81
year; older boys pay $3.50 a year, and
employed boys 81. At the Northeast
Boys Club there is a midget class, the
members of which pay IS cents a year.
However, boys who cannot pay are
never denied admission. They are per-
mitted to earn their membership by
doing odd jobs around the club house.
Club directors also have found boys
who work in the club houses have q
keener interest in protecting the prop
! erty.
The activities in the four Washing
| ton boys clubs are divided into three
distinct groups-recreational, vocational
| and physical. The recreational activi-
| ties include various table games, har-
monica bands and glee clubs. In the
( vocational group are carpenter shops,
/ print shops, art classes and bookbind-
| ing. The physical activities vary, ac-
| cording to the season, but all of them
| include basket ball. boxing, wrestling,
| foot ball, base ball and volley ball. All
the clubs also have libraries, with up
to-date periodicals and books that in
terest boys.
The Washington Boys Club boasts
O library Of 5000 volumes.
First of Kind I'm City.
| The Washington Boys Club was the
| first Of its kind established in WASH
ington, back in 1920. when the police
complained of the mischievous activi-
ties of street gangs" Each gang"
had a name. There was the Blood
field" gang, and the Little Italy" gang,
besides several smaller and lesser
known groups of boys that spent the
evenings shooting dice, stoning windows
or street lamps and other more serious
misdemeanors.
Two years after organization Of the
club, all Of these gangs" dissolved
Rivals became friends In the club house;
the police had less work to do, and the
records In Juvenile Court ceased to grow
| so fast.
/ Such has been the history In the
other neighborhoods where the clubs
were established. That s the reason