THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES BOYS of the STREET HOW TO WIN THEM 12 MO. CLOTH 75c. NET THE WORKINGMAN AND SOCIAL PROBLEMS By CHARLES STELZLE It wins the reader's confidence by its grasp of actual conditions, and corrects many misconceptions, — Congregationa list. This work is the outcome of: first, several years as a workingman; second, a series of circular letters to labor leaders ; third, practical work among work- ingmen, settlement and city mission work. — Chicago Record- Herald. Clergymen, settlement workers, church members, laboring men, in fact every one who is interested in the workingman and social problems will enjoy reading this book. — New York Observer. Mr. Stelzle was a real workingman and knows the feeling and aspirations of the wage-workers. He is fair, honest, and a keen observer. — The Standard. Mr. Stelzle has an intelligent appreciation and sympathy for these work-people of all grades. " The common people, the toilers, the men of un- common sense, — to these we owe a debt of grati- tude." And those who wish really to help these multitudes of men and women "of uncommon sense " will find herein many admirable sugges- tions. — The Examiner. BOYS of the STREET How to Win Them By CHARLES STELZLE Author of The Workingman and Social Problems New York Chicago Toronto Fleming H. Revell Company London and Edinburgh Copyright, 1904, by FLEMING H. REVELL COMPANY New York: 158 Fifth "Avenue Chicago: 63 Washington Street Toronto: 27 Richmond Street, W London: 21 Paternoster Square Edinburgh: 30 St. Mary Street Hv s u " It is by the Boys' Club that the street is hardest hit. In the fight for the lad it is that which knocks out the ' gang' and with its own weapon — the weapon of organization." — Jacob A. Rus. PREFACE I was number "8" in the now famous St. Mark's Boys' Club of New York City — the first boys' club started in America. That was over twenty years ago. Since then I have conducted a number of clubs of my own. My first attempt was with a mass club which had a membership of over five hundred, and which was composed princi- pally of newsboys and bootblacks. This was followed, in another city, by a group club which was limited to eight members. Dur- ing the past five years my interest in boys' work has been centred in self-government clubs. The material in this book is the result of this varied experience. Abstract theories have been avoided. Nothing is suggested but what has been actually tested and found helpful, either by myself or by some other practical worker. The book is founded upon a series of 7 8 Preface articles written by the author for the Sunday- School Times and an article printed more recently in the Outlook. I gratefully ac- knowledge the permission given by the editors of these papers to use the matter which has been incorporated into this book. Charles Stelzle. Evanston, III. CONTENTS CHAP. pAGE I. Why Boys' Work is Needed - - 1 1 II. The Object of the Work - - 20 III. Various Kinds of Clubs - - - 25 IV. Some Things That a Club May Do - 37 V. A Boys' Club Constitution - -46 VI. The Headquarters of the Club - 53 VII. Religion in the Club - - - 59 VIII. The Clubs' " Esprit de Corps " - 74 IX. Club Managers - - - - 80 X. Some General Observations - - 88 WHY BOYS' WORK IS NEEDED " I'm always a-movin' on, sir. I've always been a-movin' on, sir, ever since I was born. Where can I move to, sir, more nor I do move?" That half-defiant, half-pitiful cry of poor Joe, the street waif, in Dickens's "Bleak House," in response to the policeman's com- mand to "move on," is a cry which is not confined to London nor to Dickens's time. It is heard in many American cities. Every member of a boys' club which was composed of the fellows in one of my Bible classes, had, with one exception, spent at least one night in the police station before joining the club, guilty of no greater crime than that he had no more convenient place to meet his friends than upon the street corner or in front of his own home. Whether the police station is a better place for our boys than the street corner is a ques- tion which our municipal authorities have ii 12 Boys of the Street apparently decided for us, but whether we agree with them or not, it is likely that we will unanimously decide — and I think that the policeman will agree with us — that there should be better places for city boys than the police station. One night a city paper announced that a boy had committed suicide in a drunken spree. He was about eighteen years of age and unknown, and it was said that if any mother had such a boy as was described she might find her boy at the morgue. Two hundred mothers went to look at that face. Was not that an awful commentary ? A visit to any one of our penitentiaries will reveal the fact that the great majority of its inmates are young men. As one goes through the corridors and work-shops of the great institution, and thinks of the lost op- portunities represented in the wrecked man- hood of the prisoners, it seems as though the sad words "it might have been," are written upon the forehead of every criminal. But the time when " it might have been " was back in the boyhood days of the man who is now hardened in crime. If he had had a friend to advise and help when he was beset by the temptations of city life, he might Why Boys' Work is Needed 13 now be found occupying a position of honour instead of wearing the prisoner's stripes. The home no longer influences the average boy as it did in the days when society had fewer claims upon us, and the problem of what is to become of the boys without parental oversight and training is serious enough in the refined home. But what can we say for the boy who has no place that is a real home, but simply a lodge where he spends the night ? There are thousands of boys in our cities whose homes consist of only one or two small rooms in a tenement house, sometimes back of a dark, dingy alley. These condi- tions in our crowded tenements have more to do with crime and immorality than will ever be known this side of the judgment day. Eighteen persons living in three rooms, twelve of them being adults, are not calcu- lated to stimulate high ideals in the mind of the average boy. The boy in such a home rarely has the sympathy of his father. At any rate, his father is not always the help that he should be. If the boy should happen to lose his "job," sometimes through no fault of his own, and be unable to secure another, the 14 Boys of the Street epithet "loafer" will frequently drive him out of his home, and, if he was not a loafer before he lost his job, he is in a fair way to become one now. Few of us are aware of the large number of young men who board outside of their own homes, even when their parents live in the same city. The boy in the city usually starts to work at fourteen. If he is large and strong for his age, he goes to the factory just as soon as he can pass for that age. His evenings are now open to him, since he has no school lessons to pre- pare. He has more money to spend than he ever had before. His circle of acquaintances is enlarged, and, ordinarily, it includes some young fellow who has seen something of the shady side of city life. Going about town with him, and seeing its gay life, he begins to compare it with his own monotonous ex- istence, and it is a question of only a short time, usually, when the slender tie that binds him to his humble home is broken, and he falls into the clutches of the manager of the cheap theatre, the saloon keeper, and the keeper of the down-town dive. And then, too, the candy store and the tobacco shop will welcome him, especially if he wants to organize a club. I sometimes Why Boys' Work is Needed 15 marvel at the apparent coldness of some of our churches in disapproving of an organiza- tion of some kind for their boys, as though they were aliens of a dangerous type, who needed to be supiciously watched, until the average boy comes to believe that he is an Ishmael, against whom every man's hand is turned. In most of our cities, our boys are attracted by the small halls which may be found in the poorer parts of the town, where they adver- tise " Dancing to-night at eight clock," or a "Soiree on Sunday night; Gentlemen twenty- five cents; Ladies free." Or else they are tempted to join a social club which meets back of a saloon because there is no rent to pay, on the condition that the members of the club will treat. The chief function of the social club is to " run " a ball, and attend the balls conducted by other social clubs, each striving to outdo the rest in the gorgeousness of the badges worn by the floor-manager and his assistants, or in the prizes offered to the best dancer, or the most elegantly dressed couple, the badges and prizes being displayed for several weeks previous to the ball, in a favoured store window. Most of these social clubs are a positive 16 Boys of the Street curse to the boy who has become associated with their members. The rooms are open every night, and the new boy learns more of sin in a single evening, by sitting about the table and listening to the coarse and immoral stories which are being told, than he will forget in a lifetime. There is absolutely no effort made to improve the mind. The young men simply gather at their headquar- ters to spend the time in idle talk, coarse singing, card-playing, and "canning" beer. Of all the institutions in our large cities which are sending the boys down to destruc- tion, this is not the least. A young member, in telling about what was done at one of these clubs, said: " They have kissing all through pleasure time, and use slang language, and they don't behave nice between young ladies." It is unfortunate that the poor boy, even when he would do right, must go to some cheap " variety show " if he would spend an evening of relaxation after a hard day's work in the shop, because, in most instances, there is no other place to which he could go where he would secure that diversion which he needs. If he has a love for music, he cannot indulge that most elevating taste, Why Boys' Work is Needed 17 unless he can afford to spend as much for the concert as he has earned in a whole day. The only alternative is to resort to the vaude- ville, where he may hear fairly good music, but where he must take with it so much of evil that the good is usually more than over-balanced. Where else could he go in the average city if he would see the "mov- ing pictures " which have become so popular ? It may be well enough to make the state- ment that any boy with push and ambition will find useful employment during the evening, but we must remember that not all boys have this push, and that the great ma- jority are only ordinary boys, and will be only ordinary men. But if they are to be only ordinary men, we ought to help them so that they may at least become good men. It is difficult to make a boy realize his un- conscious needs, when he is constantly reminded of his conscious wants. But when you open one door to enjoyment and healthy pleasure, you have closed a dozen avenues to sin and shame. Jacob Riis once said: "It is by the boys' club that the street is hardest hit. In the fight for the lad, it is that which knocks out the 'gang,' and with its own weapon — the 1 8 Boys of the Street weapon of organization." Boys are naturally fond of organization and discipline. This has been demonstrated in the work of the Boys' Brigade. The late Henry Drum- mond applied this truth to the movement in his own country. " Amazing and preposter- ous illusion!" he declared. "Call these boys, boys, which they are, and ask them to sit up in a Sunday class, and no power on earth will make them do it. Put a five- penny cap on them and call them soldiers, which they are not, and you can order them about until midnight." It is quite a common thing to establish res- cue missions for the street boy when he has become a man, when it might have been a comparatively easy task to save his life as well as his soul twenty years before. And if he cannot tell the harrowing story of a ruined life, it will not take away the power of his testimony, neither will it mar his influence as a citizen, nor make him less of a father or a worker in his life's occupation. Boys' work is cheap, even though it cost ten times as much as is required to conduct the average rescue mission, but it is safe to say that not one-tenth as much money is spent for that class of boys outside the Sun- Why Boys' Work is Needed 19 day-school and similar organizations which are not reaching the street boy, as is put into rescue mission work, which aims to reach him when it is almost too late. The work is infinitely cheaper, on the theory that prevention is better than cure, even though it may not show up so well in an annual report. II THE OBJECT OF THE WORK There is perhaps no form of social work which may be more easily inaugurated than a boys' club, but experience has taught us that it is not always the least difficult to main- tain. Any one can open a reading-room, and allow the boys to flock in. But this does not mean a boys' club; it usually means a rabble, and ends in a row. The almost inevitable result will be that your club-room will become the plotting-place for a gang of boys who will soon become a nuisance in the neighbourhood, and your unfeeling fellow- citizens will present you with a petition ask- ing that your philanthropic enterprise be discontinued. A boys' club will surely fail in doing its best work unless there is a definite plan in the mind of the manager with regard to the whole enterprise, and a definite purpose in every entertainment or meeting held. Be- 20 The Object of the Work 2 1 fore inviting a boy to meet you for the pur- pose of organizing a club, it should be very clearly settled in your own mind as to what shall be the foundation and purpose of the club. The matter of determining as to just how this purpose shall be carried out is quite another thing. One cannot settle that in the beginning. The club worker will never cease thinking about and planning for it. Sometimes one will get help from the boys themselves in determining one's plans. However, the boys will indicate their need — which is, of course, the factor in planning for the object of the club — quite uncon- sciously. It is a mistake to confine oneself to purely negative work. Keeping the boys off the streets may be a good thing. Putting some- thing into their hearts and minds which will be helpful is far better. The most prominent feature in many boys' clubs is the social element. In fact, some managers have attempted to carry on their work upon this basis alone, and they have found, invariably, that the boys could not be held permanently unless something besides games and socials were provided. It is true that in some crowded neighbourhoods an 22 Boys of the Street interest has been maintained in this way, so that the membership has seemed to grow to almost incredible proportions; but it would be found, upon investigation, that the great majority had simply "passed through " the club, making room for the hundreds, and sometimes the thousands, who followed. Some club managers go to the other extreme: they strive to build up a great educational institution, rivalling the evening and the technical schools in curriculum and general management. This is also a mis- take. While it is an excellent plan to es- tablish an educational institution for boys, the manager of the boys' club who attempts it is departing from the original design of boys' club work, and is entering a field which is clearly out of his province. The boys' club is not an evening school, and the time and energy of the manager might better be directed into other channels, because he will find that the work which is already being done in the evening school is far superior to that which he can possibly do. Work in a boys' club should be largely inspirational. It should have for its supreme purpose the building up of character. And the simpler the machinery, the more effective The Object of the Work 23 will be the work. Not that classes may not be maintained with profit. But the real benefit from the classes will result from the personality of the leader or teacher, rather than from the technical knowledge which may be obtained from a particular study. The class work will be a point of contact. The common interest in a certain subject or industry will give the leader an opportunity to direct the boy to better and higher things. When the boy is ready for a regular course in the evening school, the club will have largely accomplished its purpose for that particular boy, for he will have little use for the club after that. The earnest workers who are so fearful lest their efforts in behalf of the boys will be worse than useless unless they can get the boys to apply themselves to some specific study, should not forget that education and discipline and character may be acquired in the gymnasium or in the game, as well as in the class-room. Fair play and cooperation, which are demanded in these things, will work wonders in the average boy's char- acter. It is because the boy is indifferent to these things that he needs to be helped — not thrown overboard to perish because he is not 24 Boys of the Street pleased to apply his mind consecutively, — about which, by the way, some of us who are older are not particularly anxious. Whatever is suggestive of a sweeter and a stronger home life should be here introduced, because it must not be forgotten that, after all, one of the chief purposes of the club is to develop that love for home which for many reasons may have been eradicated. If this can be accomplished, the boys' club will have fulfilled a great mission. Ill VARIOUS KINDS OF CLUBS In a general way one may say that there are three kinds of clubs — the group club, the mass club, and the self-government club. Then there is what has been called the com- bination club, which includes two or more features which are found in the clubs just mentioned. The first boys' clubs to be organized were mass clubs. They were organized, primarily, for the purpose of keeping boys off the streets, and were necessarily somewhat crude in some things. With the growth of the boys' club idea there has been a radical change in the plan of organization. Instead of there being a great company of boys, meeting nightly for the purpose of reading and playing games, with an occasional en- tertainment, leaders have started the group club, which is usually confined to from six to ten boys. These boys are generally made up of the same "gang," therefore of the same age and the same neighbourhood. 25 26 Boys of the Street The group club will usually meet only once a week, and is under the immediate direc- tion of a leader who is responsible for the work of the club. Unquestionably, there are decided advan- tages in limiting the size of the club, so that there will be that personal touch with the leader which cannot always be secured in a club which numbers several hundred. One of the very best clubs ever organized is com- posed of a Sunday-school teacher and her class of boys. The teacher will find no bet- ter way to hold her boys if she can meet her scholars in this way during the week. It is important in a group club to get together boys who are congenial. In form, the club is very simple, but its very simplicity gives such a club a wide range of possibility. A group club has about it a great deal of elas- ticity. The plans may be more easily changed than is often possible in a larger club. Usu- ally, the group club has a common interest in some subject, the subject being deter- mined almost altogether by the ability or the talents of the leader. What this interest may be does not really matter, so long as it may be made helpful, and prove to be a point of contact. Some of the things suggested in Various Kinds of Clubs 27 the chapter on "What a Boys' Club May Do," will be helpful in deciding as to what a group club may make its specialty. Since the group club has so little machin- ery, it depends very much upon the leader for its success; much more so than does the mass club. The leader of such a group must know intimately every boy. His must be a strong, sympathetic nature. A club of this kind offers a great moral opportunity to such a person. Mr. Alvan F. Sanborn, in the South End House Bulletin, tells of his experience with a group club. He writes: "1 gave myself conscientiously to amusing a group of boys with table games for several months before I discovered them to be worthy of much bet- ter things. Then the discovery came by the merest accident. The boys were twelve and thirteen years of age. There were seven of them, and they came to my room once a week. Their ignorance of the commonest facts of country life (I have heard a squirrel called a young monkey) led me one night to show them a dusty natural history collection I had made when a very small boy. In- stantly it was to them as if they were in a fairy palace. The specimens, — mainly in- sects and birds' eggs — were battered, worm- 28 Boys of the Street eaten, and discoloured; but my boys' eyes were full of wonder, and reverence was in the touch of their hands. They were stirred with « a new enthusiasm that boded much good. I saw that I should have to rack my brains no more for amusements; that our meetings were at last to answer a real purpose. "The collection alone, petty as it was, held the attention of the boys for several nights. Then, as it was winter, I tried to tide the precious interest over to spring by planting seeds in sawdust and sand, and get- ting them to do the same. Early in March I was able to show tree buds and catkins as trophies of walks in the country, and a little later, live frogs, turtles and snakes. As soon as bird-nesting time arrived, it was easy to make a striking display every week. On occasional Saturdays I took the boys into the country and there they became infected with the egg-collecting fever. " I love Thoreau and I love Burroughs and all the rest of the outdoor fraternity. I longed to share my pleasure in them with the boys, but lacked the moral courage to make so risky an experiment. Finally, I re- membered the charming bird biographies of Olive Thorn Miller, and ventured on them. Various Kinds of Clubs 29 It was a happy venture. This so far em- boldened me that I read them, in quick suc- cession, parts of Bradford Torrey, Bolles, Abbot, Burroughs, and even Thoreau. Of these, Burroughs, I think, was the favourite. That the finer shades of thought or the strictly literary qualities of these writings were apparent to the boys, I do not for a moment affirm. Of course I had to choose chapters wisely, and avoid altogether or sim- plify ideas which were taken in and the fresh out-of-door flavour was appreciated. "This past summer, the study and collect- ing have gone on very much as in the year before, except that the nature-love is now 'inside the skin.' This it is that makes me glad. The boys no longer wait for me to take the initiative. They take electric-car rides into the country by themselves, when they can raise dimes. When there are no dimes they walk out through dismal city streets to such country as is to be found at the end of two or three miles — tame enough, as most of us know. " Those of us who have faith that no good influence, however weak, is vain, as well as those of us who are Wordsworthians enough to believe in the special ethical value of a love 30 Boys of the Street of nature, will feel it is really no small thing for the child of a crowded city neighbour- hood to grow to manhood with such a love within his soul. 'Nature never did betray the heart that loved her.' In these hours of rollicking country research are life and food for future years." While much may be said in favour of the group club, there are some advantages in the larger or mass club which are ordinarily lost to the smaller club. Chief among them is the fact that the club is reaching a greater number of boys. It is quite likely that at least six boys out of the larger club will re- ceive as much benefit as the six boys who would compose a club of that number, al- though the benefit may be of a different kind, besides helping the larger number who would otherwise have been left out. A large club tends to break down some of the barriers of creed, race and colour. It is, as a rule, more democratic than the smaller club. The club spirit is stronger, and the enthusiasm more lasting among average boys, and these are the kind that you will deal with. Your model boy rarely needs the boys' club. Contact with a large number of bright, wide-awake boys is bound to stimulate a Various Kinds of Clubs 31 duller boy. The large club is richer in tra- ditions. There are the achievements of the baseball nine or the football team, the glee- club or the orchestra, the memories of the picnics and the summer camp. Then there are the lessons of brotherhood and coopera- tion, which can be taught more effectively in the larger club. The mass club is economical. The same argument would hold good for a large club that holds for a large church or business. As a rule, its affairs are administered better be- cause it is directed by a committee or board which contains men of large experience and sympathy. The club, however, must have a head with undivided responsibility. This kind of a club will reach the neediest boys, because they will be more likely to go where there is a crowd, than to a place where they might be more closely scrutinized as to the clothes that they can afford to wear. As a rule, the expense of belonging to a group club is larger than that of a mass club, because there are usually some boys in the group club who will insist on excursions or some other features which may cost more than the poor boy can afford. This, of course, may be pre- vented by a wise leader. 32 Boys of the Street Any boy should be eligible to membership in a mass club, and he should be retained until he very clearly proves himself unfit for the association of other boys. Even then he should have the personal care of the manager, because just then he will need it most. It is customary to have the rooms open every night for the mass club. There should be a number of assistants who may be depended upon, each having his work mapped out, as indicated in another chapter. It will cost more to conduct a mass club, but it will be easier to raise money for it than for the smaller club. Indeed, there are few things that appeal to the average citizen more readily than boys' club work. The people who con- tribute largely to mission and church work are confined to a comparatively small circle. There is a large company of people who are not contributing towards regular mission work who could be induced to give towards the work of a boys' club. It has been said that it is impossible for a club manager to become acquainted with a large number of boys in the mass club. That is true, but it should be remembered that the boys become acquainted with him. When it has been decided to have a club Various Kinds of Clubs 33 which is to take in as many boys as the rooms will accommodate, it is best to limit the membership in the beginning, so that the manager may become acquainted with the boys who are to be largely responsible for the future of the club, the limit being in- creased from time to time, until the full num- ber has been reached. This plan places a premium upon the membership, giving it a value which it might not otherwise possess. A combination of the mass club and the group club makes the best form of organiza- tion, in the city. This is the plan which is being rapidly introduced in many of the larger clubs, some of which have not been getting the results which they might have. This form has been arrived at from the other end in some churches and settlements, where the group club was the beginning of the club idea. After a number of clubs have been started, they have been federated. The plan is more easily arranged when this has been the case, and in some ways is more sat- isfactory than the formation of small groups selected from a large company of boys, be- cause the natural selection has in most cases been already made in the group club. How- ever, it is not at all impossible to divide the 34 Boys of the Street boys into separate groups after the mass club has arrived at a large membership. The selection may be made according to age or natural interest, the latter being always the best method of selection. In the case of the federation idea, meetings of the united clubs may be held once a week for business purposes and for games, al- though there should be some kind of a per- manent organization, having a definite ob- ject, with its officers and general committees. Whatever the form of organization, it should be the aim of the leader to meet the boys as often as possible, and in a crowded city, where there are so many temptations alluring the boy into sin, some provision should be made for the nightly care of the boys of the community. For this purpose, the mass club, with its reading and game rooms, besides the occasional entertain- ments and talks, seems to meet the greatest need. It is well to give the boys some part in the management of the club. This gives them a personal responsibility, and they will natu- rally take a great deal of pride in maintaining a high standard for the club. Probably the best way to maintain order is to take the Various Kinds of Clubs 35 ring-leader in the capers of the boys, and give him the authority of a policeman in the club-rooms. He will then be just as enthu- siastic in keeping order as he was before in leading the boys into mischief. The self-government club is, in many re- spects, the ideal club. A model constitution for this kind of a club may be found in the chapter on "A Boys' Club Constitution." The boys elect their own officers, appoint their own committees, and become respon- sible for the business of the club in every particular. The manager of the club is appealed to only when a question becomes too complex for their settlement. A wise manager will sometimes permit the boys to make a mis- take, so that they may profit through the ex- perience. The members of the self-govern- ment club should be taught to appreciate the fact that the success of the club depends upon their own efforts. The committees should know that they are expected to do the work that has been assigned to them, and not to depend upon the manager for the execution of the will of the club. All this develops a spirit of self-reliance, and it cultivates the habit of right thinking, 36 Boys of the Street because the boys very readily see the result of wrong action taken by the club. The question of discipline may usually be left in the hands of the boys, since most boys have a keen sense of justice, and will stand up for that which is right and fair, and dis- cipline administered by the boys will ordi- narily be far more effective than if it came from the manager, while at the same time the manager may still be regarded as the friend of the offender. Permanent expulsion from the club should rarely be resorted to as a means of discipline. One needs to distin- guish between the exuberant life of boy na- ture and downright viciousness. Ordinarily, the clubs which are composed of boys who are never guilty of any of the pranks which are peculiar to boys are very slow affairs, and they rarely turn out a good, live "hustler." This, of course, does not necessarily follow. It is simply a matter of general observation, and should be an en- couragement to the worker who thinks that his boys are unusually " bad." TV SOME THINGS THAT A BOYS' CLUB MAY DO It has been said that work in a boys' club should be largely inspirational. By this I do not mean that it consists only of "goody goody " talks, or even the really inspirational kind. Neither do I mean that no definite work should be attempted. A study of street boy nature — and this kind should receive the most attention — will reveal the fact that whatever taste for quiet, consecutive work or enjoyment he may have possessed has been taken out of him by the experiences of the street. The glamour of city life has been the curse of the boy who has spent all of his life amidst the unhealthy surroundings of the cheap theatre, the saloon, the dance hall, or even the unusual excite- ment of the busy street. He now feeds upon this excitement, and it is with the ut- most difficulty that he can be brought to think about matters which are more refined. 37 38 Boys of the Street To take a group of such boys and suddenly plunge them into a course of study which requires hard, consecutive thinking will drive them away at once. We should never forget that we have to do, not with the ideal boy, but with the careless, happy-go-lucky average boy, who left school, or hates it, because he had to study, sometimes under very unfa- vourable circumstances, when he went there. How to get him to think seriously and con- tinuously is the problem that will confront the club manager. The boy loves power. Show him that he can obtain it through knowl- edge. He loves praise. Teach him how he may deserve it. He has energy enough to accomplish wonders if it can be rightly di- rected. Now, if we can find some form of education which will engage this power, we shall have solved the problem, and the boy will be on the way towards higher and better things. Boys like to make things. Teach them the dignity of labour. Most of them will be mechanics. Show them how they may become the best mechanics. It may be a very simple thing, sometimes; a mere sug- gestion, given at the right moment, will put a great new idea into the boy's mind which will completely change his career. For this Some Things That a Club May Do 39 occasion the manager must be always on the lookout. The plans which follow are merely suggestive, for no one can outline the work which may be introduced into every boys' club. Each manager must work out his own salvation, even though it is sometimes done with fear and trembling. It has been found an excellent thing to in- troduce the kindergarten idea into some boys' clubs. This will require considerable thought, and may even mean the employment of a special teacher. For the smaller boys this will prove to be interesting and helpful, for you will find that few of them ever so much as heard of a kindergarten. As boys grow older they become interested in politics. City politics are especially fasci- nating, because the boys early take an active part in them. For such, city history clubs may be made profitable. Study the begin- ning of the city's life, its early landmarks, its development, its industries, the various departments of municipal government, the administration of public utilities, etc. Any- thing that has to do with the life of the city may be investigated by such a club. In some clubs miniature elections are held, with all the paraphernalia of the regular elec- 4-0 Boys of the Street tion system. Speeches are made for the can- didates, and as much liberty as possible is given to the orators. The various parties ap- point campaign committees and call mass meetings. Boy poll clerks, inspectors and watchers at the polls, are appointed, and on election night the regular customs are fol- lowed, the Australian ballot being used. Most boys are fond of music. A glee club is always popular, and instrumental music will interest many. A Penny Provident Bank will inculcate habits of saving, besides teach- ing many other valuable lessons. A success- ful club manager says with regard to this phase of the work: "I consider the savings bank one of the best features of boys' club work. It is a practical businesslike way of teaching lessons of thrift and economy. The bank once successfully introduced advertises itself. Boys are persuaded to become depos- itors because they see the bank-books owned by their companions and are anxious to pos- sess one themselves. To own a bank ac- count, even if the deposits are counted by pennies, means much to the average boy. Then the growing amounts, the rapid way that pennies increase, is often a genuine sur- prise to boys who little realized that the few Some Things That a Club May Do 41 pennies spent here and there for candy and cigarettes soon amounted to dollars. No millionaire ever counted over his riches with more satisfaction than some youngsters dis- play as they show their first dollar saved. 1 have always encouraged in my club the idea of saving for some definite object — a pair of shoes, an overcoat, a suit of clothes, even a bicycle — anything a boy can look forward to buying with his own money. Boys, even the poorer ones, frequently have more money than at first seems possible. Nearly every street boy picks up a good many pennies sell- ing papers, blacking shoes or running errands. If he is at all ambitious the sum may amount to considerable. Many of them carry their earnings home, but nearly every one has something for himself, and when they begin the habit of saving the little amounts they soon appreciate the value of even a penny." We once had about two thousand depos- itors, who saved over $6,000. The parents and sisters of the members should be encour- aged to become depositors, as they were in this case. A complete banking outfit may be secured from the Penny Provident Fund of New York City without any charge excepting for the postage. 42 Boys of the Street If possible, a boys' club should have a cir- culating library. It should be first-class, even though there are no more than a dozen vol- umes. Travelling libraries, with a few games enclosed, have proved to be helpful in the homes. A picture loaning library might also be beneficial. Debating societies are frequently organized among the boys from fourteen to eighteen, and it almost takes one's breath away to see the rapidity with which they discuss and dis- miss matters of world-wide interest and importance. But the practice in debate and the knowledge of parliamentary law which is acquired, is always helpful to the boys, many of whom will some day debate in real life, when there will be real issues at stake. Many of the members of the clubs are newsboys. Why not have the boys print a small newspaper ? There are few things which will prove to be more fascinating, even to those who do not sell papers. In some cities Junior Leagues of the De- partment of Street Cleaning have been encouraged, cooperating with the street department in keeping the streets clean by compelling an observance of the city ordinances. Nature-study classes are some- Some Things That a Club May Do 43 times full of interest, as has already been noted. The study of heroes will be found inspiring, and the love of animals will instil nobility of soul. Lectures or talks on the care of the body, the development of the sciences, the conduct of great business enterprises, such as the daily newspaper, the department store, the railroad, or the stock exchange, are always helpful, if presented in a manner which will appeal to the average boy. Some time ago we arranged for a course of addresses in our boys' club which became so attractive that the boys were glad to extend an invitation to their boy friends, who seemed eager to attend. The editor of the newspaper sold by the boys came down to tell us how a newspaper is made. A college professor talked on "Habits." A surgeon told, simply, of the progress of his art. A factory superintend- ent told the boys just what characteristics were most appreciated by him in his em- ployees, and as many of the boys expected to work in his factory, he was listened to with keenest interest. Experience has indicated that public talks on social purity are often suggestive of the very things which they are 44 Boys of the Street supposed to put out of the boys' mind, and that more harm than good usually results from such addresses. Some clubs assume a military form. Others are organized for temperance work. And then there are the clubs similar to the " lend-a-hand " idea, which are organized for purposes of helpfulness to others. The following familiar entertainments are always appreciated: '"Talking" machines, lantern picture-talks, " Tricks " by a profes- sional magician, ventriloquism, plays and dialogues, musical entertainments — vocal or instrumental, athletic exhibitions, reading and recitations, "Fire-Sides" with stories, historical impersonations and tableaus, shadow pictures, mock trials, experiments in chemistry and electricity, spelling matches, and informal talks on the biographies of self- made men. Other public entertainments will readily suggest themselves. Excursions to factories, public buildings, museums, parks, historical places, and outings on Saturday afternoons or some other convenient time will bring the leader into closer touch with the boys, besides being helpful to them in many ways. The following games may be suggestive Some Things That a Club May Do 45 for use in the club: Crokinole, dominoes, basket-ball, hand-ball, chess, authors, tid- dledy winks, shuffle board, " Nellie Bly," bean bag, spring ritle with rubber tip on point of projectile, going to Jerusalem, post-office, beast bird or fish, stage coach, lotto, table tennis, pillow dex, piece puzzles, button button, charades, blind man's buff, donkey, blow the feather, spin the platter, scout, po- tato race, quoits. If manual training is desired, some of the following occupations will help: Mechanical or free hand drawing, cobbling, Venetian ironwork, basket weaving, bamboo work, bead work, box making, clay modeling, sloyd, china painting, cooking, wood-carving, whittling, scrap-book making, poster work, printing, passe-partout, fretwork, leather work, lettering, rope mat making, toy furni- ture making, cabinet making, carpentering, bookbinding and burnt woodwork. V A BOYS' CLUB CONSTITUTION The constitution to be adopted will de- pend upon the kind of a club that is to be organized. Four kinds of clubs are dealt with in this book— mass, group, combina- tion and self-government clubs. The mass club is usually run on tradition, although there are generally a few well un- derstood "rules" which are necessary for the highest good of the whole number. One of the best mass clubs that I know about has the briefest kind of a constitution, namely: "Be a gentleman." The most elaborate constitution ever framed cannot do this for the members of the club, and it is admitted that the making of a gentleman is one of the chief things sought for in the club. The group club does not require a very elaborate constitution, because there isn't very much of parliamentary law in connection with the club. It is rather a familiar group under a leader who has the confidence of the club to such a degree that his wish usually becomes the law for the club. As the combination club is what the name implies— a combination of the mass and the .46 A Boys' Club Constitution 47 group clubs, it follows that what applies to these clubs with regard to a constitution, would also apply to it. The self-government club, however, re- quires more elaborate treatment in this re- spect, as the boys will need frequent guidance in their deliberations, and the rules upon which their organization is built must be clearly defined. When a constitution is de- sired for the other kinds of clubs mentioned, sufficient will be found in the constitution given for the self-government club to draft a set of rules which will serve as a guide or a foundation. It should be remembered that, after all, a constitution is the expression of the desires of the members of the club. It is not a police- man's baton to be held over their heads. This expression may be very brief, and yet it may comprehend all that makes up a good club. It is not the constitution that makes the club, but the club that makes the constitu- tion. To paraphrase a familiar expression: "The constitution follows the club." The following constitution may have to be adapted as well as adopted. It is given simply as a general guide to those who will readily see just what is needed for their particular club. 48 Boys of the Street CONSTITUTION. Article I. Name. This organization shall be called The Young American Club. Article II. Object The object of the club shall be to develop the physical, mental, and moral natures of its members. Article III. Colours. The colours of the club shall be red and blue. Article IV. Membership. Section 1. Any boy between the ages of ten and fourteen may become a member of the club, upon the recommendation of the membership committee, and upon a ma- jority vote of the club. Section 2. Each boy, before being ad- mitted to the privileges of the club, shall sign the constitution, after his election. Section 3. Any boy who is absent from four consecutive meetings will have his name taken from the membership roll, unless he A Boys' Club Constitution 49 has a good reason for his absence, which must be sent to the Secretary in writing. Article V. Officers. Section 1. There shall be a President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer and Chaplain. Section 2. All elective officers shall be chosen by ballot, the persons receiving the highest number of votes being declared elected. Section 3. The term of office shall be three months. Article VI. Duties of Officers. Section 1. The President shall preside at all meetings of the club. He shall have power in case of a tie vote to cast the deciding vote. Section 2. The Vice-President shall pre- side at all meetings of the club in the ab- sence of the President, and shall assist the President in all ways possible. Section 3. The Secretary shall keep an accurate record of all proceedings of the club. He shall keep a list of the names and residences of all the members, and call the roll at each meeting. 5