Monthly publicationa magazine devotedhis life, works, and

of the HORATIOto the study of

influence on the

ALGER SOCIETY,Horatio Alger, Jr.,culture of America.

ilIHIITft^.2,

1832 - 1899

Founcled 1961 by Forresl Campbell & Kenneth B. Butler

1979 Number 10Volume XVIT

Help the Algerwith all proceedsber Louis Bodnar,

Society stay solvent ! ! Please clonategoing to the HAS treasury. (CartoonJr., 1502 Laurel Ave., ChesaPeake, Yi

items for the annual auction,created and drawn by HAS mem-rginia 2T25).

NEWSBOY

HORATIO ALGEB SOC]ETY

To further the philosophy of HoratioAlger, J.., and to encourage the spiritof Strive anil Succeed that for half acentury guided Algerrs undauntedheroes

- |afls whose struggles epito-

mized the Great American Di'eam andflamed hero ideals in countless millionsof young Americans.

OPFTCERS

JERRY B. FRIEDLANDBRADFORD S. CHASE

CARL T. HARTMANN

DALE E. THOMAS

RALPH D. GARDNER

LESLIE I. POSTELEO (BOB) BENNETTMAX GOLDBERG

PRESIDENTYICE-PRESTDENT

SECRETARYTREASURER

DlRECTORDIR,ECTORDIRECTORDIRECTOR

Newsbo.y, the official organ of theHoratio Alger Society, is publishedmonthly (bimonthly January-February andJune-July) and is distributed to HASmembers. Membership fee for any twelvemonth period is $1O.OO. Cost for singleissues of Newsboy is $1.O0 apiece.

Please make aIl remittances payableto the Horatio Alger Society. Member-ship applications, renewals, changes ofaddress, claims for mlssing issues, analorders for single copies of current orback numbers of Newsboy shoulcl be sentto the Soclety's Secretary, Carl T.Hartmann, at 49OT Allison Drive , Lant-sing, Michigan 48910.

A subject index to the first ten yearsof Newsboy (Juty, 1962

- June, 1972) is

available for $1.5O from Carl Hartmannat the above adilress.

Manuscripts relating to HoratioAlgerrs life and works are solicited,but the editor reseryes the rlght toreject submitted material.

JilC XREMEI{BER: The HAS Convention

-theItCleveIand Connection'r will soon behere! I Donrt forget the dates, Thurs-day, May 1O through Saturday, NIay 12,1979, in Cleveland, Ohio.

J(*

NEW I\MMBER,S REPORTED

PF-5BO Floyd R. Martin6O25 North MontanaHelena, Montana 59601

Floyd heard. of HAS in the People t sAlmanac. Owner of an IC-L Cro"!fr rrraMeat Supermarket, he owns 'l 36 Algertitles. Besides book collecting, heis interested in coins and photography.

***PF-5191 Max Lanctot, of Burlington,

Vermont, has recently passed away. Ourcondolences are expressed to his family.

BOOK MART

The listing of Alger books in thisd.epartment is free to HAS members.Please list titte, publlsher, condition,and price.

Offered by John Juvinal}, 820 N.County Line Roac1, Hinsdale, fllinois60521. (Ter. : 312-32)*6112).

v,.-

VCast Upon the Breakers

(paperback, Popular Llbrary)Erie Train Boy l{hitmanFacing the World S&S

The Cash Boy Dono.Jackrs 'l{ard NfBJed the Poorhouse Boy Dono.Joers Luck Dono.Mark Masonrs Vlctory NfBMark Masonrs Yictory Dono.Phil the Ficldler Dono.Samr s Chance 'l{hitman

Samts Chance WhitmanShifting. for Himself WinstonSilas Snobdenrs Offlce Boy

(paperback, Popular Library)Slow and Sure l{hitmanStrong and Steady WhitmanStruggling Upward CanyonTom Tracy S&S

Try and Trust WhitmanWait and Hope Dono.Making His Way l{hitmanThe Young Adventurer Dono.The Young'Musician Dono.Tom Temple?s Career Whitman

(please add postage to eachbooks )

E $1.OO

F 2.OOF 4.OOG 4.OOP 3.OOP 2.O0P 3.00F 4.00F 3.00F 1.00G 3.O0P 2.OOG 5.OOE 1.00

F 2.OOF 2.OOE 1.O0G 20.00F 2.OOF 3.OOF 2.OOF 3.O0F 3.O0F 5.OO

ord.er of

May

I

I

I

I

NEWSBOY

Dan the Newsboy (1893)Frank tr'ow1er (1887)Tony the Hero (1890)Tom the Bootbfack (-1889)

Offered by J. Gary Newton, 91 5 HayStreet, P.0. Box 5-3401, FayettevilIe,N.C. 28305.

Gary announces that he has more t.h"'10O Algers for sale or trade, allpriced from $1.O0 to $1O.00. Pleasewrite him for list.

Offered by Emily F. Spalding, 7411l7th Avenue, Kenosha, Wisconsin 53142.

The following are all published- byA. L. Burt Co., New York.

HAS member Gilbert K. Westgard wroteme stating that the style of vritingwas def initely not Alger t s . HAS memberEddie LeBlanc adviseo me that my sourceof information was usually correct.

My reason for this letter is that fhave locaied another story by CarlCantab. Gleason?s Weekly Pictor.La!,January 1!, 1878, on page 43 carries astory entitled, "EIiphalet Foggi 0rrThe Man Who Couldnrt Say Noil by Cantab.

If Alger wrote these stories, andperhaps others under this name, I wouldlike to add these to my Alger collection.If on the other hand Cantab anil Algerwere entirely different story t,ellersf would like to know that. I will ap-preciate any information pro or con.

Regards,

Dlck Seddon**

1 {1;gi1y $fi eer iee $t:r. rt.t{ T{k!f, } (*atr * *rsit8it,-Y:iim,tli ;,,,:i1

*iyin. 1?!\| \rrrwtxlf,t., ft, !. "'ll"':r,,,,,,,, :'ttitl:{**i**iiiilti;

E $1 2.50E 20.00E 1r.O0E 15.00

Dick Bales, 1518 Plum Street, Aurora,Illinois 605O6 wri,tes that he has 5O

various volurnes of the hardcover maga-zine Amer:Lcan Heritage for sale for$50.0O. He collects glass antiquemarbles which he would also take insteadof the money. A1so, let him know if youhave any marbles for sale.

ABBREY]AT]ONS USED IN THTS MONTHTSrrBOOK MART"! E = Excellent, G = Gooil,F = Fair, P = Poor, Dono. : DonohuerS&S = Street and Smith, NYB = NewYortrr Book*

* J(

A NEW ALGER SHON,T STORY?by Dick Seddon

+&&

gl riri

ils.tsEftils

4 Edgewater PlaceWinchester, Mass.

01 890March 17, 1978

Dear Jack,

In the December, 1977 Newsboy you pub-lished a story by Carl Cantab whom Ihave reason to believe was Horatio A1-ger, Jr., r+rlting under yet anotherpseudon3,.rn. I had hoped that some one ofour research minded members would writein with evidence which would prove ordisprove my belief. Actually, I heardfrom two members who by reason of theirconflicting opinions leaves me where Istarted.

1979

d$l

&

$tfiB

I*s

li33K

NEWSBOY

ITALIAN CHILD SLAIMBYAND TI{E PADRONE SYSTEM

(Part II)

byDouglas Tarr

(faitorts note: Part I of thispaper rras presented in the April , 1979issue of Newsboy).

I{ho first campaigned against thepadrone system is not clear. Certainlythe Childrenrs Aid Society played amajor ro1e, encleavoring to arouse publicopinion in both Italy and the UnitedStates. An 1 873 report to the ItalianChamber of Deputies commended the C.A.S.for its work. Charles Brace himself re-ceived a meilal from the King of ftalyfor his ro1e. (18) Another crusaderwas G. F. Sechi de Casali who in 1 849established the first important ftalianlanguage nev'spaper in New York City,LrEco drItalia. De Casali had supportedBracers Italian School in 1855 andthrough his paper actively worked to im-prove the lot of Italian immigrants,both chililren ancl adutts . (1 9)

Horatio A1ger, Jr., famecl author ofboysr books, brought the issue to publicattention in his own way. In 1 872 hisPhil. the Fiildler was published. Phil,or Filippi, is in the hanrls of a paclroneas the story opens, but like Algerrsother heroes, rises to a position ofrelative vealth and respectability.Though its plot resembles other Algerbooks, Phil, the Fidd"ler is a faithfulportrayal of the pad"rone system albeittoned do.wn, probably because the bookwas clirected. primarily to young boys.In a preface Alger acknowled,ges A. E.Cerqua ancl Secchi cle Casali as sourcesfor PhiI, the Ficldler. Alger te1lsus, rrlf the story of tPhil, the Fid.dlerrtin revealing for the first time to theAmerican public the hardships and i11-treatment of these r+andering musicians,shall excite an active syrnpathy in theirbehalf, the author will feel abund.antlyrepaid. for his labors.r' (20)

Alger provides further documentationin a footnote r.i'hen one of Philrs friends

dies in the padroners house. Algercites a Neapolitan physician, quoted inLtEco -d"rIta1ia, who said only twentypercent of the children returned homewhile thirty percent stayed in theUnitecl States and adopted various occu-pations when they grew up. The otherfifty percent d.ied from their i11-treatment. (21)

As the book ends, Alger reminils us thatthat rrthere are hundreds of young streetmusicians vho have not met vith his[ffrifts] good fortune, but are compellecl,by hard necessity, to submit to the sameprivations and hard.ships from which heis happily relieved. May a brighierday dawn for them also I " (22)

Some writers give Alger sole creditor the major credit for ending thepadrone system. (n) However, padroneoperations were not eliminated foranother ten years after the publicationof Phil, the Fiddler. As we shall see,the evidence strongly supports givingthe New York Society for the Preventionof Cruelty to Children the credit foreliminating the padroni. The exactextent of Algerrs role remains unkno.wn,but unquestionably Phi1. the Fiddlerhelped av'aken public interest in thepadroni.

Regardless of who initiated. the cam-paign, by 1872 various newspapers hadbegun their own expcises. The N€y YorkTimes, for example, sent one of itsreporters along vith A. E. Cerqua tothe center of padrone operations, Cros-by Street. fn one build.ing on this

(18) Childrenrs Aid Society, TheChildrenrs Aid SS_"rgjy. of Nev YorkG"* Y"rk, @fooop a U"rr"nr""tolTSO+),p. 28q Bracel Life, p. 2O7.

(19) Iorizzo ancl Mondello, p. 26.(ZO) Horatio A1ger, Jr., Phil, the

Fiddler (1872; rpt. Chicago: M. A. Dono-hue & Co., n. d.), p. vi.

(21\ rbid.. p. 222.(zz) rura.r p. z4B.(Z;) Rarpn n. Gardner, Horatio Alser:

0r- The American Hero Era (Mendota,I}linois: The I{ayside Press, 1964) r pp.207-26

v

v

May

NEWSBOY 5

tenement-lined. street they found a par-ticularly cruel padrone who Iived withserreral boys in a cellar. The pad,ronersmother looked after the boys. If theyfailed to bring in their allotted quotafor the day, they were starved. Themother sometimes meted out harsherpunishments by binding a boyrs handsand feet and then inserting piecesof burnlng rope between his toes. (Z+)Interestinglyr Cerqua and the reportersfound in the very same building a rarepadrone w'ho treated his four boys rela-tively we11. (25)

Anti-padrone agitation reached itshighest 1eve1 in 1873. Tn part, atfeast, this came about through a seriesof articles either written or inspiredby Censo Caesar Moreno, an ltaliansoldier of fortune. Moreno accusedItalian diplomatic officials of con-spiring with padroni to kidnap andsmuggle Ttalian children into theUnited States . (20) fn New York Citywhich had the largest Italian communitY,Moreno leveled his charges againstFerdnando de Luca, the Italian Consul-General.

Deluca was ably defended by both Cer-qua and Secchi de Casali. Cerqua re-lated that as early as 1 868 de Lucars s

statements on the padrone system weredistributed as pamphlets in those partsof Ttaly where the problem was mostprevalent. Further proof of de Lucarsgood faith was containecl in the 1 873report to the Chamber of Deputies by acommittee which framed an anti-padronebi11. The committee acknowledged thevalue of de Lucars work in this field.(27) Secchi de Casa1i likewise gaveunqualified support to d.e Luca. (28)

The Consul-General defended his sin-cerity by citing the committeers re-port and its testimonial to his goodservice. (ttre act referred to in thereport was passed by the Chamber ofDeputies in May, 1873 and made it afelony for both parents.and padrone toparticipate in a pad-rone contract). (29)De Luca further explained that diplo-matic protocol prevented his approachingthe United States Government directly

1 979

concerning measures against the paclroni Iall communications had to pass throughthe Ambassador in Washington. (:01

Irritated by the Consul-Generalrsdeclaration of helplessness, Italian-American groups banded together in JuIyto take action against the traffic inchildren. (31). Moreno, who took partin this effort, could neyer prove hischarges against any Italian diplomat.Subsequently, he was found guilty ofcriminal libel against the ItalianAmbassador. (lZ1 Though unfounded,Moreno t s accusations temporarilyalienated de Luca from the Italiancommunlty. (ll)

De Luca's efforts to reestablish hiscredibility were not immeiliately suc-cessfui. In August de Luca instigatedaction againsl, one Michele Carcone whohad hired two boys for five years atforty dollars per year, promising toteach them music. Instead he sent themout as bootblacks, beating them if theydid not earn enough. Many Italians won-dered why de Luca took action now andnot five years before. To manv de Lucaappeared to be seeking credit for lead-ing the fight against the pad"roni nowthat the battle had begun. MeanwhileCarcone fled. New York, apparently nevert,o be caught . (l+1

Simultaneously with the Moreno-de Lucacontroyersy other investigators probedinto the doings of the padroni. CharlesLoring Brace pointed out that Americanlaw did not preverit "titaren from immi-grating.r+1th parents or guardians. Toprove a padrone was not the chitd's real

fz+l New York Times, July 7, 1872, p. 3.(25) E.(26) Bremner, p.280.

1,

(27) L Y. Times, June 13,(zs) ruia., June 21, 1873,(zg) rtia., June 19, 187),30) Ibid. , June 23, 1873,31) Ibid. , J]une 25, 187),1BT), p. 5; July 3, 187),32) Bremnerr p. 28113) New York Times,)4) Ibid., August 1

1873, p. 5.p.5p. 4.p. 8.p. 2; JuIyp. 5.

July 2, 1873, p. 5., 187), P. 5; A

August 2, 1873r.p. 5.

NIIl{SBOY

HORATIO ALGER SOCIEry15'N AI.INUAL MEETING

SHERATON HOPKINSAIRPORT HOTEL

CLEVEIAND HOPKINS AIRPORTru{Y 10, 11, 12, 1979

"A11 aboard,a1,1. roads lead

to the ClevelandConnection"

Mry

NEWSBOY

parent or guard.ian was nearly impossible.Brace identifiecl Paris as the center forthe traffic in ftalian children. There,saitl Brace, was the ttBureautr which act-ed as a kind of clearinghouse for sencl-ing child.ren out with a paclrone. (ii)

The press also brought to light newinstances of the harsh treatment ac-corded children in the hanils of a

padrone. In one tenement reporters clis-covered a small, filthy roomr less thantwelve by twenty feet, ln which ten boyslay sleeping on straw while hangingabove them were ctotheslines fu11 ofdirty rags. There \.{as no ventilationexcept through the door. One boy, agedeight, had recently been tied and lashedas evidenced by the marks on hisbody. (36)

0n another occasion reporters ques-tloned three boys aged six, eight, andtwelve. The task was not an easy one:The padrones had carefully instructedthe boys to either say nothing or toreply with a stock anslrer devised bythe padrone. He had, for examPle, ir-structed each boy to say he had beensold for sixty clucats by his mother.Nonetheless, certain facts wereeticited, mostly from the younger boyswho had not serYed. the padrone as longas the twelve year old. The boYsexplained their grimy condition, sayingthey were washed only once a month atwhich time they received a clean shirtand the olcl one was burned. Othervisethey never took their clothes off. As

for their vork, a typical day began atdaybreak. First they practiced theirinstruments for an hour. Then came

breakfast consisting of macaroni andbread after which theY took to thestreets until miclnight or later. Uponreturning home they receiveci moremacaroni and bread, or nothing at allif they did not bring back enough money.A few hours sleep on a pile of straw andthey were up again for another ilay on

the streets. tlll [ro nr coNT]NuED.l

(35) nrr"e, Dangeroris CIasses, P. 195.New York'Times, June 19, 1873, P. 4.-Tla;t Y. Times, Jrtne 23, 187), P. 8.

07) Tbid., June 1$, 1873, p. 5.

NEWSBOY BOOK NOTICEby Jack BaIes

1n Search of Historv: A Personal Aclven-ture. By Theodore H. White. Ner,r York:Harper & Row, 1978. 561 Pages. Hard-bound: $12.95.

(Ud.itorrs note: As reported in theOctober, 1978 Newsboy, the August, 1978issue of Atlantic Monthl:r had a hugepicture of a newsboy on the cover,taken from one of Algerrs books. Thetitle reads: "Pluck and Luck - GrowingUp Poor and Ambitious - by Theodore H.l{hite.t' The lengthy excerpt is fromWhiters autobiography, and following isthe introductory paragraph that pre-cedes portions of fn Search of_ Historyin the Atlantic MoqLhbr:

'rlle <lidntt have time to read HoratioAlger * he was too buqy being a Jewishversion of an Alger hero. Tn the Hebrewschool he learned" about the God of theJer.rs I in the public school he wasaroused to the call of history; and inthe streets he learned the Americanrhustle.r Then at Harvard, the aggres-sive, ambitious young man, from theJewish ghetto of Boston, studying unclera nev'sboysr scho}arship, got his com-pass boxed. and set out I in search ofhistory.r As they say, rOnlY rnAmeri ca . ttt)

Anyone who is fascinated with theAmerican political- scene wilI find thisvolume compelling reading, fqr TheodoreWhlte has devoted over two decades toreporting American politics, ancl inthese memoirs he addresses himself tothe fundamental question of t'l{hat ishistory?tr ft is a question he askedhimself early in life. "My sense ofhistory was drawing me outward-, withno partlcular purpose of politicalpasslon. I hoped eventually to comeback to Harvard. But first I mustsatisfy curiosity, my absolute lust tosee what was happening in the China Ihad studied. How did history actuallyhappen?"

Fis quest took himr+ar time, throughout

to China duringAsia as a Time

1 979

NEWSBOY

correspond.ent, and to the United Statesduring the peaceful Eisenhower daysthrough the more turbulent times of theKennedy era and- Camelot. And through-out the book he tells how power is useclin America and how politicians take ad-vantage of it. rrAccid.ent had clrawn himinto that slipstream as one of itschroniclersl he had seen American powerpeak at the moment of victory in Asialseen it used with majesty to saveliberties and people in postwar Europe;then followed it home to find out wherethe power came from, and found thetrail Iecl to politics.rl

But another book will be necessary totell how men reach for power. However,for any Alger Society member who vantsto read a true Alger success storycoupled. rsith an intriguing politicalhistory of the last forty years, thisvolume is recommended-.

**)cMRS. GORDONIS LOT

by Horatio Alger, Jr.

(faitorrs note: The following Algershort story is from the collection ofHAS member Evelrm Grebel. It has pre-viousty appeared in the ltlarch 1J, 1860issue of Gleasonrs Literary Companionand the September 29, 1888 issue ofYankee Blade. Thanks go to Evel;m forGiEl',e;;-ri,i" ) .

It not unfrequently happens that menwho are doing a large business arequite ignorant of how they stancl, anclwhen death intervenes their famillesare left unproviiled for. Such was thecase with Villiam Gordon. He wasstricken, d.own sud.i; enly and clied in lessthan a week from the time of his at-tack. His family had scarcely rousedthemselves from the grief which thisbereavement brought with it, when theyrgere called upon to bear another. Itwas found that on settling up Mr.Gordonrs affairs not more than a coupleof hr:nrlred dollars were left for themaintenance of his family. In additionto this, though it r+as hardly thoughtnorth mentioning, there was a tract ofland located somewhere in Illinois,which Mr. Gorclon had purchased some

years back for a mere song, and whichvas probably worth no more now than atthat time.

The Gordon family consisted, besidesMrs. Gordon, of two child.ren, one adaughter of eighteen, the other a boyof twelve. fsabel Gordon was attrac-tive both in mind and person, and be-fore her fatherrs decease had been quitea belle in society. Then, however, herfather was thought to be vealthy. Now

that the family was almost penliless achange quickly took place. Those vhohad before been consid.ered intimatefriends became chi11y in their mannersand seldom caIled. Still there wasone ground of hope left. Isabel hadbeen sought in marriage by a youlg manwho was in an excellent business pro-ducing a large income, and at her mar-riage her mother and brother woultl un-doubtedly be invited to make their homewith her hustrancl . But failing prosper-ity was a touchstone which revealeilthe inherent baseness of Gerald Ropes.He did not call upon the family forsome time after its affliction. Attength he caIled, but did not appearas easy as usual.

ItWe have expected you beforer" saidMrs. Gordon, with something of reproachin her tone. rrl hardly thought youirould wish to see me while you l\i'ereoyercome with griefr" he said.

This was plausible and might be true,but that there rdas a stiffness in histone 'r+hich led to a suspicion of hissinceri!y.

'rI am glad you are hererrt said, Mrs.Gordon, rrf wish to consult you aboutour plans for the future. You know, ofcourse, that we are left with littleor nothing. rr

ItSo f have heardrt' said the young manin a constrained tone.

ttAnd- we must of course make up ourminds to be cloing something. I havehearcl that you have a vacancy in yourstore. Perhaps you vould receiveCharlie into it? I feel obliged to

v

May

NEl{SBOY

take him away from school.rt

ttI am afraid he is too young for my\, purposertr said Gerald Ropes in rather a

forbidding manner.

?'How old a boy do you expect to get?"

ItAbout fourteen. rt

ttCharlie is twelve.r?

I'I---the fact is--I scarcely think hewould answer. It

grateful to you. r'

Gerald Ropes did not find it agreeableto remain much longer.

I'Well , f 'm glad itr s orrer, I' mutteredhe as he left the house. ttI donrt vantto be tied to a beggar. I{hen I marry Iwant to extend my business connec-tions. How fortunate it was that fdidnrt marry last spring as I thoughtof doing. Then I couldn't have helpedmyself. Now frm well off with it. Andyet she did look handsome vhen she stoodthere looking at me. I wish thingshadnrt happened. so, for I shanrt soonmeet with one that would have done morecred,it to my choi c e . "

It was now necessary for the family toto seek some emplo;,.rnent. Tsabel pro-cured a school, whi-ch yielded her an in-come, which, though not large, was ofessential service in procuring thefamily cornforts. Charlie also obtaineda place in a store, and he too was ableto contribute his share--rshile Mrs.Gordon took charge of the housekeeping,and did plain sewing. 0f course thevhacl moved into a smaller, cheaper house,and lived very frugally. 0f course,too, they were obliged to submit to manyprivations, and Charliers education wassuspended. From this condition theywere finally relieved, and singularlyenough by Gera1d. Ropes himself. As thereaderrs curiosity is no doubt excited.by this statement, I wiII proceed with-out delay to detail the circumstances.

In the.course of business he wasca11ed. to Chicago the spring after Mr.Gordonrs decease. As this was thefirst time of his visit to this enter-prising Western citv, he of course hada curiosity to look about him, and markthe evidences of its prosperity. Hisattention was calIed. in the course of amorning walk to a large tract of landjust outside the city.

ItThat landrrt he remarked, ItwiIl soonbecome of great value.rt

ItYesrrr was the reply, rrthe city isfast reaching it, and it will soon be

\-

I'I think you mentioned two monthssinceril said Mrs. Gord.on with justifi-able indignation, rrthat you should likevery much to have Charlie in your employ.But perhaps your feeling towards othermembers of the fami,ly have been affectedby our change of circumstances. T amconfident that Isabet wi1l not rnish youto conslder youself bound to her againstyour wi 11 . rl

ItT was about to speak of thatrt, said-Gerald Ropes, in a tone half of shame,half of determination, rI have beenled to think of late that we were notso well- suited to each other as we sup-posed, and perhaps it would be well tose\rer the connection. It

ttf am quite of your opinion, Mr.Ropesrtt said Isabel, who had just en-tered the house, and had heard thelast words of the speaker, trand Icannot be too grateful to the change ofcircumstances, bitter as it may be inother respects, which has revealed to methe true character of the man to whom Iwas about to sacrifice my life.tr

As she stood erect, with flashingeyes and flushed cheeks, looking downupon her recreant lover, he coweredbeneath the glance, and stammered- outthat he wanted to do r,rhat was, right,and hoped he had not hurt her feelings.

rrYou need not trouble voursetf on thatscore, sir, r' said IsabeI, proudly, ?rnor

could you have taken a more effectualmethod for dissipating whatever regardf once had for you. For that f feel

1 979

\-

10 NEWSBOYSundav Gtobe, MarchBoston 4, 1979

Alger offered chance

for American dreamBy Frank Bonzagni

This year marks the 8(1th anniversarvof the death of Horatio Alger, one of thegreat successes in American publishinghistory. Aiger's titles sold, accorciirrg toone biographer,400 million copies. Even iithis figure is exaggerated, he rronethciess

far outdistanced any other writer r-rf his

time. Sixty years after his death a one-

book paperback containing two of his sto-

ries sold more than 300,000 copies.

Hardly a boy today could read thestilted prose especially as it relates to "theother sex" without hooting. What thenwas the secret of his success? Sex? No,

Mystery? No. Brilliant Plotting? No. Clev'er dialogue? No. What he told hrs rcaders

was simply that however poor, dov, ntroci-

den and low on the sor:tai scait, cne had

the chance of fulfilling'.hc i\rl(ricanDream.

Born in Revere and resrding at ieast

part time in South Natick, lloratio Alger,

after graduating from Harvard College

seemed destined for the ministry until hisstories found an enthusiastic reception'His books, strongly influenced by his Uni-tarian minister father who tended a floekin Chelsea, preached firm Protestanl eth-ics: hard work, high moral principles, kr;:-

alty, bravery in the face of buliies r:r dan-

ger arrd readiness to accept risks Ii sav-

ing an heiress Irorn drc'-',':'ittg u i : l.ht

turning point in our hero's u;i*,'trl"cl ;;rr;g-

ress, it was only that he harl prepareri

himself to take advantage rrf lady luck.

Few children today can appreciate the

thrill boys and girls of another generation

had in reading nR gg.d Dick," "Luck and

Pluck," "Tom the Bootblack," "The Train

Boy," "Dan the Detective," all part of

moie than 100 novels. Once hcxlked on

these inspiring tales, one had to beg, bor"

row, buy but (not steal) any other-unread

Alger story that rnigltt be around' I'Ioratio

adiicts iricluded Ait.e,t f Smith, Cari

Sandburg, Clhristy Mathewson, lintlr'i)

Rockne, F. Scott Fltzgerald, Ernesi .licrir^

ingway, Joyee Kiimer, James Farley and

Cardinal Francis SPellman'

Interest in Alger's books understand-ably waned during the depression but re-

vived after World War II, perhaps stimu-

lated by the Horatio Alger Society formed:n 196l by Fomest Canrpbell and Ken But-ler, two collectors. The books havc some

. value in the rare trook market. Thor;e pub-

lishal from 1865 to 1880 can contma4d as

HORATIO ALGEN... sueeess story

high as $1000 for a first edition oI "Timo-thy Crump's Watd" and an average oI $40

for other first editions. According toGeorge Gloss of the Brattle Book Store,

later r:ditions, often origir'ally sold rn fiveand d;rne stores, will seil fcr between tq'or.nci i;vc dnllars.

Somr of A16er's appeal w,ls in his com-passion lor :iTe frienrlless, incrctlibly por -

erlv-strirkt:n immigrants who cruwdedthe teerning tenements cf iowc,r east side

lierrr York. He sponsored rhe New YorkNewsbo,vs' Foundation for homeless boys

and created it "Phii the Fiddler" the mov-

ing story of youthful Italian street musi-cians working in virtuai slavery for"padrones." So outraged was the publicthat the Society for the Preventiorr ofCruelty to Chiidren was fornted in NewYork, the first in the rration.

0{ course, there rvere many imitatorsand detractors. One enterprising publistr-er, Thomas Niles, Jr. of Roberts Brothers,a Bosltin house, conceived the idea o{ har'-

ing someone write books for grrls as Algerhad ior hoys. Lou;sa May Alcott was eil-gaged and she produced tn two volumt'sfrom l868 to 1969" the r:lassic "LittleWomen," a great and iasting success. She

was hv far the best of the writers ofyoung people's stories. but was disdainfulof the quaiity ol her rivals' wmk,,to theextent ol disparaginS, ii in the pr.'ss. Such

criticism had nri e(feet on;\lger ntrr oth-ers vho produt:sd sur:h popular :;eties as

May

NEI.{SBOY 11

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Oliver Optic and later. the Rover Boys,Tom Swift and the Motor Boys and theBobbsey Twins.

If Horatio Alger's writings fail to sur-vive on their literary rnerit, Holy Horatio,as he was once nicknamed bv his sc.hool-m;tes, will be long remembered as thtsubject of one of the most succrissfulhoaxes of'the 20th century. in 1g28, tirr-bert R. Mayes wrote "Alg*: A Biogr:phyWithout a Hero." Maves, a successfulmagazine editor lGood Housekeeping)and former president of McCalls, decidc'dto write a spoof on Alger who for genera-tions had a reputation as a strict nroralist.a shy bachelor and quii.'t sort of fellow.Mayes inver,ted an Aleer diary which re-corded affalrs with Parisian prosiitutes.dalliance with Amerii:an ,,vives and somewild westenr tales. I{!i tiook, based on thed;ary, rvas hailed as rhe first authoritative

biography of Horatio Alger and cited assuch in the Encyclopedia Brittanica. Oncethe biography was published, both Mayesand his publisher were too embarrassed toreveal the truth in view of the enthusias-tic reniews of Iiterary critics many ofwhorn were friends. In 19?4. at the age of7ll, Mayes confessed all and, forgiven. wasofiered a mc,mbcrship in rhe. HoratioAleer Society.

Irr letrospect the Alger books were theforei unners of Today's How to Do It man-uai: and althtrugh rhe precepts of Work.Strrve, Save and Succeed have been re.placed by more sophisticated formulas.H,,ratio still rernaius as the piol)eer.

Can a poor harlworking tuy makegood? The answer is yes. yes, yes. Provid-ed, of course. he writes books on how todo it!

Frank Bonzagni is an Arlington law-ver.

Thanks goto HAS memberRoy Wend.elIfor senclingme thisc lipping.

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12

all cut up for buihence ancl it willdent, not far fromdollars.rr

lding lots. Five Yearsbe worth, I am confi-a hundred thousand

ItTo r,thom does it belong?tt inquiredGerald, with interest.

"If I am not mistaken it was purchasedyears ago for a mere trifle bY a Mr.Gorclon of your city. f was acquainteclwith the former owner, who regrets verymuch that he did not retain his holdupon it. t'

"Mr. Gordon !tt excla,imed Gerald, start-ing.

'rYes, do you know him?'r

t'I did formerlyrt' said the young man,

evasively.

Gerald Ropes had now plenty to thinkabout. He hacl no doubt in his or^m mindthat this was the lot belonging to Mrs'Gordon, and it was very evident that she

was entirelrr ignorant of its va1ue.After all, it would have been a good

speculation to marry fsabel. A hundredthousand dollars in five years was no

trifle. It woultl at least treble hiswealth.

Then came the thought, t'Perhaps I canyet win Isabel for mY wife. I alwaYsliked her, and the only objection I ha<1

was her poverty. Now that this is re-moYed T need feel no hesitation. Idonrt believe she will refuse me' A

husband with fifty thousand dollars istoo great a catch to be given uP.''

AccordinglY, within two daYs a'fterhis arrival at home, he disPatchedthe following letter to Isabel:

ItDear Isabel:

I hope the former relations subsist-ing betveen us will permit me to adilressvou in this manner. When some months

since we agreecl to separate, I tlicl notknow my own heart, nor how much Youwere endeared to me. I fancied thatthere rlras an uncongeniality, but I

confess that it was a delusion. I havesince found that I did. not know myself.You will not, I hoPe, think that Yourchange of circumstances had anything todo with influencing me. Fortunately Ihaye enough to make lt quite indifferentto me whether my 'r,rife has or has notany property. My chief cleslre is tofind one whom I can esteem and love.Let me hope to receive a favorableanswer, and that the old relations sub-sisting between us may be renewed"

Yours affectionatelY,

Gerald RoPes

P.S.--There ls a Yacancy in my store,and I shall be haPPY to receive Yourbrother Charlie into mY emPloY. I'

The amazement of fsabel on receivingthis letter can scarcely be conceiveil.She did not for a moment think of ac-cepting the proposal which it containecl.She had once lost confidence ln Gerald.Ropes, and with her conficlence andrespect had vanished her 1ove. l{a.s itpossible that he had so changed as thisletter would seem to imply? Was it pos-sible that after all he had been curedof the meanness whlch she supposed in-herent? She did not klow, but even ifher love had remained the change was

too great and too sudclen for her tocredit without suspicion. Besides,she had met another Young man irreyery respect superior to Gerald Ropes,except in nealth, for of this he ha'd

little, and she felt that she had nevertruly loved until she had met him. 0n

the next day after his own letter hadbeen sent, Gerald Ropes recelved thefollowing:

"Mr. Gerald RoPes:Sir--l acknowledge the re-

ceipt of your note of YesterclaY, inwhich you express desires to revivethe relations subsisting between usbefore my fatherrs decease. Since thattime my feelings have entirely changedtowards you, and I am led to doubtwhether they r+ere ever of such a

character as to justify matrimony. T

may add that I have plighted my faith

NE1{SBOY

May

NEI{SBOY 13

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to another, and the marriage will takeplace at an early day. You will see,therefore, that I am obliged to answ'eryou in the negative. Nevertheless,courtesy requires me to thank trou forthe preference you have indicated.

Isabel Gordon

P.S.--My brother is already in an ex-cellent place. t'

"Confounded cool !rr muttered GeralclRopes, discomfited, when he read thisnote. He would propose to buy the 1and,vhich he could undout,tedly do for asmal1 sum, as Mrs. Gord-on coulcl not beacquainted with its value. Thus her+ould get il. without the incumbra,nce ofa vife. It woutrd not be prudent, how-errer, for hin'r to tra.nsact the busiriessin person, since they would be 1ikelyto suspect him of some design in t.heaffair, especially when they rememberedhis renewetl proposal. He accordinglyplaced the matter in the hands of alavyer, with these instructions:

ttYou are to offer one thousanddollars in the first place. If not ac-cepted, grailually increase your offer.I authori ze yo.u to go as high as tenthousand, and will place the money inyour hands. If they agree, draw upthe papers at once.r'

The next day Mrs. Gordon received- acall from Erasmus Qui11, attorney atIaw.

ttI am informecl, Madamrrr he said, Itthatyou have a lot of western land in yourpossession.r?

I'My husband had such a 1ot, and Iretain it.'f

"I{ould you li,ke to sell?rr

t'If I could get a fair pricerilanswered Mrs. Gordon.

"I am authorlzed. by a client to offeryou a thousand dollars for itrrr saicl thelawyer.

1979

i;liii'.)1!'llji 1.lli.'i:i' tlt-il:ti{ i i..i.i, sl1iii*.i-..itll.:.a;t:..3x^::t::.

Mrs. Gordon had littIe acquaintancewith business, but she had shrewdnessenough to perceive that if a thousanddollars was the first offer for theland, it must be worth a good dealmore. She accordingly declined. theproposition.

rrI will give you tr+o thousandrr? saidMr. Quill. This confirmed her firstthought.

rrMrs. QuiIIrrr said she, I'vilI youoblige me by mentioning the utmost thatyour client authorizes you to offer.Otherwlse our conference closes.rr

ItTen thousand d"ollars rrr said. the Iarr-yer with some hesitation.

r?I will sell" for that sumrrr said Mrs.Gordon.

14

t'Then we vill drawoncerrr said Mr. Quil

NEWSBOY

up the papers atl.

In fifteen minutes the sale was ef-fected. and the money paid. 1{ith thedeed in his pocket, GeraIiI Ropes againwent out to Chicago, when what vas hisdismay to find that he had been misin-formed--that the Gordon lot was situatedfive miles from the city, and was notworth five hundred doflars. In hiscupidity he had overreached himself, andMrs. Gorclon \{as the gainer. This pieceof good fortune enabled Isabel to marryat once. Fortune has smiled upon herhusband til1 even in a pecuniarv viewlsabel had d.one quite as well as ifshe had married Gera1d Ropes.

)()c*T}IE HAS CO}NTENTION IS ALMOST HERE I

This will be the last issue of Newsboybefore the I'Cleveland Connectionrrr theannual convention of the Horatio AlgerSociety. Hosted by IIAS Treasurer DaleThomas, this meeting promises to be thebest one yet as members conYerge onCleveland., Ohio from all points inthe U. S.

Dale r+ishes to remintl all members ofour annual auction. Each year at theconvention Ratph Garclner auctions offd.onated items for the benefit of HAS.We raised over $1400 last year and hopeto beat that mark at Cleveland. Themoney each item brings is tax deductl-ble, and remember, itts for a goodcause. Help keep your society in theblack! !

**'*Mr WORD, MR.ALGER, TSK, TSK!

by Forrest Campbell

(Eaitorrs note: Forrest Campbellhg,s authored a number of articles forNewsbolr during the last few years.But his interest in HAS began yearsbefore this. In 1961 he became co-founcler of the Society, and served asthe first editor of its publication,Newsboy. Since that time he hasvritten one Alger-fashioned story whichappearecl in serial form in th" $@L,one play that was presented in Mansfield-,Ohio in 1967, and a number of other

Alger-type stories. He is also engagedin a project of compiling a list ofa1t HAS members oyer seventy years old.Thanks go to Forrest for his continued.interest in the Horatio Alger Society).

Horatio Alger was a Harvarcl grad.uate,and evid,ence of it is sprinkled through-out his numerous juvenile stories whichr.vere written specifically for youngboys and girls and written about hisyoung street boy friends and acquain-tances in New York City. But, my word,Mr. Alger, why was it necessary to usecollege level words on your boy read.ers?

True, your stories were read by manyadults as well as the designed forjuvenile readers, but if all adultreaders will tre honest with some of us,they must admit certain words of yourchoice have sent them to their diction-aries for a better understanding of yourchoice of words.

Tsk, tsk! Mr. Alger, we are not allcollege graduates, much less Harvard!And I would venture to say thai a largepercentage of your readers are not evenhigh school graduates I Yet I will ven-ture to say that if they understood allwords in your stories they are certainlyentitled to a passing grade in orthog-raphy.

Here are some of the r+ord.s, Mr. A1ger,which we are sturnbling over. Ant[, hereare their definitions, and a listingof the stories in which they can befound.. Plethoric, (t,uf ging) , AndyGordonl.Ablutions, (to wash), Ben BrucelContumacious, (stubborn), Tom BracelMetamorphosis, (changed), M..E StantonlLugubriously, (d.ismat) I Jackts Ward.;Efficacious, (eff ective), Jackts Ir-ard;Yaletudinarian, (sickly), Facing theWorld; Plenipotentiary, (diplomat oran authority) , Frankrs Campai_gq;Euphemistic, (substitute), Adrift inNew Yorkl Ignominlous, (trumiliate),Adrift in the CilX; Surreptitiously,.@tiy),

n""" n".n"-; Punctillious,(to observe), Strong and SteadylPanegyric, (praise), The Young Acrobat;Casuistry (unethicat), Ralph Ratrmondr s

Heir; Yicissitud.es, (variations), A

Mry

This title pagepage catalogue is

NEWSBOY

from the collection of Jackthe Boston Public Librarrr).

1Sin

Bales (thoughIt is dated

v

\ \\

\-

Soohrellor, Stfitisuru, firxr;fl $muoriter,

(foruorly at No, 18 Iylntsr 8t., old EtsDdof philllpr, Buaproo, & 0o.)

No., B1S \\/ASHINGTON ST[tEET.,

Brtirrr WtrTrr rxD lVtar Errttrr,

BOSTON.

CATAT,OGUE

tr-,oring's Seleot Llbrary.

E8 T !Lr8E4D. JITNE, 1860.

Trnus.-Two Cente a volumo for each day,

All the noro Booke are added.

The Surplus Booke aro lvithdrarvn nnd aold yrBy orrEap.

.-A. K. LORING,

15

the original twenty1 860.

1 979

16

Boyr s Fortune.

NEWSBOY

--i:

No, ti23 Chestnnt

Porter & CoatesHoratio Algerrs

rssN 0028-9396

P.S. If my readers had notrouble with this list of tendollar words, just show me yourcollege diploma, and I will be-Iieve you, and then you can goto the head of the class I I

*JCJ(

RANDOM REPORTS FROM ALGERLANIby Jack Bafes

HAS member DonaIiI Elder ofChelsea, Massachusetts recentlysent me a clipping from theOctober, 1978 issue of BigIt says:

Ree1.

"Donald F. Elder, one of themost successful merchandisersof cameras, projectors, record*ers and fi1m, at' 2O3 NewburYStreet, Boston, gained hisprominence the hard way - vorkand cletermination.

"He not only maintains a re-tail store but he has develoPeda mail order business of nation-a1 scope which involves uPwarclsof 5 2O0O customers. He did itthe hard way - work and deter-mination to succeed. He didnrttruild the business by waitingfor customers. He camPaignedto attract them after he hadlaunched his business on borlror+ed funds.

I'He is a native of Chelseawho worked in his youth in awa1I paper plant and devotedhis evenings to succeeding inhis ambition to operate a mailorder business.

ItIn a warehouse ln Chelsea hehas a large and interestingcollection of otd-time silentmovie fitms and he highlYprizes a personal film of thelate George Eastman.t'

Thanks go to Don for sendingme this very interestingc lipping.

i'trril*tl.ti irir:it,"

T.he -Ltrgd'st ond :9esl .Jloch r,'n /tlc Cil-v.

Companv published" manY offirst editions.