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Show LlfE AND DEATH OF A NEW YORK BOY. Neither class nor distinction makes heroes. Neither are all heroes developed on the battlefield. An incident occurred in New York a day or so ago that shows that heroes arejxrn and not made, and that environment has no part in their making." ' John Martin was 16 years old. Of schooling he had had none. ' lie' toiled Irom sunap until far into the candle light of night to earn necessities for his widowed mother and helpless sisters. ' The boy was run down by a truck. It ,was not a severe hurt as hurts go, but in his emaciated and weakened condition his frail life was crushed out of him. In the hospital just before he died he said: ' "Poor mother and sisters! I did the best I could, but 1 had no chance." Then the eyes. were closed in death. The boy was right. Vhat he lacked was education. Through the faulty construction of life's conditions in a big city he was turned out to work before he was hardly able to walk. Deficient mentally, he was of no service to the world except what his hands" . -could do. Worn down by toil and suffering he was able only to eke out the most miserable existence. Investigation, proved that he gave his all to his beloved family without stint or desire for praise. It was done through the good born in him and the desire to care f of his own. i . . to " ',' ; -v..,,- . .... .... When, stricken with death he hid no thought of malice against the man who had given him his death blow. His whole thuoghts. were of the ones he was forced to leave behind of the ones whom he had tried so valiantly to succor. . The world is better for the life, short as it was, of John Martin. . Ills is an example to follow and point to. What a name he would have unquestionably carved for himself and his respected family if he had only been gifted with mental qualifications. , In the great step of uplifting humanity and the elevating of the classes philanthropy will have indeed taken a step forward when institutions are established whereby the young of the poor may be supported while they acquire an education. Restricted as he was, with no helping hand, moved by the instinct of good, weak in body, struggling against frightful odds, John Martin had no complaint to make. . ,x What a lesson is' in his last words! What a fitting inscription might be chiseled on his monument: "HE DID THE BEST HE COULD." i John Martin in full truth had "no chance," but he nobly per-formed per-formed his part well.' The world is better for. all the John Martins that live. The regret is that there are not more of them. Conditions Condi-tions are certainly radically wrong when a boy of such noble pur-poges pur-poges cannot have "a chance" and free from all helping hands "does the best he can." John Martin was one of life's martyrs. |