FOREWORD


Much of the material in the following pages has appeared in current
publications. It is here presented in book form in the hope that it
may prove of value to those groups of people who in many cities are
making a gallant effort to minimize the dangers which surround young
people and to provide them with opportunities for recreation.




CHAPTER I

YOUTH IN THE CITY


Nothing is more certain than that each generation longs for a
reassurance as to the value and charm of life, and is secretly afraid
lest it lose its sense of the youth of the earth. This is doubtless
one reason why it so passionately cherishes its poets and artists who
have been able to explore for themselves and to reveal to others the
perpetual springs of life's self-renewal.

And yet the average man cannot obtain this desired reassurance through
literature, nor yet through glimpses of earth and sky. It can come to
him only through the chance embodiment of joy and youth which life
itself may throw in his way. It is doubtless true that for the mass of
men the message is never so unchallenged and so invincible as when
embodied in youth itself. One generation after another has depended