The Tragedy of the Cash Boys
An argument between two teenage workers at a dry goods store turns fatal.
Wm. H. Shewett, a lad of fourteen years, was arrested yesterday charged with the murder of Patrick Theodore Callen, of the same age as the accused. Both had been employed as cash boys in a large dry goods store in this city, and got into a fight last month, in the course of which, it is alleged, Shewett struck the deceased with a rock in his hand, inflicting fatal injuries.
“Both had been employed as cash boys in a large dry goods store in this city, and got into a fight last month.”
While child labor laws have evolved significantly, the vulnerability of young workers remains a relevant civic concern. Disputes among coworkers, however trivial their origins, can have life-altering consequences in any era.
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