Seventy years to the day.

[Happy Birthday! - Dave]

Those "formal outfits" were probably the only change of outdoor clothing these kids owned. They would be lucky to get them laundered once or twice a month; most would never have that chance. Most would be third-hand at best.

Now imagine wearing the same sweat-soaked, stinking filthy clothing day after day for weeks in a city without air conditioning. Not too formal, I'd say.

The nice portrait on the front of the news depicts George V. He takes up the reigns reins of the Empire on that very day.

At what age did a kid jump from knickers to trousers?

[When he stopped getting too big for his britches. - Dave]

4 out of 6 wear a tie (and most of them are minors, too).
5 out of 6 wear a jacket.
6 out of 6 wear a hat or a cap.
All shoes obviously see heavy everyday use.
Different times.

He looks like he could have grown up to be Hollywood actor Spencer Tracy. But in pictures, he was usually portrayed in "flashbacks" by Mickey Rooney or some other talented juvenile actor who didn't really resemble the adult Tracy.

I was paper boy for the old Evening Bulletin in Philadelphia many years ago and the "branch" -- a rented garage, was where the bundles of papers were delivered by truck. The newsboys picked up their papers in the afternoon Monday through Saturday, and in the morning on Sunday. You collected your route on Friday afternoon and paid your bill to the branch captain at the branch on Saturday morning. The branch captain was one of the older paper boys and the branch manger, who was an employee of the Bulletin, supervised a number of branches in the local area. In the 1960s there was no automation in the process; all very manual, but it worked quite well.

Stardom awaits the 2nd boy from the left, the future Spencer Tracy.

Even without the freckles, it's easy to identify Red. When the famous scene of "Jezebel" was filmed, where Bette Davis wears a red dress to a debutante ball, the great Orry-Kelly knew that red was a color you can do even in black-and-white.

The gentleman on the front page photo looks a lot like the British King George V. His predecessor and father, Edward VII, died on May 6, 1910, so it would be very topical.

'Red', the second from the left, has the look of a young Spencer Tracy. I wonder how he fared?

The second boy from the left could easily be a young Spencer Tracy.

I believe that the headline is about the death of Edward VII of Great Britain, who died on May 6 of complications from bronchitis. I believe the headline reads, in part: "Death of King of Great Britain." Anyone got a better resolution image?

[The headline: GEORGE V TAKES OATH AS KING OF GREAT BRITAIN. - Dave]

I have strong sympathy to the boy in the light colored shirt since even after getting shot in the chest he is still selling news papers.

The building behind these young men looks like it could be built for bundles of newspapers to be dropped each day. The older guy might be the one responsible for collecting money from each boy as they come to buy papers to sell on the street.

["Branch" does in deed connote a drop point for newspapers. Murphy's Branch probably meaning that Murphy is in charge. - Dave]