Star Spangled Comics #11 (1942)

One night on Suicide Slum, a shop window gets broken, and a shadowy figure climbs inside. But the Newsboy Legionnaires saw everything. Big Words thinks the small shape of the burglar must mean it was a kid, like them. If so, they could handle him themselves. Slipping inside through the same broken window, the boys catch the thief. They recognize the kid as Muggsy Baker, who was sent away to a reform school. Muggsy says he recently ran away, and was only stealing because he was hungry. The school he escaped from is forcing kids to work long hours, or else they get thrown in solitary with only bread and water. It sounds terrible, and the newsboys want to help those poor kids. All of a sudden, a light shines through the window at them. It is Jim Harper! Disappointed because he believes that they were the ones who broke into the store, Jim has no choice but to report them to the judge. The boys are innocent, but Tommy keeps his pals from speaking out. If they want to help those kids, getting sent to the reformatory is the best way they could do it! The next morning, the judge sentences the kids to the State Reformatory for Boys. However, the Reformatory doesn't seem like a bad place at all! They are greeted warmly by the warden, given a feast with the other children, and even get to watch a Superman movie. It's starting to look like Muggsy was lying through his teeth! After a few days, though, Tommy accidentally falls down a coal chute. In the boiler room he finds Muggsy locked in a cell. Warden Goodley had him locked up and beaten for telling the legion how bad it was here. The warden was afraid that Tommy and his pals would contact the Guardian if they found anything suspicious, so he's been treating them extra nice. Meanwhile Scrapper and Big Words overhear the Warden talking to one of the guards about fooling the brats so they don't tip off the Guardian. Gabby also learns the truth from a few of the kids themselves who were told to act like everything's fine until he and his newsboy friends were transferred. But now that the gang are aware of the truth, what do they do? Every morning, Warden Goodley broadcasts a daily update over the radio about his Reform School. This keeps the donations coming, which he then pockets. This time, the Newsboys break into the room while the broadcast is going on and shout into the mic for their pal, the Guardian, to come help them! The guards smack them around and drag them out. But in the apartment of Jim Harper, he hears the broadcast loud and clear, and changes into his Guardian outfit. He makes way to the reformatory and climbs a drain pipe up to the warden's office. The warden gloats that he was glad the brats did what they did, because now he didn't have to spend money on them anymore. No one would believe their word over his. The Guardian crashes through the window, grabbing Goodley by the lapels. He forces the Warden and the guard to take him to the boys. They descend staircase, to the cells below the school. There the kids are, happy to see the Guardian got their message. But reinforcements were coming, the guards swarm over Guardian and the Newsboys! Warden Goodley finds a tommy gun and threatens that he'll shoot the kids unless the Guardian surrenders! The hero has no choice. In a cell behind them, nobody notices Muggsy reaching for the keys of a fallen guard. The warden is tackled by Muggsy, and the Guardian and his young pals take advantage by pounding the surprised guards. Once Scrapper gets his hands on the gun, the fight is over! Warden Goodley and all his corrupt guards get arrested. Muggsy speaks up for the Newsboy Legion, they weren't the ones who broke into the store. The Guardian tells him that he and the other children will be getting better help from now on. There won't be a need for any reform school once society takes better care of the underprivileged youth. Soon the Legionnaires are back in Suicide Slum selling papers, and trying to get patrolman Jim Harper to admit he's the Guardian.