Arriving broke and hungry in a large metropolis, he seeks food and shelter at the Newsboys' Home, where the kids force him to fight an amateur bout with the champ, Danny Shay, before he can eat.

Meanwhile, Tom Davenport, a crooked politician, buys the opposition paper, the Star, in order to swing the election for his candidates, and tries to bribe Perry to work for him.

After Perry refuses, Davenport starts a ruthless circulation war, and Globe sales begin to fall off dramatically.

Growing bolder, Davenport hires mobster Francis Barber to escalate the circulation war, and Globe trucks are wrecked, newsstands smashed and burned.

The war comes to a climax when a street fight erupts during which boys from the two rival papers meet in open combat, and police squads are required to quell the riot.