When his father, a small town sheriff, is slain by a big city gangster, "Rifle" Edwards (Jackie Cooper) becomes a homeless vagabond, drifting from town to town. 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 (Elisha Cook, Jr.), before he can eat. When Rifle knocks Danny out, the country boy is accepted into the gang of newsies. He goes to work selling the ''Globe'', which is published by Howard Price Dutton (Samuel S. Hinds), the founder and benefactor of the home. When Dutton dies, his daughter Gwen (Wendy Barrie) becomes the new publisher. ''Globe'' reporter Perry Warner (Edmund Lowe) is in love with Gwen, but they quarrel over her ideas about turning the ''Globe'' into a highbrow paper. Perry warns Gwen that she will ruin the paper, but she is stubborn and refuses to listen.