mistakes. That’s nothing. I’ve made mistakes
myself, worse’n yours, I guess.” Then turning
to the policeman, he asks: “What is it, officer?”
The policeman tells about the crime, say theft.
“Stealing isn’t right,” says the Judge, and he
appeals to the boys in the court room, “Is it,
fellers ?” Putting his hand on the boy’s shoulder,
he gives him a shove back and a pull forward.
“It’s weak to swipe things.” That hurts. Boys
learn in the street that it’s smart and brave to
steal, and the only evil thing about it is getting
caught. Lots of men take this view, too, but
Judge Lindsey sets up another standard. “I
know how it is,” he says. “It’s a temptation.
It’s a chance to get something easy, something
you want; or something you can sell to get
something you want. Wanted to go to the show,
maybe. Well, it takes a pretty strong feller to
down the desire to take the chance and see the
show. But it’s wrong to swipe things. ’Tain’t
fair; ’tain’t brave; it’s just mean,.and it hurts the
feller that steals. Makes him steal again, and
by and by he is caught and sent up — a thief.
Now you ain’t a thief, and you don’t want to be.
Do you ? But you were too weak to resist the
temptation, so you were caught. Ought to cut
it out. Not because you were caught. That
isn’t the reason a feller oughtn’t to steal. It’s
