about crime,” the Judge says, “and the principles
of the Juvenile Court.” The Judge was expect-
ant, so were Lee and Tatters, but it was left
to the newcomers to do their own snitching, and
they did it. After a while, “Red” turned to
Tommy. “Don’t you think it’s about time we
were snitchin’ up ?” he asked. Tommy allowed
that it was, and then followed wfhat the Judge
calls “a snitching bee.” “And,” the Judge
adds, “I had two new probationers for my
Court.” A week or so more, and these four
called with a fifth “kid,” and he, a “soft, mushy
one,” as the Judge describes him, he also
“snitched up.” Another period, and the five
brought in two more. That finished the “crim-
inal” list of the River-Front gang. “Not one
of these boys had snitched on another,” the Judge
says. “Each one had told only on himself.”
All those “young criminals” were put on probation, “and,” says the Judge, “six out of the seven have stuck. The seventh made the pluckiest fight I ever saw before he slipped back, and I still have hopes of his ultimate success.”
What does the Judge mean by a plucky fight? “A plucky fight” means what the Judge means by probation - the game of correction, the game of overcoming evil with good. These young criminals had not only to be good; they couldn’t
