440 THE AM ERIC. IX J(H'R\AL OF SOCIOLOGY
compelled to adopt a cat." This suggestion was now trans- ferred to Charley. A foster parent was found in a boy of eighteen, who had served two years in a state prison for horse- stealing. His theory of parentage was the disciplinary one,
and in applying the rod Charley was filled with homesickness and ran away. This was what the police of Syracuse said of course would happen, for Char- ley was plainly a born criminal. After two weeks he was cap- tured. This time a new foster parent thirteen years old, the
POLICE COURT b y who had su gS ested the
adoption of cats, was secured.
He took Charley to his room. "Charley, "he said, "I love you. You have been a bad boy. But I want to make a man of you. We will pray for help." And down on their knees they began their mutual obligations. Six months later Charley was leading the prayer meeting, and is today the best loved and hardest working, chubby, red-headed urchin in the Republic.
It is sometimes questioned whether the strong emphasis in the Republic on money-getting may not induce self-aggrandize- ment and those very qualities of selfishness which reformatory work should overcome. There have, indeed, been symptoms of this result, especially in the summer of 1896. Well-to-do cit- izens, being elected to the legislature, successfully obstructed income taxes and taxes on savings, but imposed heavy poll taxes. Instead of providing by taxes for the payment of the public debt (incurred through a decision of the court against the government awarding $200 to contractors for violation of contract), they con- tinued the debt at 6 per cent, a week to their own advantage as creditors. Later, however, the boys discovered in a text-book on public finance the device of the sinking fund, and by adopting this means the debt was paid off in thirty weeks. Mention has already been made of the excessive speculations and sudden
