Page:Famous Living Americans, with Portraits.djvu/328

 BEN B. LINDSEY 309 and mistakes if he will only tell the whole truth about him- self. He is not asked or encouraged to tell what any other boy has done. He may be asked later to get the other boy himself to tell. He is then made to see how unmanly and weak it is to do the wrong things to which he has confessed and is put upon probation, reporting regularly until such time as it is felt that he can overcome evil with good. The sullen and defiant boy is encouraged to tell the whole truth about himself and is given to understand that this must be done before his case can have consideration. Judge Lindsey seems to know instinctively when a boy is lying to him and he has wonderful power to convince such a boy of this fact. In an effort to get a boy 's confidence, Judge Lindsey will invite him into his own private room, or will take him home to din- ner, or do whatever seems best in order to get the truth in re- gard to that boy's case. On one occasion after going over all the evidence with a defiant boy and making out a clear enough case, the boy still persisted that he had told the truth. The judge promptly instructed the officer to take the boy to jail, since the first thing to be done in every boy's case before it is adjusted is to get the truth. On the way to jail the boy re- lented and upon his return promptly confessed that he had lied, and that he was now ready to tell the truth about him- self. On another occasion a boy 's collar was loosened to ob- serve his Adam's apple with the remark that its movements would reveal a lie. It is a cardinal principle with Judge Lind- sey in his dealing with a bad boy never to allow him to get away with a lie on his soul. This is the first step in deal- ing with any bad boy's case, and is more than half the battle. If the boy is a member of a * * gang, ' ' and he generally is, he is then induced to have the others come in and each one tell his own story only. The judge does not seek to break up the gang as the older reformers would first think of doing, but he tries to cultivate a sentiment among the members while they are on probation that it is unmanly to lie, or to steal, or to commit offenses against the law. He thus turns the gang spirit to good account. The boys are made to feel that they must grow strong enough to meet successfully any tempta-