Page:Upbuilders by Lincoln Steffens.djvu/150



the kid can “cut it out.” The Judge is sure the boy can, surer than the boy, but then, it’s up to the boy, because the boy has to do the hard work of resisting. The Judge can “only help; th’ feller has to do the business himself.” “Inter- est is everything in a boy’s life,” the Judge says sagely. “If you want his loyalty, excite his interest.” Well, the game of correction is inter- esting, especially when you are the centre of the game. It’s one of the most interesting games “a feller” ever played, and the Judge has a fas- cinating way of playing it. Having done some- thing wrong, you try to do something that’s right, positively right. This is the Judge’s great doc- trine. He calls it “overcoming evil with good.” There’s nothing “sissy-boy” about it. You have done an evil thing; you are not, therefore, bad, only so much weakened. So you go and do a good thing. This not only balances the evil; it “strengthens a feller.”

Now then, a good thing a feller can usually do right away is to go out and bring in some other kids that are “swipin’ things.” You mustn’t tell the Judge who the other fellers are. That would be snitching. But it’s all right to get the other fellers to come in and “snitch up” on themselves just as you have “snitched up” on yourself. That §cts them