﻿Edmondson : Juvenile Delinquency and Adult Crime 21 



there carried their customers' accounts to the limit, trusting that 

 they would be paid when times got better. Some of the accounts 

 amounted to more than $100. One little Hungarian girl said 

 people owed her father $1,000 in grocery bills, and until these 

 were paid she could not have shoes and clothes sufficient to go to 

 school. 



Not only do they share their sorrows but their joys. The 

 coming of a new baby is a matter of rejoicing to the whole neigh- 

 borhood. One evening a man went to the store to select an 

 outfit of clothing for a new baby. As he turned over the little 

 garments he squared his shoulders and his eyes shone — for a 

 baby whose only claim on his affections was the fact that its 

 parents had once lived for a short time in his house. 



They are quite sociable, visitiag much at 9ach others' houses. 

 A special friend is affectionately referred to as partner. Not 

 only do they visit much among each other, but they enjoy visiting 

 with Americans whenever chance offers, and are grateful and 

 appreciative of visits from Americans. One American lady, who, 

 because of her rare sympathy and ready understanding, counts 

 her friends among the immigrants by the scores, is the recipient 

 of all sorts of things. As she was passing along the street one 

 day, an immigrant woman stopped her, ran into the house, dug 

 out from an old-fashioned trunk a table cover of beautiful hand- 

 crocheted lace, and with a brief "Tomorrow Christmas", pressed 

 the gift into the lady's hand. On another occasion two young 

 Greek fellows brought to her home a large package wrapped in 

 many thicknesses of paper. As they awkwardly extended the 

 package they stammered "for you", and a careless movement of 

 the lady's hands as she wonderingly received it brought out the 

 sharp exclamation "You break it!" On unwrapping the bundle 

 there was disclosed a gorgeous wedding-cake — the gayest thing 

 one could hope to see. It was eighteen inches square and of 

 three stories, with pink, yellow, and green icing, the whole decked 

 with artificial flowers and green leaves. 



They are always polite, especially to those who have be- 

 friended them. However, their courtly graces and quaint Old 

 'World bows to American ladies contrast sohiewhat curiously with 

 their constant use of profanity, English woids early acquired 

 from American labor bosses and fellow-workmen, and used by 

 the immigrants with no intended disrespect, but merely to air 

 their knowledge of English. 



