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THE AMERICAN JOCKXAL OF SOCIOLOGY
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representation of liini when his temper is on. Usually talkative and cheerful, at times he shows a morose disposition and a tendency to quarrel with his companions. He is perfectly fearless and is the chief beggar of the lot. It appears quite impossible for him to tell the truth except by acci- dent ; it is his custom to tell what he thinks will please his listeners. There is a possibility of making a respectable man out of "D ' by proper training. He attends school quite
regularly and makes a
little progress, and on Sun- day he attends a mission school at the courthouse. He nearly always appears to be perfectly happy, without a care in the world. If this happy disposition could be properly combined with his ability, possibly he would grow into a self-supporting man. He has within him more of the elements of self- support than the others. If these are rightly directed and applied, his character FIG. 9. D . would yield to better influ-
ences.
Such are the meager records of this strange and irregular family. Only those who have had dealings with this class of people know how difficult it has been to ascertain this much truth. Only by approaches in every conceivable way, by different persons, and by carefully sifting the information and comparing notes, could anything definite be ascertained. 1 The lie is the only means of defense of weak people of this class, and they use it freely. After reviewing their chief traits the reader will readily characterize them as belonging to the pauper and weak
1 Mr. Alon/o Bell and jMiss Belle Spencer, students of sociology, have rendered valuable assistance in this investigation.
