of Breaking them up—The Unrestrained Vices of this Class—Their Ignorance and Brutality—Dependence on Politicians—Gangs of Youthful Criminals—Similar Dangers here as in Paris—The Riots of 1863—Numbers of the Vagrant Class—Composition of this Dangerous Element………………………………….pp. 25-31

CHAPTER III.

CAUSES OF CRIME.

Preventible and Non-preventible—Ignorance—Numbers of Illiterates in
City Prisons and Reformatories—Orphanage—Statistics—Orphans in
Mettrai—Emigration—Effect in Producing Crime—Numbers of Prisoners of
Foreign Births—Figures—Hopeful Features—Fewer Paupers Immigrate—Want
of Trade—Selfishness of Unions—Aversion to Steady Industry..pp. 32-38

CHAPTER IV.

CAUSES OF CRIME—WEAKNESS OF MARRIAGE-TIE.

Reasons why Second Marriage is Productive of Crime among the Poor—Force
of Public Opinion in Preserving Marriage-bond—Weakening of it by
Emigration—Fruits of Free Love among the Poor—INHERITANCE—Power of
Transmitted Tendencies in Producing Crime—Hopeful Feature in New
York—Few Continued Families of Paupers and Criminals—Action of Natural
Selection in Favor of Virtue—Vicious Organizations Die Out—Explanation
of Extraordinary Improvement in Children under Reformatory
Influences—The Immediate Influences of Bad Parents Overcome by the
Transmitted Tendencies of Virtuous Ancestors, and by New
Circumstances—The Incessant Change of our People Favorable to
Virtue—Villages more Exposed to Criminal Families than
Cities—Causes…………………………………………pp. 39-50

CHAPTER V.

CAUSES OF CRIME—OVERCROWDING.

Form of New York—Its Effect on Population—Bad Government Increases Rents—Rate of Population to the Square Mile in the Eleventh Ward—In the Tenth, Seventeenth, and other Wards—In London—Greater Overcrowding in New York—Instance of Overcrowding in the First Ward—Effect on the Criminal Habits of Girls—The Dens of Criminal Boys—Cellar Population—Effect of Overcrowding on the Death-rate—Upon the Crime of the City-Remedies—Better Means of Distributing Population—Improved Communications with the Country—Cheap and Honest Government—Organized Movement for Transferring Labor to the Country—Remedy in Sanitary Legislation—Effect of British Lodging-house Acts—Cellar Population of Liverpool—The Model Lodging-houses—Great Need of them in New York………………………………………………….pp. 51-63

CHAPTER VI.

CAUSES OF CRIME—INTEMPERANCE.

The Power of Alcoholic Stimulus on the Laboring-man—Attraction of the
Liquor-shop—Terrible Effects of Drunkenness—Number of Criminals in
City Prisons Intemperate—Little Drunkenness among Children—Great
Effects of the Total Abstinence Reform—Good Influence of the Irish
Catholic Clergy—Necessity for other Remedies—Cultivation of Higher
Tastes—Influence of the Sydenham Palace Gardens in England—Effects of
Parks and Pictures—Open-Air Drinking not so Dangerous—Museums, Parks,
Gardens, and Reading-rooms, the beat Temperance Societies—Few Children
of the Industrial Schools become Drunkards—Comparative Good Effects of
Light Wines—Liquor Laws—Former Sunday Law a Happy
Medium—The Habits of the Germans should have been considered—Mistake
of the Reformers—Intemperance, next to War, the Greatest Evil of
Humanity—Other Remedies than Total Abstinence must be
employed………………………………………………pp. 64-73

CHAPTER VII.

ORGANIZATION OF A REMEDY.

Necessity of One Organization to Deal with Youthful Criminal
Classes—Error made of using too Technical Religious Methods—Error
of Following too much European Precedents—Asylums not so much Needed
in America—Pioneer Work among the Dangerous Classes Twenty Years
Ago—Captain Matsell's Report—Labors of the Writer in the Five
Points—Numbers of Homeless Children in the Streets—Sad Sight of
Child-Prisoners—"The Social Evil"—Mr. Pease's Labors—The Necessity
Felt of a General Organization—Novel Method of Reforming Young
"Roughs"—BOYS' MEETINGS—The Chaffing of Street-boys—Quick
Repartees—Kind of Oratory Necessary—The Lads Open for Earnest
Words—The Meetings only Pioneer Work—Succeeded by more Thorough
Influences—The Founders of the Different Meetings…………pp. 74-83

CHAPTER VIII.

A NEW ORGANIZATION.

Foundation of the CHILDREN'S AID SOCIETY—Touching Procession of
Homeless Children to the Office—The Feeling at its Foundation—Its
Objects—To Found Reading-rooms, Industrial Schools, Lodging-houses, and
Provide Homes for the Homeless—Dens of Misery and Crime—Thieves'
Lodging-houses—"Rotten Row"—"Poverty Lane"—Haunts of the Young
Wood-stealers—Hopes of the New Work—Workshops—Want of
Success—Causes—Necessity of General Education, rather than Industrial,
for Street-children…………………………………….pp. 84-96

CHAPTER IX.

HOMELESS BOYS—THE NEWSBOYS' LODGING-HOUSE.

Their Relation to the World, like that of the Indians to
Civilization—Life of the Street-boy—His Lightheartedness—His Moral
Code—His Religion—Few Addicted to Drinking—Their
Generosity—Policy-tickets—Choice of Night Resting-places—Necessity to
treat them as Independent Dealers—First Lodging-house for Newsboys In
the World—Mr. Tracy—Plans of the Boys for a Scrimmage—Their
Defeat—Remarks about their Beds—Origin of the Night-school—And the
Sunday Meeting—Surprise at the Golden Rule—Belief in Miracles—Pathos
of their songs—The Savings'-bank—Breaking up of Gambling and Money
Wasting—Mr. and Mrs. O'Connor—Their Fitness for the Work—Immense
Number of Lodgers—The Influence of the House—Payments by the
Lads—Description of Rooms—The New Building—Extracts from Journal
Statistics……………………………………………pp. 97-113

CHAPTER X.

STREET-GIRLS—THEIR SUFFERING AND CRIME.

Hard Lot of A Girl-vagrant—Sexual Vice—Dark Questions—Girls' Vices More Degrading than the Boys'—Effect on her Habits and Character—Great Difficulty of Reform—History of Prostitutes not Romantic—Their lives the Fruit of Neglect in Early Childhood, and of Lazy Habits—Their Good Qualities—Remedies for the Social Evil—Sad Incident of a Young Girl in the Tombs……………………………………………pp. 114-122

CHAPTER XI.

LEGAL TREATMENT OF PROSTITUTES.

Should License be Allowed?—The Views of Physicians—Foolish Arguments
on the Other Side—Duties of a Physician Purely Medical—Objections to
License under the Moral Aspect—Bitter Misery of this Class of
Women—Effect of License to Encourage the Crime—The Recognition by
Law—Prostitution can be