ere were, however, upon our special docket,
persons charged with larceny, embezzlement, wife abandonment, selling
liquor to minors, malicious mischief, assault and battery, and other
similar offenses; and except in the one or two cases referred to, which
were of a minor nature, the defendants have shown their sincerity by
their actions, and their conduct has in every case been exemplary and
satisfactory.

In one case, where the charge was larceny, the police assured me that
the defendant had been arrested fifty times. It seemed such a desperate
case that I gave him the longest term allowed by the law. After he had
been in jail a few days, I discovered that his aged father and mother
were sick and helpless, and needed his support. I set aside the judgment
and allowed him his liberty upon the understanding that if he again
violated the law he would be required to serve out the remainder of the
term. He has since worked steadily and faithfully, although, when I went
into his home one day upon learning that he had met with an accident, I
found poverty and dirt enough to drive anybody to commit crime.

In addition to the support of the police officers, the plan of
releasing offenders on parole has had the influential backing of the
members of the bar, including the assistant State's attorney, and also
of the citizens of the district, who were practically unanimous in its
endorsement. The manager of a large department-store assured me that
shoplifting had practically ceased since a number of petty thieves had
been put on probation under maximum suspended sentences. It would be
impossible for me adequately to describe the gratifying surprises that
came almost daily in my experience with these supposedly irreclaimable
men and women. I found that they invariably grasped with desperate
eagerness at a chance to reform, and the joy which they exhibited at the
night sessions was oftentimes very pathetic. "We are happier than for
years," and "We're having our honeymoon over" were the reports made
again and again.

Intense gratitude to the law for giving them "another chance" was the
characteristic sentiment in nearly every case, and this feeling proved
more powerful in bringing about their reformation than the fear of
punishment.

_The Story of Jim the Engineer_

One day I was hearing a robbery case, when Jim ---- entered and modestly
seated himself at the rear of the court-room. Jim was running a
locomotive on the Burlington