========================+=============+======================== | | BOY DELINQUENTS WHOSE | | OFFENSES SHOW A | BOY | CONNECTION WITH | DELINQUENTS | OCCUPATION | WORKING AT +--------+--------------- OCCUPATION OR INDUSTRY | TIME OF | | Per Cent | LAST | | of Boy | OFFENSE | Number | Delinquents | | | in Occupation | | | Working ------------------------+-------------+--------+--------------- In amusement resorts | 40[127] | 7 | 17.5 Domestic service | 50[128] | 14 | 28.0 Driver or helper | 107 | 16 | 14.9 Errand or delivery boys | 261 | 100 | 38.3 Iron and steel workers | 27 | 7 | 25.9 Messengers | 38 | 10 | 26.3 Newsboys and bootblacks | 346[129] | 129 | 37.2 Street vendors | 25 | 13 | 52.0 Stores and markets | 62 | 12 | 19.3 ========================+=============+========+=============== As the various forms of immorality are practiced in secret, the report truly says that the evils which are most associated with a messenger's life could hardly appear in these studies. "A trace of them is found in the case of one boy sentenced for larceny. After his arrest it was found that he was a confirmed user of cocaine, having acquired the habit in the disreputable houses to which his work took him. Perhaps something of the same kind is indicated by the fact that one of the few cases of drunkenness occurring among working delinquents came, as a connection case, from this small group of messengers. For the most part, however, the connection offenses (by messengers) were some form of dishonesty, usually appropriating parcels sent out for delivery, though in some cases collecting charges on prepaid packages was added to this."[131] The newsboys almost equal the errand boys in their percentage of connection cases, though their offenses have a much wider range; in fact, the connection cases for newsboys include a greater variety of offenses than any other occupation studied. Beggary appears for the first time, there being two cases, in both of which the selling of papers was a mere pretext, enabling the boys to approach passers-by. Street vendors were found to show the highest percentage of connection cases, larceny being the leading offense.