Waterbury evening Democrat., 1907-07-08
GATHERING THEM IN.
Remarkable Class Instructed by a New York Priest.

At the s o'clock mass in St James
 Roman Catholic church in James street, New York, one morning
 recently, the Rev Father J. B. Curry and his assistants administered first communion to one of the most re- markable classes ever presented to them. None of the communicants was under IS years and a few of them were over 20, all born in the vicinity of Chatham Square and MuI-
 berry Bend Park of Italian parents. While all had been baptized in the Catholic faith, not one had been in- side of a church since early child hood. They represent a very large class of children of this nationality who for some reason have been al- lowed to grow up without religious training.
 There is nothing bad or vicious about these boys and young men," said Father Curry. "The only thing that can be said of them perhaps is that they are a little wild. But you would be surprised what a change comes over them when they once come under our influence. They are unusually intelligent, industrious, physically strong, and as a rule pure and wholesome. This group repre- sents what l consider one of the most wonderful missionary efforts l have ever seen. Not In all my twenty-four years as a pastor here have I seen anything like 1t. The missionary is one of my own boys, a lad not yet more than IS years of age. The re- markable thing is that he accom- plished what might have been im- possible for even a priest because of his fellowship and leadership among them, and how do you suppose he acquired that? He is a boxer. We call call him Young Carter. but his real name Is Carter Du Frame"
 Young Carter, who boxes at New York clubs occasionally as a light weight, is regularly employed in the criminal courts building as a mes- senger for an evening newspaper. He is quiet hammered little fellow and extremely intelligent. He hal charge of the coat rooms for the newspaper men during the Thaw trial and made friends of them all.
 He is very proud of his class as he calls his converts, and modestly told of what he had done.
 You see." he said, Fall us bows would go the limit for Father Curry and Father Rafter and the other priests of St James, They are not like some priests at all with us. They meet us at the club. will shoot us game of pool, play ball with us. ani in fact are all to the good. Father Curry is all heart and many's the time he's staked one of the boys to a dollar and a word of encourage ment when they were up against i..
 About four years ago Johnny Ma her. now secretary of the St James Working Boys club, gathered me in. I was running wild and I guess rf have been pretty tough now only for Father Curry, who took a liking to me. I got so could box and he en- outraged me. H bought me my first pair of fighting trunks
 You see. got a reputation with the boys because om my ability to box. and whatever l said they listen ed to. knew lot of these young fellows who hung around Mulberrv Bend Park. I knew they never went to church and ought to be Catholics. Then I knew they were hungry for friends and a good clean place to go. and wanted them to meet Father Curry. I knew what they were missing. So I strated In to round up a few of them.
 'I was afraid I'd fall and kept still SO nobody could give me .hs laugh if Idid- I first tackled Genr-, the barber. can't spell his last name. but it's Italian. like all the rest. He gave me a stih argument but finally he said he'd come II I could get Jimmy Rose and Kid Cofey. found them pretty backward. They finally said that they'd meet me in the park. and goes over there every day during my noon hour and tsacb-