The Washington times., 1911-07-18
HIS ADENO|DS GONE,
BAD SAMMY SAYS
HE'LL Be GOODB BOY
Budding Black Hander
Promises to Change His
Ways After Operation.

Surgical skill has once again triumph
ed over the passion for crime, and as q
result u young Italian boy, who once
seemed headed straight for the peniten-
tiary' now gives promise OF becoming .
useful citizen.
samuel Sabapo, a gentle-eyed youth,
VINO has given the Juvenile Court much
trouble In the past few weeks, was op-
Grated on at Georgetown HOSPITAL this
afternoon for adenoids, a common COM
paint, and one which, medical men say,
predlsposes the sufferer to crime and
criminal tendencies. DR., C. R Dufour,
1913 l. street northwest. welded the
knife.
Sammy is a mouth-breather." saId
the physician, "and he does not get
enough oxygen into his lungs, thereby
weakening his brain and moral sense"
The operation was entirely successful,
the physician said, for almost immedi-
ately the young would-be Black Handler
showed signs OF healthier mentality,
he was weak, and his face was pitl-
fully white and drawn. His gentle
brown eyes were lined with great dark
circles, but, being brave lad-he 10
only twelve years old and small for his
size-he rose in bed in answer to a oues-
tton and said, with something in his
voice that sounded suspiciously like q
Sob
NO. sir. don't want to be a bad boy
and run away from home any more. I
heard some of the other boys talking
about Black Hand and ! asked them
what ii was.
Promised to Join.
, They told me it was a lot Of men
w!o go; a whole lot Of money and
plenty Of good things to eat. 1 told the
boys that when I was old enough I
would join and we would have a fne
time. But now want to go home TO
my mamma and help her do the work
Everyone has been so nice to me:
want to show them appreciate 1t.
Sammy. said Judge De Lacy, is about
the most polite little boy he ever had
In court. and Sammy sure did talk and
act like it Lying with his head swath-
ed in bandaseS and with tiny little
tricklets Of blood now and then finding
their way down his throat, Sammy con-
Quoted himself like a Chesterfield. He
told Ditiful story Of the days, more
than two weeks ago, when lie said his
mother drove him from her humble
home in Willow Tree alley by reason of
after night he slept like a wild thing
In fence corners and parks, lodging po
lice and larger boys who probably would
have hurt him lust for fun
His clothes became mere rags and
filthy, He could well have been taken
for a miniature wild man of Borneo
when he would stink around the market
houses and eat from the garbage cans,
anything and everything they contained.
The horrible food weakened Sammy and
The day came when 4 kindly Juvenile
Court took hold Of the case.
Sent to Hospital.
Sammy was taken before Judge De
Lacy. The judge said he had never
seen a more pitiful object. His face
and body was covered with dirt and
CRIME. He looked like he had been
dug from the inside Of a dirt mound.
His frame was emaciated and he was
so exhausted he could hardly stand.
He was sent to Georgetown Hospital
where he was given every care in
the world. also a free operation for
appendicitis, which did him good, but
did not cure his mind.
The boy told the court he simply
felt compelled to run away from
home. He said something pushed him
forward and that he really enjoyed
living like a wild thing. This made
the court sit up and take notice. AL
so 1t made Dr. Dufour. who does lots
Of charity work for the court, look
closely. He decided Sammy was suf-
fering from adenoids and that they
would have to be removed.