The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1933-07-22
By ROBERT JEANS

1cdS newest Legion OF CIfe COn-
demned. He was the homeless youth,
roaming freightyards, jungles, flop
houses, Inooching along the stems,
hitting the backdoors. He Is not a
homeless youth now. This is his
story = e t
I've lived on the same block with
George Afor over six years now. Two
and a half years ago when he grad
uated from Bryant High met him
playing sSickbsil. He didn't know
what tot.do. His application to City
College had been rejected and he
couldn't afford to pay tuition. For
I few weeks he chad worked in a
shoe shine psrlor but that didn't
last. The technical schools were filled
and his people needed money very
badly. * e.a,47
George said ghe would take any,
thing Really, anything. He was
young, strong and willing. He could
operate a typewriter by the touch
system. Did T'know of an opening?
No, of course I didn't.
George went jobless for a year.
When he could chisel fifteen cents
somewhere heawent to the movies.
When he couldn't, he played hand
ball against the drug store wall,
listened to the radio, read the sports
pages, ehewed the rag in the corner
stationery. tis.4',l
He cotnoed his hair carefully and
polished This shoes and set out before
six each morning. TO make his rounds
Of the employment agencies. After
his father lost his job George woke
up extra early to save carfare.
In the winter Of. 1881 my uncle
hired him as clerk and order boy in
his grocery store George got twelve
dollars. That was the family's only
income. He had two elder sisters. :
He would come in half an hour be-
fore his time and leave only when
he was told. George was conscienti-
Gus, skilful, scrupulously honest.
My >. uncle, who is ~malevolently
shrewd about those things tested him
time and again. 7e4 George came
through with flying colors. He oper-
ated the cash register and the six
months ne worked there were mono
tonously free Of irregularities.
When my uncle went into partner
ship the. store, couldn't support a
clerk and they dropped him. George
went back to his rounds of the Sixth
Avenue agencies, the baseball scores
and the, RADIO Qr1ab Of his sisters
knew a Tammany ward captain and
through him the family secured
weekly food ticket. Every once in
while one Of them wor hit on some
thing temporary that kept them
jump ahead of the marshal.
9 During this period met George
once and at first thought he seemed
carefree enough. He took me to
sort of Junior poHsical club their
Tammany friend was sponsoring in
the neighborhoed and wanted me to
join. The ward captain paid the
. rent OF a coed Sized store and the
boys had fixed it UP themselves
couch, tables, pictures Of James
.Cagney. Clark Gable, and Lee Tracy,
magazines, easy chairs and all.
asked, why those three actors
in Particular and George said it
wasn'ts his idea, the fellows liked
them b. cause Of the way they hand
led wonle. probably.
- Later in 'he evening he became
= bitter and, repeated some rigamarole
= he had obviously just heard about
; real live guy always finding some
: thing to. do for living and there
wasn't q thing. Iscould tell him. No,
no, 1t was all his own fault.
Then, orc tay,i about last Christ
mas, my. uncle opened up his store
and found the back window forced
8 open, the store in disorder, fourteen
dollars, fifty cents missing from the
cash register and two rolls of nickels
from the change box. He rang head
quarters and Q, plajnclothesman and
cop drove up and examined the
clues and held consultations and de-
cided it had been an inside job be-
cause no outsider cotld possibly have
known about the. location of the
change box. Nobody thought Of
Z George. 49, ~
But the following day little boy
came to my house with a bag con-
tanning the money and a note from
George Casey. L
In effect this rs what he wrote:
took the money The Tammany
man offered me q Job as bellhop in
some sven joint with good tips and
he wanted fifty dollars graft. I tried
I. to raise the money and couldn't. I
knew your uncle wouldn't have lent
+ it to me. thought I would return
it out Of my first few weeks pay.
And now I can't 60 through with it
Please don't tell anybody, least Of
all my folks. I am leaving them
an altogether different note. I'm
hitting it out West, I don't know
where. Maybe we'll meet someday.
Thanl2.- ~ 10
Until last week, that was the last
heard OF George. Every once in q
while I'd see his father, q big beefy
Irishnan with q worried mouth and
.guileless blue eyeS
ANY word Of Georse?"
mo, nothing" saei
And one day: some neighbor said
veronica Casey was living with the
ward captain but that may have
been Just talk. -
I saw George last week but didn't
recognise him. He was gaunt and
his long, slick hair had been cropped
4 close and four Or i've Of his upper
teeth missing.