no longer seen in New York those juvenile beggars whose miserable
appearance is made an instrument of gain by their worthless masters;
those vagrants who disguise their vagabondage under the pretext of
imaginary professions, collecting cigar stumps and rag picking; those
little girls who sell flowers at the doors of houses of bad repute,
often concealing under this ostensible occupation infamous transactions
with panders who keep them in their pay. A determined warfare was
declared against the Italian padroni, who thrive upon the toil of the
little unfortunates to whom they pretend to teach music, and whom they
utilize as peddlers and chimney-sweepers. The conviction of the too
notorious Ancarola was the signal for the suppression of these shameless
villains; the purchases of children ceased, and the cause of humanity
triumphed, thanks to the combined efforts of the society and of the
Italian consul, after long and earnest conferences. It is not only the
Italians, but the children of all nationalities, who have profited from
this powerful patronage: Hungarian, German, Chinese, Irish, French. One
of our compatriots, a girl of fourteen years, came one day to implore
its aid. Her father was a drunkard, who had reached the lowest round in
the ladder of degradation; her mother had no means of subsistence except
concubinage, nor her two sisters except prostitution. She begged that
they would save her from this life of shame. The society received her,
procured her a position, a good education. Learning that she was heiress
to a considerable property left by a grandfather, the society took
active steps in France to secure to her her rights. Unfortunately, the
agent who had possession of the estate became insolvent after having
squandered the property, and it was impossible to recover it. The
society continued to care for the young girl up to the day of her
marriage to a young man enjoying a regular salary of $1,200, and worthy
of her in all respects.