Simpler Times

The Delaware County Daily Times (formerly the Chester Times) runs, like most papers, a "Years Ago" section, where they reprise old articles of local interest. In a recent issue, they recounted a story from a 1906 edition (quoted here at length):
"Chester is at present enjoying the visit of a unique guest in the form of a young Italian boy. The little fellow was an assistant to the steward of the Austrian schooner La Clare that had finished unloading at the Fayette Brick Works in Chester. The boy is now at City Hall under the care of Police Chief Williams, who is in a quandry as to what to do with the youngster.
"While Police Officer Stewart was standing at Fourth & Market Streets, he saw a boy, apparently a foreigner, who seemed to be lost. The officer took the lad to City Hall, where he was cared for duing the night. In the morning the boy, who does not speak a word of English, was brought to the hearing room and efforts were made by Chief Williams and Magistrate Smith to ascertain something about him.
"The Fayette Brick Works sent one of their men, who speaks several languages, to the Hall, but his efforts to understand the lad were futile. Finally it was discovered he was Italian, although he looks more like a Hungarian. Louis Gullo, the peanut vendor, was sent for and had no difficulty speaking to the boy. The youth said he was born in Austra although both of his parents were Italian. His father is dead and the brave little fellow shipped on board the steamer La Clare. Before the ship left the lad was sent ashore to make some purchases. He got confused in the strange city of Chester and became lost. The schooner left without the boy and Chief Williams notified the Italian Council of Philadelphia."

How quaint all that sounds now.
No call to the INS, no transferring him to Youth Services, no radio message by the Coast Guard to the La Clare ordering her to return and pick up her illegal immigrant. Just take the kid down to City Hall, get the peanut vendor to ask him some questions, and fob him off on the Italian Council up in Philadelphia. Amazing...
While I was unable to find any further information about the "little Italian boy", the La Clare, or even much about the Fayette Brick Works (the plant was built in 1902 at the foot of Welsh Street in Chester), I did discover, via the Old Chester website, that William H. Williams was chief of police of Chester, Pennsylvania from 1905 to 1908, and officer Roy Stewart (pictured below; photo courtesy Tom Bulger) served from 1902 to 1922.

But stopping "a boy, apparently a foreigner"? Profiling at its finest. These days Officer Stewart would, at the least, have been written up for that, if not sued by the ACLU...