The Arizona sentinel., 1896-06-13
The LOafer and IdIer,

| ms mead or nanQS, IS QrOne III the beehive of life and should be stung to death or to work, for labor of some kind or character is as necessary to a healthy moral condition as food is to physical one. Take the life of one of this class, with the morning light he is awake from his bed on a bench or the ground and in some saloon looking for the barkeeper or some one to treat him to drink. He gets one, perhaps more, as other thirsty rum soaked inebriates come in and invite him to drink. What then? Go out side and wait for some innocent look ing stranger to come along from whom he can get the price of a meal. He sits there and is joined by other loaf CTS and they discuss ways and means to get something to eat and drink and mayhap move in to some other saloon where there is better chance to catch suckers and thus the day is spent not in honest employment or trying for it but in an indirect way swindling the public out of a living and these are called men the noblest works of God. "Angels and ministers of grace defend us." Of what earthly use are these men, say you. There IS nothing in the world but is of some use, be it good or bad. They are use- ful, when man with money goes up to the bar to driuk, they are there to be called up and never refuse, for that would take a shingle from the house of the saloon that gives them a morn ing drink; they are of use to set in a game when some poor devil is to be heeced of his hard earned money; they are of use when some one wants a dirty job performed and is to coward ly to do it himself; they are of some use when blacklegs want to get into office to plunder legally (save the mark); they can vote, drink, eat, but never die; they are of use at your primaries, voting at both; they are of use as jurors, if one side has any money; they are of use as witnesses in any kind of case, and yet, they are of use when you want to silence forever the tongue of friend or enemy. An old proverb and true one: "The devil finds work for idle hands to do" If they were at work they would not be of use as thugs or rounders; Ii they were at work they would have some place to eat and sleep; if they were at work they would be better clad and when night comes the sa- looms and games would miss them for they would be tired and at rest asleep at home. No man ever started in, or on the road of crime alone, he always has some idler, or loafer, to show him the way. Go to any one of these dives and see how many idlers there are to show you the sights; you paying the score, are these chaps of any use to the young, or old? Do you gain any credit, information or social standing by living in their company? And no matter how pure man may be, let him associate with idiers, loafers and others of that class and in a short time you will not know one from the other; you may be white but the black element will soon reduce you, to its color, young man, yes or old man, shun the idler, or loafer, he cannot add to your social, moral, intellectual or spiritual station, and the longer you are with him the more alike you will become. Treat him kindly, when you meet, and don't forget that you are gentleman. But from that class steer widely else you will be a ground and there may not be tide again that will float your craft into the waters of peace, sobriety, honesty and happiness. Voluntary idleness is crime. You add nothing, you produce nothing, and every penny that feeds or clothes one in absolute idleness or loaferism, is just that much taken from, yes stolen from the man who labors with his head. or his hands. "You shall eat your bread by the sweat of your brain," is as true to day as when first attend and man who is unwill- ing to earn his living some honest way had better be in his grave as far as the world is concerned, be he MT. c. P. Huntington or the veriest loafer on the streets.
 There is another class of pseudo respectable idlers who live in mort gagged houses and on 8 precarious in come who perhaps are more detri- mental to society than the bar-room loafers, it means some of your colonels, captains, mayors, generals and judges. They leave home, stroll around and look out for soft snaps from an inte- roct in como noor ouc-a,S r,oiDo +o n ;, al,