The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1918-06-22
Idle Men.

arc idle men. Not casually idle
chronically idle. Men whose enthus-
| iastic slogan is Pm too proud to
work" Alcn who would break all
Job walked up and tapped them on
| the shoulder.
Some of them hold down benches
in tho parks, lazily content with crust :
and rags, some OF them dine at the
| Ritz and make Solomon i'm all his
glory look like Il pikcr in a hand me
down, but they're just common or gar
| den loafcrS, the lot of them, economic
slackcrs-and they ought to be talk
| cn in hand.
They're everywhere; gangSters on
| the side streets young loafers on the
corners, tango lizards in the cabarcts,
| bar flies, who are so used to standing
with one foot on the brass rail they
crooks, touts, riff ralf in the cities;
and in the country, the whittlcrs in
front Of the Mansion House-hangcrs
on at the "dcepo" waiting to see the
train come in-(and if it never camo
il would mean nothing i'm their young
| liVes), the gathering around the stove
in Cy Perkins grocery store--intent
| on the checker championship Of the
cross roads. They're all about us, vii
lagc, city country indoors, outdoors
a drag and a menace.
The idler is, individually, a social
| cXcrescence and collectively an eco
nOmic waste. He is the leering mega
ton Of all decent human impulses
and ideals AT this time, when the
hand and mind of every human unit
is desperately needed, the deliberate
refusal to pitch in and do something
is defiance TO the race and an in
suit TO the Almighty
In times Of peace, we are compell-
| ed to put up with the chronic loafer,
because our guaranteed pursuit OF
life, liberty and happiness, means to
some men the privilege to graft-tO
others the right TO loaf, hut in time
of war, when every man is needed.
when all our rights and privileges are
| threatened, these men have no righi
TO Shirk the burden the rest of us car
ry cheerlullM and they ought to be
used to the best advantage, for the
common good--without the slightest
consideration of their personal pref
erences
If a man is without n iob--it may
be his fault-and it may be the fault
OF our social orGanization--which
being human, is not perfect; but NJ
matter whose fault it is, the condi-
ton ought to be remeded.
Several States have passed Loafcl
Maryland was the lirst. WHY
not National loafcr law. The hobc
who is threatened with a job in New
York has only to seek the dolce fal
nientc" OF Cos Cob, and once acros.
the line he is spared the degradation
of life Of toll. SO the state law
has not settled the question. and pu
the loafcr TO work-it has only trans
fcrrcd the problem from New YorE
to Connecticut.
Why can't Uncle sam lass n ma
tional Loafer law? Why can't hC
draft these men? Hen do it. if enough
of us tell him to. Draft them foi
the farms and the shipyards, just rs
the boys were drafted for the army
Now the "chronic obiector'' leap,
intc the arena, and says it can't be
done. He says we can't tell the inno-
cent man, out of a Job, from the mar
who makes idleness a business. But
if we listen to the chronic obioctor
Wen never get anything done for NJ
matter what is proposed he's Away
"aGin" il.
His objection is not valid. SUP
pose there were Il committee, or q
board--Or whatever il miEht be call.
ed-constitutcd something like this
"a business man and - miniSter-a la
bor leader and a laWyer--a reporter
and n policeman. Six level headed
patriotic, common sense men IS il
reasonable to suppose amy man real
~ practicing any useful profession
or doing any sort of honest work
would fear to appear before them :
Is ii reasonable to suppose the lOafcr
would he able TO hOodwinll them and
get by?
The gentleman; who holds ali rec
ocdS aS second story worker, the
pilgrim who knows cVcry hen roost
along the Eric. the lady who main