The Pleasantville press. (Pleasantville, N.J.) 1912-1929, 1918-05-25
oilers MUST Be
FORCED To WORK
Vigorous Enforcement of the
Vagrancy Law Is a Pub
lie Necessity.
CUT OUT The SENTIMENT
Duty of Every Citizen to Report
Neighbor or Acquaintance Who
Won't Work and Demand
Sheriff Enforce Laws.

prepared by the United States Depart
ment of Agriculture.)
Washington.-Most communities all
over the United States are enforcing,
or preparing to enforce the vagrancy
laws very vigorously. There is a ma
tion-wide sentiment of utter detesta-
ton for the man so small of spirit as
to be willing to do nothing during the
supreme hour of all human history.
There is a general determination all
over America that such men are 60.
ing to be forced to work, without de-
lay or ceremony.
However, in so vast a land there
may be a few communities, here and
there, where sentiment has not be-
come sufficiently aroused to echo this
general demand which resoundS over
the country. If there is a place where
farmers are looking for help, and, al
the same time, loafers are hanging
around the depot, the stores and the
pool rooms, those farmers themselves
are somewhat to blame-unless they
demand of the sheriff and local Off
GERS an absolute and unyielding APP
plication of the vagrancy law.
A field man of the United States
department of agriculture recently
agricultural states:
ENTIRELY too much labor, rural as
well as city, is stacking. The COM
pulsory work law is not being en-
forced as well as it should. For
sentimental reasons some persons
hesitate to report a neighbor or ac-
quaintarce who is idle and won't
work. My idea is that the
first thing to do is to clean up the
loafng habit"
"For Sentimental Reason!"
Maybe you feel that way. Perhaps
Bill Smith, whom you know well, and
rather like in a casual sort of FASH
ion, is a chronic loafer. He is a
harmless enough wretch, and you just
hate to make a complaint against
Bill-'for sentimental reasons !"
No doubt, "foF sentimental %reasons,'
killed-but it was the proudest day
of your life when you watched him
march away to fight in France. BY
the way, Bill Smith, the loafer, must
have a different brand of sentiment
from your son and yourself-the
Sentimental reasons" that impelled
your boy to rush to the colors at the
first call don't seem to have moved
Bill very much. For some reason
sentimental or otherwiSe-he is still
sticking to his old job-whittling in
front of the post office.
If your son dies in France-gives his
life fighting for the freedom of Amer
very Bill Smith, the loafer-how
much do you think your grief will be
assuaged by the reflection that even
if your boy did have to die your
Sentimental reasons" have been sus-
tanned and Bill is still loafing to his
hearts content. If your soldier son
makes the supreme sacrifice how
much consolation will you find in the
knowledge that if Bill Smith, the loaf
err, whom you shielded "for sentiment
tai reasons had been forced to
work on some war job more food and
supplies might have been sent to
France and your boy might have
lived.
Make Every Idler Work.
Maybe your son isn't at the front
yet-but he is certain to be there
soon, and the longer you delay "for
sentimental reasons" in seeing that
your friend Bill Smith, the loafer, is
not sent to the chain gang or the
farm, the longer it will take your boy
and his companions to do their job.
Maybe you have no sons. But your
neighbors have-and they are over
there. But don't allow your "senti-
mental reasons to be directed to
them! Oh, no! Don't try to help
the noble boys from your county who
started out for hell with a smile just
because they are real Americansi
Don't let your sentiment turn to them
but be sure and protect Bill Smith
who is not fighting, nor working, not
doing anything except encuHbering the
face of the earth with a useles car