The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1921-08-20
Frederic Haskin's Letter
Back on the Old Soap Box.

prohlDItiOnlStS nave whole Iegi,
n.ent of soap-boxers in the field.
whose faeblest harangues draw
wildly enthusiastic crowds. Re;i-
gion is another subject which Is
receiving much free speech this
summer. The question of who is
to be the next mayor of New York
is another. Then there are MANY
soap-boxers whose purpose it is dif-
ficult to learn. They may be heard
talking Iong, loudly and heatedlv
about something, but no one can
determine what.
One of the chief rallying places
IS the open plaza at One Hundred
! Thirty-seventh street, Hamilton
Place and Broadway. where torch
| light and wagon oratory attract
! large crowds every night Same
times four or five would-be Patri,.z
Henrys may be heard holding forth
on different topics at one time. II
one corner a Sim Feiner nav he
heaping opprobrium uDon the Brit
lsh Empire; in another the Eight
zenith Amendment is receiving 4
| terrific tongue-lashing a little fa--
Their on an outraged tenant is re-
Wiling New York landlords. while
just opposite is an explosive little
man who is spouting frenzied
phrases in favor of disarmament.
What's the idea of all this free
speech?" we asked a policeman at
One Hundred Thirty-seventh street
do you think it gets any results2'
Sure he replied, at gives all
them nuts a chance to blow off
steam
Yes, he agreed, the city had been
mighty inhospitable to soap-boxers
during the war, but, as for him.
he thought all precautions against
such spelling were unnecessary. All
the free speech them nuts" gave
away couldn't harm anybody. he
believed.
He then explained that no police
permit is necessary for the SOAP
box orator. So long as he does not
obstruct traffic or otherwise make
a nuisance of himself he may har-
angue until he is hoarse. He may
shower propaganda of any kind
upon the helpless populace and at
tempt to convert them to his cause.
and the police will merely pass him
by with a tolerant smile There is
only one prohibition. He can saw
what he likes about this govern,
ment and any other government
but he must mind his P's and Q's
when it comes to religion. De-
nouncing or poking fun at other
mems religious beliefs is strictly
! taboo.
A Safety Valve.
. Free speech is once more taken
as a matter of course in New York
just as it is in London's Hyde Park.
AS one official explains, Soap box
orstory is recognized here, as it S
there, as affording a safety valve
for imprisoned discomfort or con-
torted cerebration" In his belief.
the majority of New Workers find
it more amusing than instructive.
"In London, Hyde Park is d poDu-
lar institution, he says. THE pub
lie loves it. Often you find five Or
six hundred people gathered there
on a Sunday afternoon, listening 10
speeches on everything from yege-
tsrianfsm to birth control. In fact,
in fashionable London it is quite
the smart thing to promenade in
Hyde Park just before tea time on
q Sunday and listen to the radicals
No one takes them seriously, Of
course
Yet outside of New York, London
and other large cities, the soap box
orator is often taken only too sell
ousIy. Some of our own western
cities have very little patience with
propaganda against the government
OF against large families, and have
an impolite way of running sucn
propagandists out of town. IND
there is the case of one enterpris-
ing middle western town which
considered soap box oratory SO in
portant that it established Soap
Box university to combat socialism.
Maybe some of the many anti-s0-
cialistic soap-boxers in New York
this summer are from this univers-
ity. They seem fairly efficient, but
i what the city police force says
is true, the socialists needn't be
worried, either.