Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1922-03-14

VX TASHINGTON, ID. C., March ISL
Nv you have suffered the misfortune of
losing a leg, and are casting about
for means of making a livelihood, perhaps
the most lucrative thing you can turn to is
panhandling. The stories Of the incomes
made by peddlers of pencils, chewing gum,
useless gewgaws generally, are by no means
fables.
Cities differ widely in the ways of dealing
with professional cripples. In some cities
they must obtain licenses, or suffer arrest.
In this way the police are given an oppor-
tunity to investigate each case and find out
whether the cripple who applies for the privi-
lege of peddling on the streets with his in
trinity or deformity his main means of
attracting dimes, nickels, and quarters, is
really unable to make a living in some other
way
Just at this time the city of Washington
is a haven for these men, The police depart
ment has tried to keep them out of the down
town district, which, Of course, is the ground
they prefer. Unfortunately no law or police
regulation directly prohibits these men from
offering their wares for sale. Only few
days ago the police were directed to make
some arrests and see If the courts would
help to remedy the situation by imposing
fines or sentences i'll the workhouse.
The arrests were made, and when the
cases came before the polio court, Judge
Hardison decided that the men were not
Migrants nor beggars- The fact that they
had wares offered for sale, and that they
were able to show incomes sufficient to lift
them out of the class of those having no wish
BILE means of support, in the opinion Of the
court, protected these panhandlers from po-
lice interference. The court decided that pen
ellis offered for sale, even though they brought
in 10 or Is times their value, constituted
legitimate commerce.
Cure Now Being Sought
A remedy for this suitation in Washington
" froT viii nm nO1ic6 regulations
directly prohibiting street selling in the down.
town section It is believed that the profess
sional cripples rather than haunt the resi-
dence districts where the pedestrian traffic
is negligible compared with the busy bust
ness part of the city, would take their hands
full of pencils and their woe-begone appear
ances to some more lenient city. 1t is I'M
derstood that some such regulation is IN
process of drafting.
In the recent arrests made in Washington
as test cases one of the men had in his pocket
between $50 and $50, another had more than
S65, and the third a considerable sum of
money. One man arrested prior to this time
for the same offense had in his pocket nearly
SS5. In every case most of this money was in
small change, indicating to the police that 1t
was the income for not more than three days
at the outside, and possibly of only one day
and evening. Capt. Brown, the police officer
in charge of the downtown district, convers-
ing with one of these men, said to him, You
probably make a lot more money than |
do" The crippled panhandler, dressed in
the rags of poverty, modestly admitted that
this probably was true
Here as elsewhere many of these men, since
the war, have taken to wearing old, grayed
uniforms of the United States army, usually,
however, taking great care that insignia of
all sorts is removed. Not even the branch
of the supposed service is shown. Once in
a while some strapping, able-bodied tramp
dons uniform and goes out to take living
away from the world, trying straight-out beg
ging on the plea that he is a former member
of the A. E. F. who lost his job when he en-
tered the army has been able to find nothing
else to do, and is reduced to his present low
ly state because of these facts. g..
Few Real Veterans Begged
Some cities swarmed with these parasites
for months after the armistice was signed.
An investigation made by the War Risk In
surance bureau disclosed the fact that there
was scarcely a single real ex-sold1er among
this army of beggars. great many of
them were arrested, others were effectively
warned, and the practice has about been
abolished
The crippled peddler of pencils wearing a
uniform makes a silent appeal, as rule, or
if he "ballyhoos'' his wares, does not men
ton any former fancied state as soldier of
the United States. He is too clever to get
into that trouble. He counts upon the as
ISOLATION of the old uniform and the missing
leg in the minds of passers-by without di-
rectly proclaiming that he left the missing