The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1922-03-15
Frederick Haskin's Letter
The Profits of Panhandling.

Washington, D. c., March 14.-If
you have suffered the misfortune OF
losing a leg, and are casting about
for means of making livelihood,
perhaps the most lucrative thing
you can turn to is panhandl1ng.
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 Grip
pies. In some cities they must OBJ
tain license, or suffer arrest. In
this way the police are given an
opportunity to investigate each case
and find out whether the cripple
who applies for the privilege of
ipeddling on the streets, with his
infirmity or deformity as his main
means of attracting dimes, nlckels
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 department has
tried to keep them out of the down
town district. which of course is
the ground they prefer. Unfortun-
ately no law or police regulation
directly prohibits these men from
offering their wares for sale. Only
a few days ago the police were dI-
rected to make some arrests and
see if the courts would help to
remedy the situation by imposing
fines or sentences in the work
house.
The arrests were made, and
when the cases came before the
police court, Judge Hardison de-
cided that the men were not vag-
rants 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 Wis
ib!e means of support, in the opin-
iCn of the court, protected these
panhandlers from police interior
Ance. The court decided that pen
ellis offered for sale, even though
they brought in 10 or 25 times their
value, constituted legitimate COM
merce.
Cure Now Being Sought.
A remedy from this situation in
Washington may come from draw
ing up police regulations directly
street selling in the
section. 1t is believed
that the professional cripples, rath-
er than haunt the residence dis
tricts where the pedestrian traffic
is negligible compared with the
busy business part of the city,
would take their handsful of pen
ellis and their woe-begOne appear
anceS to some more lenient city.
It is understood that some such
legislation is in process of draft
ing.
In the recent arrests made in
as test cases, one of
the men had in his pocket between
$50 and $50, another tad more than
s65, and the third a considerable
sum of money One man arrested
prior to this time for the same Of
tense had in his pocket nearly SS5. |
In every case most of this money
was in small change, indicating to
he police that it was the income |
,or not more than three days at |
he outside, and possibly of only |
1ne day and evening. Captain !
Brown, the police officer in charge |
If the downtown district, convers- /
ng with one of these men, said to
aim: You probably make a lot
more money than I do" The Grip
pied panhandler, dressed in the |
-ags of poverty. modestly admitted |
hat this probably was true.
Here as elsewhere many of these !
men, since the war, have taken to !
wearing old, frayed uniforms of the |
United States army. usually, how |
ever, taking great care that insig |
Tia of all sorts is removed Not |
wen the branch OF the supposed |
ervice is shown. Once in while /
ome strapping, able-bodied tramp /
Ions a uniform and goes out to |
AXE living away from the world,
rying straight-out begging on the
flea that he is a former member of |
he A E. F. who lost his job when
lie entered the army, has been able