Evening star., 1923-08-05

box, and his banner bore the legend:
-Justice for the Unemployed"
few pedestrians halted on the
fringe of the crowd; one OF them a
girl.
Her limousine. with all it's faunt of
capital, had become traffic bound at
the curb. Through the window she
had looked out upon the orator and
his audience, and on impulse she had
picked up the speaking tube and
issued orders to the chauffeur. She
was in the very act of descending
when the orator had pointed to the
limousine to illustrate his text.
Automatically hundred men
turned toward her; some of them
sneered. some glowered and the near
est-who was certainly the most at
ira ractive-treated her to an extraor-
binary smile.
The girl, with faint spot Of color
In each cheek, stood irresolute. She
glanced over her shoulder. but the
Limousine, released from the jam. was
moving southwark: she hesitated-
and the orator reached his finale.
Whose fault was it, he inquired. that
Thousands were in need of work and
wages while baby dolls, inclosed in
luxury, rode down 5th avenue.
Slowly she turned and went on TO
the corner and so into the park; the
first bench was unoccupied. and she
sat down.
Some one came to occupy the other
end of the bench, and presently a
sound, continuously repeated. drew
n -
the bench was the young man who
had smiled at her; he was sitting
moodily. elbows on knees and jingling
q few coins in his hands.
Now ordinarily she was conserva-
tive, but the young man was hardly
older than herself-and for all his
dependency he was unusually good
looking and intelligent
She said to him bruskly: DO you
think that was fair?-what that man
on the box was talking about"
He went on jingiing the coins.
We'll" he said refectively, there
are always two sides to everything.
aren't there?"
She relaxed a trifle. IT know.
but"
The young man interrupted her.
Didn't you know, when you came
over to that meeting. you were going
TO hear the other side Of it? Didn't
you know they think it's your class
that's made their class what it is?"
She sat straighter. But | don't
believe the world owes everybody a
living-not unless they earn il. And
that man said the factories all ought
m "a wh
make any money or not. so every
body'd have a chance to work. Why,
that wouldn't do any more good than
than hiring half those people to dig
a hole in the ground. and the other
half to fill it up again. Would it,"
He scowied doubtfully. That's
just what 1 was thinking about my
self. Why should they keep running
and lose money-and why shouldn't
they, after all they made before?
CHE sat inspecting him. His fore
- head was high, his mouth was
rather large and sensitive, his eyes
were those of a chronic dreamer. and
his jaw had the contour which is
generally supposed to be the trade
mark of a fighter. An uncommon
type of boy, she thought-uncom-
monty fine grained, uncommonly rea-
sonable, for one of the unemployed
platoon. 1t seemed incredible that he
could belong to it.
didr"
"oh, no." he said. II was in the
parade"
"But you're not one of that class
WHY suppose I'm not. I'm what
they call a white-collar man But /
was in the parade, just the same"
The girl was puzzled. Buff you
haven't made up your own mind about
what's fair-I shouldn't think you'd
have gone in it,"
He shrugged his shoulders. "A man
can want to see justice done, can't
he, even if he doesn't know where it's
coming from? Most of those fellows
were in the war They came home,
and they were heroes one week and
buns the next. You've got to admit
it was a bit sudden"
I'm glad you say they instead of
we I like that"
Well" he said, IT wasn't quite a
hero myself and I'm not quite a bum
yet"
"But you were in the WARP
"Oh, yes"
"And-after you came backr'
why. things were pretty cheerful
for while, and then the big slump
hit US. My plant closed down with
the rest. And that's all there is to
that"
But surely there's something you
could do, isn't there?"
That's what 1 came to New York
to And out
And you haven't found anything?
Not anythingr
He shook his head. Not yet"
Haven't you any friends you could
20 tor
II haven't any friends this side of
the Rocky mountains"
why, it doesn't seem possible
that a man liked you-"
He motioned confidently. "I'll tell
you a secret. You can be as sorry as
you want to be for the common
laborer, but If the worst comes to the
worst, he'll take to panhandling or
porch climbing. and then the worldIl
have to give him living whether it
owes 1t to him or not. But"
IT don't see that"
why. because" he said tolerantly.
a'the public pays the bills for Black
wells Island and Sing Sing. And
then, again, that's the kind of man
who isn't ashamed to take charity;
but the fellow with a little education.
with a little ambition beyond three
meals day and a place to sleep. with