San Antonio light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1911-1993, 1923-08-05
THE WHITE COLLAR BEGGAR
Me Lunch" Said

Ninth street tnere was mere pa
toon of survivors. Stolidly they
closed around their orator; his
rostrum was a soapbox, and his
banner bore the legend: Justice
for the Unemployed.
A few pedestrians halted on the
fringe of the crowd; one of them
a girl.
Her limousine, with all its
flaunt of Capital, had become
Battle-Ground at the curb. Through
the window she had looked out up
on the orator and his audience,
and on impulse she had picked up
the speaking-tube and issued
i. orders to the chauffeur. She was
hin the very act of descending,
when the orator had pointed to
the limousine to illustrate his
text.
Automatically a hundred men
turned toward her; some of them
sneered, some glowered, and the
nearest-who was certainly the
most attractive-treated her to an
extraordinary smile.
The girl, with a faint spot of
color in each cheek, stood irreso-
lutte. She glanced over her shout
der, but the limousine, released
from the jam, was moving south
ward; she hesitated-and the ora
tor reached his finale. Whose
fault was it, he inquired, that
thousands were in need of work
and wages while baby-dolls en-
closed in luxury, rode down Fifth
Avenue.
Slowly she turned and went on
to the corner and so into the
Park; the first bench was unoc-
cupied, and she sat down.
Some one came to occupy the
other end of the bench, presently
a sound, continuously repeated,
drew her attention. On the other
end of the bench was the young
man who had smiled at her; he
was sitting coodily, elbows on
knees, and jingling few coins
in his hands.
Now, ordinarily she was conser-
vative, but the young man was
hardly older than herself-and Tor
all his dependency he was un-
usually good-looking and intelli-
gent. mo,
She said to him bruskly: "Do
YOU think that was fair?-what
that man on the box was talking
about?" =.
He went on jingling the coins.
"Well." he said reflectively,
sthere are two sides to every
thing, aren't there?"
She relaxed a trifle. ~ 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 isl"
She sat straighter. but
don't believe the world owes ev-
erybody a living-not unless they
earn it. And that man. SAID the
factories all ought to be kept rur-
mig. whether they make any
money or not, so everybody d
have a chance to wok. Why, that
wouldn't do any more good than
than hiring half those people
m DIG a hole in the ground, and
the other half to fill 1t up again.
He scowled doubtfully. "ThaSs
lust what l was thinking about
myself. Why should they keep
running and lose money-and
whv shouldn't they, after all they
made before?"
She sat inspecting him. His
forehead was high, his mouth was
rather large and sensitive, ms
owes were those of chronic
dreamer. and his jaw had the
contour which is generally sup
nosed to be the trademark OF q
f;ghter. An uncommon type OF
bov she thought-uncommohiy
f;ne-prained, uncommonly reason,
ahie for one of the unemployed
r,stoon. 1t seemed lncreoioie
that he could belong 70 IL ,;..o
"Did you-just stop to hS'en'
as 1 did," :, u was -
"oh, no. he said. Il was IN
the parade" oe ,ho+
"But you're not one OF tha'
"Why-I suppose I'm-not. I'm
ubat they call a whitecollar man
Rmt 7 was in the parade, just the
same" 3D..
IL Won haven't made up. your OWL,
MIND about what's fair -
shouldn't think you'd have gone
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 swe:' 1 like that
"Weil," he said, II wasn't quite
a hero myself, and I'm not quite
q Dum-yet." 90,
%But you were in the war;"
"ph, yes" "a,
"And.after you came back?'
"Why, things were pretty cheer
full for while, and then the big