Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-09-13

Dan O'Brien, candidate for mayor of
New York on the "hobo party" ticket,
recently made a speech, in which he
laid down a platform calling for the
following:
/. Free coffee and free street car rides.
2. Less work and less taxes.
8. More shade trees and more sleep.
People will smile at the planks of such
platform as enunciated by the genial
Irishman, but calm consideration shows
that there Is some justice in them,
after all.
Consider the matter Of free coffee.
Those who like this beverage will admit
that 1t would be pretty nice to step into
a booth and get trimming cup of good
coffee upon demand.
The Joker in this plank would be
whether the coffee would be good or
coffee costs money. And if one likes
cream in it, there is another decided
item of expense.
Addicts of light coffee, as the brew
with plenty of cream in it is called,
know that cream costs money. Physi-
clans agree that cream in coffee is
harmful, but for those who prefer their
coffee so there is no substitute.
The main trouble with "free coffee"
would be that the drinker would have
horse in the mouth, etc. One of the
true joys of coffee drinking lies in the
comparison of brands.
One cup will be slightly bitter, an
other Sweet" another harsh, a fourth
somewhere in between them all. 1t
would seem that if one paid nothing
for a cup of coffee he would have
no right to be critical Or, would he
be more so than if he had paid?
Perhaps.
Free street car rides might not prove
such a bad addition to modern life. To
the average man who walks along the
sidewalk the walk itself is free. Some
collection of "somebodies" has paid for
1t. but to the man who walks it costs
nothing. Thus streets, sidewalks, bridges
and so on approach curiously near to
complete communism. Public parks
are enjoyed equally by all, or at least
such is the theory.
problems might grow to such an extent
that the municipality might do almost
anything to shuttle people along to
where they wanted to go as fast as
possible. Thus the eXpedient of giving
free rides on unpopular lines might
draw large part of the population off
overcroWded ones to those badly In need
OF patronage.
1t must be admitted that those who
do not possess the typical hobo" tenn
permanent cannot appreciate the desir-
ability OF free anything. All the aver
age man wants is chance to earn
decent living. Given the wages. he
will take care Of himself. Paying for
thing Is a pleasure, so long as the
purchaser feels that he is getting his
moneys worth. The modern business
world has preferred to call this salts
faction Service" including in that word
satisfaction to all concerned, on the
basis of an honest dollars worth for
an honest dollar.
The great majority of men will prefer
the last two planks in Mr.. O'Brien's
platform. Less work and less taxes
about constitutes the working plan of
the average man. The whole trend of
the United States is manifestly toward
the first portion of this plank. Less
work may mean more work, in the long
run, or more productive work, either
way one prefers 10 put it. The adoption
OF e1ght-hour laws and the wide ac-
ceptance of the Saturday whole and half
holidays shows that mankind is accept
ing less at its face value the ancient
adage about earning ones bread in the
sweat OF ones brow. Precipitation is
no longer fashionable.
X X X
Less taxes is a working platform in
most political parties, in so far as it