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The Commoner
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Jobless on Auction
Block
, A Boston dispatch, dated Sept. 8, says: Human
flesh, in the shape o jobless and dlssplrlted
men, was nuctfonod off'' today on Boston Com
mon. And a dog on the same auction block brought
more than any of nine mon who, stripped to the
waist, as was customary when slaves were bar
tered for in the days before the Civil war, were
offered for sale.
In onn of the slrangost and most dramatic
scenos over witnessed on the historic Common
hungry, sheltorlesc and jobless men voluntarily
, offered themselves 'for sale" in return for, a
week's food and lodging.
A huge throng of curious men and women
packed tlu-msclves around the auction block
the park bandstand and gazed with varying
emotions as the auct'eneor recounted the his
tories Jnd abilities of the mon ho was trying to
sell."
Tho auctioneer was Urbajn J. Ledoux, who
called himself "Mr. Zero," grand high priest of
the "shorn lambs of employment," who has es
tablished a homo, eating place and employment
agency for Boston's down-and-outors, and is at
tempting to wake up Boston's "civic conscious
ness." Ledoux led a barid 6f more than 150 of his
"shorn lambs" to the common, and all partook
of a ltmcheon given by a suburban country clul.
A large crowd had gathered by the finish of
the meaVand Ledoux and nine men wont to the
band stand. He introduced his tattered proteges
as "nine men, pillories of our. industrial system
and forced to the auction block." Three of
them, he said, were overseas vetorans.
Jim Ferris, 20-year-old overseas veteran, was
the first "slave" to go on tho block. A murmur
swept through the crowd as "Mr. Zero" ordered
him to strip to the waist, "He was turned
around slowly and posed in every position to
Bhow the play of his Bplendid muscles. .
"You used this in the war; what will you do
with it now? What price am I offered for this
, man?" Ledoux shouted to the crowd.
But the crowd was silent.
, "Shall it go starving now that you have no
further use for it?" taunted the auctioneer.
j And still there was no bid.
"Get down," he order Ferris. "They won't
have you; perhaps they'll take your dog."
Bidding went up to $20 for "Sergeant"
Ferris's frightened little fox terrier which had
served with him through the war, but when
the time came to pay tho $20 bidder could not
bo found. It appeared that $5 was the high
est real bid. Tho bidder give Ferris $5 and told
him to keep the dog.
Only two of the nine men were taken and
assured of a place to oat and sleep regularly
for a week, at least. They were Joe Mitchell,
a 39-year-old negro from the Virgin Islands,
who feaid he had been out of work six months
and averaged two meals a week, and "Willie
Davis, a homeless 18-year-old boy "from the
farm."
The remaining seven, and many more like
them, Ledoux said tonight, still are "for sale."
BOARD OF TRADE TO END DEALS IN PUTS
AND CALLS
Trading in indemnities" "puts" and "calls"
as they were 6nce and better known will ceasa
on the Chicago Board of Trade Oct. 1.
This was decided yesterday following adop
tion by both houses of congress of the confer
ence report upon the the Capper-Tincher bill
regulating the grain exchanges of the countrv
The passage of the bill, which only awaits the
signature of President Harding, would have
had the effect of doing away with the "indemni
ties" anyway.
The Board of Trade did not wait for the
President to act, however. During the day the
board of directors' posted for a referendum vote
a proposition to eliminate trading in indemni
ties entirely. While the membership has still
to express itself on the proposal this is a mara
matter of form and an affirmative verdict it
garded as certain.
In taking the action they did the Board of
Trade directors went a step further than con
gress. The Capper-Tincher bill did not fn
- bid tracing in "indemnities." It did, Cvever"
effectually prevent such trading by flxlnir a tav
of 20 centra bushel upon such traS tSg
tax was intended to be prohibitive and regard
less of the action of the board of directors
would have meant-the last of the old puts
Thesaiso known as "bids"and "offers" were
defended by tho Board of Trade originally as
being an "insurance." Through them it had
been possible for- dealers who felt they were,
on tho wrong side of tho market to limit their
losses. They also were dealt in by speculators
and were one of the principal points upon which
the grain exchange was assailed by its enemies.
Chicago Tribune, Aug. 24.
"LET BOOZE PAY WAR DEBT," SAY
GERMAN DRYS
(By George Seldes, in Chicago Tribune For
eign News Service).
Berlin. "Let booze help pay the reparations,"
has uecome the slogan of tho German prohibi
tion organizations. Almost coincident with the
announcement, advertised by all German brew
eries in large display type, that fceace time beer
containing 8 per cent alcohol was again being
brewed, the German pussyfooters began an ac
tive campaign for a dry Germany.
Throughout Prussia and Bavaria doctors'
testimony is being collected to show the salu
tary effects upon Gorman health of the war time
restrictions as to the use of alcoholic liquors.
Statistics have been presented showing the 're
duction in the number of cases of nervous dis
orders growing out of the use of alcohol, in the
city of Munich alone the number of such cases
having been reduced from 285 in. 1911 to 43
cases in the year 1919, at the time all the war
time restrictions were still in force.
In Bavaria before the war approximately one
eighth of all criminal drinking, whereas at pres
ent the police report practically no cases arising
from this cause.
The most popular of the prohibitionists' argu
ments, however, rest upon fifteen billion marks
is spent every year in Germany for alcoholic
drinks. This sum is almost one-third of the
annual payments that Germany must make to
the allies, and the German Society for the Fight
of Alcoholism has just issued a proclamation to
the German people appealing to them to refrain
from the purchase of any alcoholic drinks," wine,
beer, cognac, etc., and to divert the money that
would have been so spent to purposes that will
enable Germany to meet her reparations obliga
tions. '
PROHIBITION IN ENGLAND
The people of the. United States of America,
at least some of them, may think they are suf
fering under prohibition more than the inhabi
tants of any other nation. They ought to go to
London.
While no such high and dry prohibition of
alcoholic beverages exists as America has, yet
Englishmen are howling just as lustily as we
over "the loss of their liberties."
"During the last two years," complains the
London Express, "fetter after fetter has been
added to the war-forged chains on freedom in
the country. The ordinary citizen is groaning
under the unjustifiable restriction imposed on
him by the bureaucrats and faddists."
Here are some of the interferences with nri
vate rights complained of:
No person insured under the insurance act i3
free to choose his own doctor.
Any one may be arrested or searched on
suspicion without a warrant. "ubu on
. You must not buy or sell matches after 3
You must not buy or sell ice cream after 8
p. m.
You must not buy a box of chocolates after
o J) HI
kLT? Wl de,cides t0 g0 t0 Paris to buy a
hat finds herself plunged into a laborious tur
mo 1 of passports, photographs" and vises all of
the war eXa ShUld bee ed
JySrJM
tt.day- The sale " 2SS
Clubs must shut at a certain hour althm,
they do not sell intoxicating liquor altUoush
The language used by Col. Gretton tiio tw
day in introducing a private Sn bH 1 ?
the House of Commqns sounds very much Ilk?
an echo from the United States llke
The argument for shorter hoUrq fnv u
selling," he said, "has been heavily" dfa-m 5?i
by the latest reports, which demotistrate ?l
rapid drinking in a short time haTlrLll at
new form of drunkenness." ?. Produced a
Lands, buildings and foods are still i.iij.h
to requisition, ports may be closed aid theJex--
port of goods prohibited, and all this not bv
an-act of legislation, but by the arbitrary de
cree of a minister. -
"The average citizen," cries one paper, "ha
lost his constitutional safeguards. The flat of
a minister is sufficient to deprive him of his
liberty and his possessions. 'No taxation with
out representation' is as dead as a door nail"
So we see that, tight as things are in Amer
ica, they might be tighter. Chicago Herald
Examiner. SHOULD LANDIS BE. CONDEMNED?
The American Bar Association by resolution
has condemned Judge Landlsfor "engaging
in private employment" while holding the posi
tion of federal judge! The Bar Association has
thus accepted and1 declared the conventional
view of judicial ethics.
Action "unworthy the office of judge, de
rogatory to the dignity of tho bench, under
mining public confidence" and meeting "un
qualified condemnation" these are strong
words. What are the facts?
Judge Landis has, in his years on the bench,
built up a remarkable reputation as an arbiter.
Those who have appeared In his court, and the
general public, have come to believe entirely
in his honesty, his impartiality, his intelligence
andvhis vigor. On account of his reputation he
was asked by semi-public v interests, the man
agers of professional, baseball in America, to
extend his function as judge to baseball affairs.
For this he was paid. '
Later he was asked by those concerned in
the building-trade disagreements to extend his
function again to the affairs of the buiidmg
" trades. For this he was not. paid. But it is
important to note that the two .cases are in their
most important respects identical. -
Confusion and crookedness were apparent in
baseball. Confusion and "crookedness were ap
parent in the building trades. "In both the need
was for an arbiter who possessed public con
fidence. In both Judge Landis? was selected, and
for the one reason 'he did. have the public con
fidence. - . .
If It be an offense for a -federal judge to es
tablish such a reputation that in times of con
fusion the people turn instinctively to him for
for counsel, Judge Landis has offended not
otherwise. Judge Landis' action . was uncon
ventional. But an unconventional thing may be
entirely justifiable by circumstances. In ignor
ing the circumstances and hastily condemning
on a general principle the American Bar Asso
ciation can hardly be said to have endeared its
judgment to the country.
Meanwhile Judge Landis seems to be straight
ening out the situation in $he-.btiilding trades.
If he finally succeeds, . any professional "con
demnation" of him will have to be extraordin
arily eloquent to get a hearing in Chicago.
Chicago Herald and Examiner.
Senator Smoot says he would simplify the
levying and collection of national revenues by
limiting taxation to a half dozen, lines. Any
body who claims to be. able to simplify tho
methods of levying -and collecting national taxes
has an excellent claim for instant attention. But
when it develops that the first item is a reduc
tion of income taxes of the very rich and tho
second is a renaming of the discarded sales
taxes which consumers are to pay, one may justi
fy passing up the reading of the others.
The price of a seat on the Chicago board of
trade is showing a decided tendency to take to
tho same toboggan slide that the price of wheat
u,sed. Of course, the fact-.that the farmers nre
organizing to market their own grain has noth
ing to do with this; it is just another of those
"voluntary acts on the part of large business
enterprises to bear their share of- the burden of
readjustment" that we read so much about.
The tariff bill that the Senate committee Is
considering is expected to add 400 millions a
year to the revenues of the nation. That's all
right, but we could better understand how many
hours a day wo jnust put In earning the tax
; money if it were also made plaiff how many mil
lions it will add to the revenues of the steel
trust and the dye trust and all the. rest of tho
trusts.
Business men are complaining because tlie
farmer;. now thrft he lias sold'hls 1920 wheat
,crop, does not call off his buyers' strike, One
.Nebraska farmer says that tine answor may m
'found in the fact 'that while 'fre got less than
;ualf wliat nvheat brought In war times, the im
plement manufacturers are selling binders for
"jlvo.dollarsmore.. " V. -K
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