{{Short description|American diplomat and activist}} {{Infobox person | name = Urbain J. Ledoux | image = Consul Urbain Ledoux.jpg | alt = Urbain Ledoux circa 1906 | caption = Urbain Ledoux circa 1906 | birth_date = {{birth date text|1874-08-13}} | birth_place = Sainte-Hélène-de-Bagot, Quebec, Canada | death_date = {{death date and age text|1941-04-08|1874-08-13}} | death_place = New York City, New York, United States | other_names = Mr. Zero | occupation = Diplomat, activist | known_for = breadlines for unemployed }} '''Urbain J. Ledoux''' (August 13, 1874 – April 8, 1941), later known as "'''Mr. Zero'''", preferring his own name not to be prominent, was an American diplomat and activist with a declared interest in the Baháʼí Faith.
His quest to serve humanity began early in life. He sought to become a Catholic priest at 15, but witnessed a case of priest abuse and quit the seminary about the age of 17. He began to work for law and business interests, hoping to use these as a means of progress for humanity. He then sought to serve in diplomatic service for the United States with this approach and earned a few promotions. He advocated that commercial development could be a means to further the interests of humanity, but came to believe that personal transformation was more important.
He quit the diplomatic service and sought to work with non-governmental organizations for both business and peace interests. Soon he was working with the Baháʼís and was present during the conflict over the status of Sarah Farmer, when she was involuntarily committed to a mental institution in 1910. He led the efforts to free her from involuntary confinement in an insane asylum, ultimately gathering a chief of police and a judge to accompany a court order to effect her freedom.
He then began to found humanitarian organisations. He first made news seeking to help with unemployment after the First World War among workers and veterans on the breadline. He advocated for the Baháʼí Faith, albeit with a limited understanding of the principles of the religion. Ledoux set up events aimed at raising awareness of the suffering of the unemployed in New York and Boston.
His efforts were seen as too confrontational. His events were repeatedly shut down, even when he sought to be less confrontational and have discussions with leaders. The work was renewed with greater intensity during the Great Depression but he was in his 60s already and died soon after. Some of his work and antics were recorded in pictures and newsreels.
==Biography== Born August 13, 1874 in Sainte-Hélène-de-Bagot, Quebec, his family soon moved to Biddeford, Maine.<ref name=Lead>{{cite book|author1=Daniel Leab|title=Encyclopedia of American Recessions and Depressions [2 volumes]|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qI6dAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA454|date=15 January 2014|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1-59884-946-2|pages=454–457 | contribution =Ledoux, Urbain (1874-1941) | contribution-url =https://books.google.com/books?id=qI6dAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA454}}</ref> He had limited schooling and began to work to support the family at age nine. He was an altar boy and read French religious books. At 15 he sought to enter the Catholic<ref name=catholic>{{cite book|title=Records of the American Catholic Historical Society of Philadelphia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zVU8AAAAIAAJ&q=ledoux|year=1958|publisher=American Catholic Historical Society of Philadelphia|pages=104–106}}</ref> priesthood at a seminary in Marieville, Quebec.<ref name=Lead/> Two years later he witnessed a case of priest abuse of an altar boy,<ref name=Lead/> quit the priesthood and soon began work at a law firm back in Maine. He also began to organize political clubs, became Republican ward leader, and launched the first French language publications and newspaper stories in Maine.<ref name=Lead/>
In 1895, Ledoux sought an open consulate position with the US Government at the age of 21 and was assigned to Trois-Rivières<ref name=Lead/><ref>{{cite news | title =Desirable berths filled | newspaper =The Morning Times | location =Washington, District of Columbia | page =1 | date =Jul 30, 1897 | url =https://www.newspapers.com/clip/1337999/later_bahai_urbain_j_ledoux_of/ | access-date = Nov 28, 2014}}</ref> where he engaged in promoting business interests, French language and culture in an anglophone environment as well as seeking balance in that advocacy.<ref>{{cite book|author=Yves Roby|title=Franco-Americans of New England: Dreams and Realities|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wtDlfUDxOZMC&pg=PA205|date=23 September 2004|publisher=MQUP|isbn=978-2-89448-391-6|pages=200, 205}}</ref> He was promoted in 1903, and sent as consul to Prague<ref name=Lead/><ref>{{cite book|title=Department of State News Letter| author = Michael J. Guignard |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3A4tAQAAMAAJ|year=1979|publisher=Bureau of Administration|pages = 12–13 | chapter =Pay, promotion and assignments in the early 1900s | chapter-url =https://books.google.com/books?id=3A4tAQAAMAAJ&q=urbain+ledoux}}</ref> where he represented business interests.<ref>{{cite journal | title =As an Intelligence Bureau; How Mr. Ledoux does it in Prague | journal =American Industries | page =3 | location =New York, NY | date =Jun 15, 1906 | url =https://books.google.com/books?id=bFoiAQAAMAAJ&pg=RA1-PA14-IA29 | access-date = Nov 26, 2014 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | title =Representative Consular Officials; Consul Ledoux, of Prague | journal =Dun's Review | edition = International | volume =7 | issue =1 | page =36 | date =Mar 1906 | url =https://books.google.com/books?id=WNA7AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA36 | access-date = Nov 28, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last = Millard | first =Thomas F. | title =Consul Ledoux and his "System" | journal =The American Monthly Review of Reviews | volume =35 | issue =5 | pages =553–555 | location =New York, NY | date =May 1907 | url =https://books.google.com/books?id=kHhHAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA553 | access-date = Nov 28, 2014}}</ref> In 1907 he was promoted again,<ref>{{cite news | title =Diplomats get new locations | newspaper = The Piqua Daily Call | location =Piqua, Ohio | page =2 | date = Sep 9, 1903 | url =https://www.newspapers.com/clip/1338013/later_bahai_urbain_ledoux/ | access-date = Nov 28, 2014}}</ref> but chose not to accept appointment to Brazil.<ref name=Lead/>
He had been challenged that his goals required a means to transform human nature.<ref name=Surveyv47n1>{{cite journal | last =Chenery | first =William L. | author-link =William L. Chenery | title =Mr. Zero, the man who feeds the hungry | journal =The Survey | volume =47 | issue =1 | pages =14–15 | date =Oct 1, 1921 | url =https://archive.org/stream/surveycharityorg47survrich#page/14/mode/2up | access-date = Nov 28, 2014}}</ref> He returned to the States in 1910<ref>{{cite news | title =Missionary and ex-Consul home | newspaper =The New York Times | page =14 | date =Jul 16, 1910 | url =https://www.newspapers.com/clip/1338068/later_bahai_urbain_ledoux_returns_to/ | access-date = Nov 28, 2014}}</ref> and was involved in Boston area peace initiatives the same year.<ref>{{cite journal | last = Mead | first =Edwin D. | author-link =Edwin D. Mead | title =The International School of Peace | journal =New England Magazine | volume =62 | issue =1 | pages =9–16 (see page 16) | date =Sep 1910 | url =https://books.google.com/books?id=VeM5AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA16 | access-date = Nov 28, 2014}}</ref> In 1912 he was working with peace activist Paul Otlet.<ref name="Wright2014">{{cite book|author=Alex Wright|title=Cataloging the World: Paul Otlet and the Birth of the Information Age|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Dos6AwAAQBAJ&pg=PT90|date=31 March 2014|publisher=Oxford University Press, USA|isbn=978-0-19-935420-7|pages=90–93, 132–137}}</ref>
In 1915, Ledoux was working with Baháʼís, especially at Green Acre Baháʼí School, and would later credit many of his actions to the tenets of the Baháʼí Faith.<ref name=Lead/> He was perhaps the third francophone Baháʼí born out of Canada.<ref>{{cite book|author=Will C. van den Hoonaard|title=The Origins of the Baháʼí Community of Canada, 1898-1948|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ntLfAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA94|date=30 October 2010|publisher=Wilfrid Laurier Univ. Press|isbn=978-1-55458-706-3|page=94}}</ref> At the time Sarah Farmer, founder of Green Acre, was ill and had been involuntarily committed to an insane asylum.<ref>{{cite book|author=Leigh Eric Schmidt|title=Restless Souls: The Making of American Spirituality|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Wbk80IOIgzEC&pg=PA210|date=6 August 2012|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=978-0-520-95411-3|pages=210–212}}</ref> Ledoux led the effort to free her<ref name=Lead/> which, though it was confrontational, included the local chief of police and judge in the attempt with a court order.<ref>{{cite news | title =Greenacre head taken with force | newspaper = Boston Post | location =Boston, Massachusetts | page =1 | date =Aug 4, 1916 | url =https://www.newspapers.com/clip/1338073/bahai_urbain_ledoux_and_rescue_of/ | access-date = Nov 28, 2014}}</ref> ʻAbdu'l-Bahá, then head of the religion, praised Ledoux for his work in freeing Farmer.<ref>{{cite journal | last =ʻAbdu'l-Bahá | author-link =ʻAbdu'l-Bahá | title =Tablet to Mr. Vail | journal =Star of the West | volume =9 | issue =14 | page =155 | date =Nov 23, 1918 | orig-year =Dec 27, 1916 | url =http://starofthewest.info/viewer.erb?vol=09&page=155 | access-date =Nov 28, 2014 | archive-date =April 27, 2022 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20220427133316/http://starofthewest.info/viewer.erb?vol=09&page=155 | url-status =dead }}</ref>
That year, Henry Ford financed the Peace Ship mission to attempt to end World War I, setting sail in December 1915. Ledoux attempted to join the expedition, but wasn't accepted. Instead, he jumped off the pier and made a spectacle swimming after the ship – an act that got notice in the newspapers and entered him into public awareness.<ref>{{cite news | title =Fined for Ford ship leap | newspaper =New York Call | location =New York, NY | page =2 | date =Dec 7, 1915 | url =http://fultonhistory.com/Newspaper%2014/New%20York%20NY%20Evening%20Call/New%20York%20NY%20Evening%20Call%201916%20b/New%20York%20NY%20Evening%20Call%201916%20b%20-%201497.pdf | access-date = Nov 25, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Traxel|first=David|title=Crusader Nation: The United States in Peace and the Great War 1898-1920|publisher=Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group|year=2006|location=New York|pages=[https://archive.org/details/crusadernationun00trax/page/209 209]|url=https://archive.org/details/crusadernationun00trax|url-access=registration}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Greg Grandin|title=Fordlandia: The Rise and Fall of Henry Ford's Forgotten Jungle City|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cuKRd7irlrIC&pg=PT47|date=27 April 2010|publisher=Henry Holt and Company|isbn=978-1-4299-3801-3|pages=47–48}}</ref>
As his actions became more pronounced, he protested that his aims were apolitical - that he was neither an agitator nor a Bolshevist – and that his aims were religiously based.<ref name=Lead/><ref name="Folsom">{{cite book|author=Franklin Folsom|title=America Before Welfare|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AEHfqBwP4fkC&pg=PA226|date=1 October 1996|publisher=NYU Press|isbn=978-0-8147-2667-9|pages=226–227}}</ref> He claimed he was trying "to awaken the slumbering conscience of the people."<ref name=Keyssar>{{cite book|author=Alexander Keyssar|title=Out of Work: The First Century of Unemployment in Massachusetts|url=https://archive.org/details/outofworkfirstce0000keys_k3r1|url-access=registration|date=31 March 1986|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-29767-7|pages=[https://archive.org/details/outofworkfirstce0000keys_k3r1/page/238 238]–249}}</ref>
==His institutions== In the vicinity of Greenacre Ledoux opened a "Unity Hotel" in 1917.<ref>* {{cite news | title =Unity hotel to be located on middle street | newspaper =The Portsmouth Herald | location =Portsmouth, New Hampshire | page =8 | date =Jun 13, 1917 | url =https://www.newspapers.com/clip/1338117/bahai_urbain_ledoux_rents_cite_in/ | access-date = Nov 28, 2014}} * {{cite news | title =Ledoux here to open unity hotel | newspaper =The Portsmouth Herald | location =Portsmouth, New Hampshire | page =8 | date =Jul 24, 1917 | url =https://www.newspapers.com/clip/1338132/bahai_urbain_ledoux_in_portsmouth/ | access-date = Nov 28, 2014}} * {{cite news | title =Kindly come and have tea | newspaper =The Portsmouth Herald | location =Portsmouth, New Hampshire | page =4 | date =Jul 28, 1917 | url =https://www.newspapers.com/clip/1338140/bahai_urbain_ledoux_opens_hotel/ | access-date = Nov 28, 2014}}</ref>
During the war he began to assist in the relief of soldiers' families. After the Armistice he began to assist jobless veterans.<ref name=Lead/>
===The Stepping Stone=== [[File:The Stepping Stone, 1919.jpg|thumb|400px|"Stepping Stone" breadline managed by Urbain Ledoux, New York, NY, 1919.]] In April 1919<ref>{{cite news | title =Resume breadline here | newspaper =The New York Times | location =New York, NY | page =4 | date = Apr 1, 1919 | url =https://www.newspapers.com/clip/1336011/bahai_urbain_ledouxs_the_stepping/ | access-date = Nov 25, 2014}}</ref> Ledoux opened a breadline named "The Stepping Stone" near Bowery and 9th Street in NY.<ref>{{cite book|author=Kenneth Ackerman|title=YOUNG J. EDGAR: Hover and the Red Scare, 1919-1920|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LYVuWpgzrAUC&pg=PT31|date=3 November 2011|publisher=Kenneth Ackerman|isbn=978-1-61945-004-2|pages=31}}</ref> He did this with the assistance of some Baháʼís as well as some financial support.<ref name=Remey>{{cite book | last = Remey | first =Charles Mason | author-link =Charles Mason Remey | title =Reminiscences of the Summer School Green Acre | publisher =H-Bahai | volume =1 | edition =revised Haifa, 1955, Reprinted | year = 2005 | orig-year= 1949 | location =Eliot, Maine / Lansing, Michigan | pages =56–58 | url =https://www.h-net.org/~bahai/diglib/MSS/P-T/R/Remey/RGA.htm }}</ref><ref name=EveningTelegram1919>{{cite news | title =Philosophy of Bahai will save U. S. from Bolshevism, says Urbain Ledoux, Bowery Philanthropist, once Diplomatist | newspaper =The Evening Telegram | location =New York, NY | page =3 | date =July 30, 1919 | url =http://fultonhistory.com/Newspapers%206/New%20York%20NY%20Evening%20Telegram/New%20York%20NY%20Evening%20Telegram%201919%20Jul%20-%20Aug%20Grayscale/New%20York%20NY%20Evening%20Telegram%201919%20Jul%20-%20Aug%20Grayscale%20-%200302.pdf | access-date = Nov 25, 2014}}</ref> Mason Remey went down one time to see what it was like and was taken up in the enthusiasm both of the work and the chance to talk.
A picture was taken of "The Stepping Stone"<ref>{{cite journal | last = Kirchwey | first =George W. | author-link =George W. Kirchwey | title =Solving the problem of the unemployed | journal =American Review of Reviews | volume =59 | issue =5 | pages =521–523 | location =New York, NY | date = May 1919 | url =https://books.google.com/books?id=aSTBSImgQxUC&pg=PA521 | access-date = Nov 28, 2014}}</ref> and several newspapers covered its establishment.<ref>* {{cite news | title =Only 3 Ex-Soldiers discovered among 291 in bread lines | newspaper =The Evening World | location =New York, NY | pages =1–2 | date = Apr 3, 1919 | url =https://www.newspapers.com/clip/1335880/bahai_urbain_ledoux_maintained_soup/ | access-date = Nov 25, 2014}} * {{cite news | title =N. Y. Bread line 800 long | newspaper =Tyrone Daily Herald | location =Tyrone, PA | page =1 | date = Apr 3, 1919 | url =https://www.newspapers.com/clip/1336141/bahai_urbain_leboux_and_his_soup/ | access-date = Nov 25, 2014}} * {{cite news | title =Fifty unemployed hired at Greenwood | newspaper =The Brooklyn Daily Eagle | location =Brooklyn, NY | page =16 | date = Apr 10, 1919 | url =https://www.newspapers.com/clip/1335994/urbain_ledoux_running_soup_kitchen/ | access-date = Nov 25, 2014 }} * {{cite news | title =First dry bar has brass rail to fool thirsty | newspaper =New-York Tribune | location =New York, NY | page =1 | date = May 14, 1919 | url =https://www.newspapers.com/clip/1336045/bahai_urbain_ledoux_cooperates_in/ | access-date = Nov 25, 2014}}</ref> Also in April 1919 Ledoux had an article published in ''Star of the West'' called "The Oneness of the World of Humanity".<ref>{{cite journal | last =Ledoux | first = Urbain | author-link =Urbain Ledoux | title =The Oneness of the World of Humanity | journal =Star of the West | volume =10 | issue =11 | pages =211–213 | date =Sep 27, 1919 | url =http://starofthewest.info/viewer.erb?vol=10&page=211 | access-date = Nov 28, 2014}}</ref> In June ʻAbdu'l-Bahá sent a message hoping he would promulgate the Baháʼí religion, human unity, universal peace, and overcome prejudices dividing the world.<ref>{{cite journal | last =ʻAbdu'l-Bahá | author-link =ʻAbdu'l-Bahá | title =Recent Tablet to Juliet Thompson | journal =Star of the West | volume =10 | issue =6 | pages =109–110 | date =June 24, 1919 |orig-year = April 4, 1919 | url =http://starofthewest.info/viewer.erb?vol=10&page=110 | access-date = Nov 28, 2014}}</ref> In August he was one of the signatories of a letter to ʻAbdu'l-Baha hoping for a return trip to the United States.<ref>{{cite journal | title =Supplication to Abdul-Baha from the American friends | journal =Star of the West | volume =10 | issue =8 | pages =156–186 | date =August 1, 1919 | url =http://starofthewest.info/viewer.erb?vol=10&page=157 | access-date = Nov 28, 2014}}</ref> He met Dane Rudhyar who inquired about the religion but did not join.<ref>{{cite book|author=Deniz Ertan|title=Dane Rudhyar: His Music, Thought, and Art|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TPiWIeLmGqgC&pg=PR20|year=2009|publisher=University Rochester Press|isbn=978-1-58046-287-7|pages=20}}</ref> In April 1920 he was a delegate to the national convention of the Baháʼís.<ref>[http://starofthewest.info/viewer.erb?vol=11&page=175 Report of the Twelfth Annual Mashrekol-Azkar Convention;(listing of the delegates)], Star of the West, vol 11, no 11, Sept 27, 1920, (see page 175)</ref> In January 1921 he helped to run a Baháʼí meeting in New York.<ref name=reality>* {{cite journal | title =Baha'i Activities | journal = Reality| editor1=Wandeyne Deuth | editor2=Eugene J. Deuth | volume =3 | issue =1 | pages =41, 43 | publisher =Reality Publishing Company | location =New York, NY | date =Jan 1921 | url =https://books.google.com/books?id=TQ4YAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA41 | access-date = Nov 25, 2014}} * {{cite journal | title =The appeal of Ledoux | journal = Reality| editor1=Wandeyne Deuth | editor2=Eugene J. Deuth | volume =4 | issue =12 | pages =2–4 | publisher =Reality Publishing Company | location =New York, NY | date =Dec 1921 | url =https://books.google.com/books?id=TQ4YAAAAYAAJ&pg=RA10-PA3 | access-date = Nov 25, 2014}}</ref> At the same time he appeared in national media like The Nation.<ref>* {{cite journal | title =On the same day that Secretary Hoover… | journal = The Nation | volume =113 | issue =2934 | page =337 | date =Sep 28, 1921 | url =https://books.google.com/books?id=HRs4AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA337 | access-date = Nov 28, 2014 }} * {{cite journal | title =Human Nature and Unemployment | journal = The Nation | volume =113 | issue =2935 | pages =364–5 | date =Oct 5, 1921 | url =https://books.google.com/books?id=HRs4AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA364 | access-date = Nov 28, 2014}}</ref> A biographical sketch of him appeared in ''The Survey'', a charity journal under Paul Underwood Kellogg,<ref name=Surveyv47n1/><ref>[http://www.socialwelfarehistory.com/organizations/survey-associates-inc/ Survey Associates, Inc.], by Jhansan, The Social Welfare Welfare History Project.</ref> and The New Republic,<ref>{{cite magazine | last = Lovett | first =Robert Morss | author-link =Robert Morss Lovett | title =Urbain Ledoux - Prophet | magazine =The New Republic | volume =28 | issue =357 | pages =152–3 | date =Oct 5, 1921 | url =https://books.google.com/books?id=dYVMAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA152 | access-date = Nov 28, 2014}}</ref> in October and ''The Independent'' in November.<ref>{{cite journal | last = Griscom | first =W. S. | author-link =W. S. Griscom | title =Social Reform and Notoriety | journal =The Independent and the Weekly Review | volume =107 | issue =3793 | page =212 | date =Nov 26, 1921 | url =https://books.google.com/books?id=lP04AQAAIAAJ&pg=PA212 | access-date = Nov 28, 2014}}</ref> Each painted him in different ways.<ref>{{cite book|author=Niven Busch|title=21 Americans|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7OWiAwAAQBAJ|publisher=eNet Press|isbn=978-1-61886-948-7|pages=121–127 | chapter =Snow Man | chapter-url =https://books.google.com/books?id=7OWiAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA121}}</ref> Some of the coverage referenced his advocacy of the Baháʼí Faith,<ref name="EveningTelegram1919" /> and was sometimes confused with Buddhism,<ref name="Surveyv47n1" /><ref>{{cite journal | author1= Bertha Hyde |author2=Marion Carpenter | title =The Bahaists; letters to the editor | journal =The Survey | volume =47 | issue =7 | page =257 | date =Nov 12, 1912 | url =https://archive.org/stream/surveycharityorg47survrich#page/256/mode/2up/ | access-date =Nov 28, 2014 }}</ref> - a confusion that echoes more recently.<ref name="Wright2014" /><ref name="Folsom" /><ref name="Howard2013">{{cite book|author=Ella Howard|title=Homeless: Poverty and Place in Urban America|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3dy1u19R68YC&pg=PA22|date=24 January 2013|publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press|isbn=978-0-8122-4472-4|pages= 22, 42, 59, 86}}</ref>
The 'Stepping Stone' picture was eventually acquired by Getty Images,<ref>{{cite web | title =Editorial #81843344 | work =GettyImages | year =2014 | url =http://www.gettyimages.com/Search/Search.aspx?contractUrl=2&language=en-US&family=editorial&assetType=image&p=Bahai+Fellowship+at+203+East+ | access-date = Nov 25, 2014 }}</ref> has been used some 90 years later<ref>{{cite news | last =Monaghan | first = Angela | title =US wealth inequality - top 0.1% worth as much as the bottom 90% | newspaper =The Guardian | location =New York, NY | date = November 13, 2014 | url =https://www.theguardian.com/business/2014/nov/13/us-wealth-inequality-top-01-worth-as-much-as-the-bottom-90 | access-date = Nov 25, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | last = Laffer | first =Arthur B. |author-link = Arthur B. Laffer | title =Taxes, Depression, and Our Current Troubles | newspaper =Wall Street Journal | date =Sep 22, 2009 | url =https://online.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052970203440104574402822202944230 | access-date = Nov 28, 2014}}</ref> and has been noticed by Baháʼís<ref>{{cite web | last =Dannells | first =George Wesley | title =On Along the Breadline: A Baháʼí Sign of Welcome on Wall Street During the Great Depression | publisher =Bahaiviews.net | date =Sep 22, 2009 | url =http://www.bahaiviews.net/2009/09/22/on-along-the-breadline-a-bahai-sign-of-welcome-on-wall-street-during-the-great-depression/ | access-date = August 14, 2019 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160422080752/http://www.bahaiviews.net/2009/09/22/on-along-the-breadline-a-bahai-sign-of-welcome-on-wall-street-during-the-great-depression/ | archive-date = April 22, 2016}}</ref> and others.<ref>{{cite web | author1=Martin Heilweil| author2=Marcia Crowley | title =Taxes, Depression, and Our Current Troubles; Comments | year =2009 | url = http://www.mrteverett.com/documents/WSJ/Taxes%20Depression%20and%20our%20current%20troubles%2009%2022%2009.doc. | format =doc | access-date = August 14, 2019 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20141205213138/http://www.mrteverett.com/documents/WSJ/Taxes%20Depression%20and%20our%20current%20troubles%2009%2022%2009.doc | archive-date = 2014-12-05 }}</ref>
===Further endeavors=== Ledoux escalated his efforts and organized the unemployed and former soldiers. He set up hotels for them to stay in, tried to get them invited to President Harding's inaugural ball,<ref name="Folsom"/> and eventually ran foul of the law while presenting their case (and them) to the socialites of New York. He escalated his efforts with a public "slave auction" of jobless war veterans<ref name=Lead/><ref name="Folsom"/> on the steps of the New York Public Library. The authorities began to systematically reject his applications for events. In 1921, he repeated the action in Boston and had some success,<ref name="Folsom"/><ref name="Bragdon2006">{{cite book|author=Claude Bragdon|title=More Lives Than One|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aDGBYME9CQsC&pg=PA93|date=1 November 2006|publisher=Cosimo, Inc.|isbn=978-1-59605-359-5|pages=93–97, 265}}</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=zEAoAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA136 The shepherd of the unemployed], The Single Tax Review, vol 21, no 5, Sept-Oct, 1921, p. 136</ref> including getting 150 people jobs,<ref>{{cite journal | last =Powers | first =James H. | author-link =James H. Powers | title = The ''Times'' and Unemployment | journal =The Nation | volume =113 | issue =2936 | page =402 | date =Oct 12, 1921 | url =https://books.google.com/books?id=HRs4AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA402 | access-date = Nov 28, 2014}}</ref> but after a major row he became less confrontational, instead relying on churches for contributions for relief to the poor.<ref name="Folsom"/> He gained an audience with President Harding but it did not lead to a change.<ref name=Keyssar/> While in Washington, he gave several talks at the Baháʼí Center though in his enthusiasm some of his points were clearly off base compared to those of the faith.<ref name=Remey/> Refusing to learn the formal teachings of the religion, the remainder of his talks were canceled.<ref name=Remey/> Meanwhile, he was praised as a mystic.<ref>{{cite journal | last =Hobart | first = Ethel | author-link =Ethel Hobart | title =A Modern Mystic | journal =The Survey | volume =47 | issue =8 | page =272 | date =Nov 19, 1921 | url =https://archive.org/stream/surveycharityorg47survrich#page/272/mode/1up/ | access-date = Nov 28, 2014}}</ref> While away from Boston, much of what he had set up had been dismantled. He tried to move the starving to another hotel. In a confrontation with the desk clerk, he quoted passages from the Gospel of Matthew but the clerk was not moved enough to allow them to stay.<ref name="Folsom"/>
Ledoux broadened his advocacy for all the unemployed and labored further for years before and during the Great Depression. In one stunt he would hold a lantern "looking for an honest man" or "a Christian delegate" who would address the wrongs in society; eventually he drew attention to Eugene V. Debs.<ref name="Folsom"/> He downplayed the inspiration of the Baháʼí Faith because of xenophobic fears among the public.<ref name=Lead/> Films were taken of him trying to promote the work.<ref>{{cite web | title =Hoboes Shun Bowery Dives to Sip Brew at Philanthropist's Bar, New York | work =Films from the 1930s | publisher =Critical Past | date =Mar 3, 1932 | url =http://www.criticalpast.com/video/65675040730_Philanthropists-Bar_growler-of-beer_people-playing-cards_bartender | access-date = Nov 25, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | author1= pappasl | title =Feature Video–Thanksgiving 2012–Mr Zero gives to the needy | work =Moving Image Research Collections | publisher = University of South Carolina | date =Nov 20, 2012 | url =http://library.sc.edu/blogs/mirc/feature-video-thanksgiving-2012-mr-zero-gives-to-the-needy/ | access-date = Nov 25, 2014 }}</ref> Pictures were taken too.<ref>* {{cite web | title =Men Willing to Work for One Dollar a Week | publisher =Corbis Corporation | url =http://www.corbisimages.com/stock-photo/rights-managed/VV8412/men-willing-to-work-for-one-dollar | access-date = Nov 28, 2014}} * {{cite web | title =Mr Zero Handing out Free Meal Tickets | publisher =Corbis Corporation | url =http://www.corbisimages.com/stock-photo/rights-managed/VV8427/mr-zero-handing-out-free-meal-tickets | access-date = Nov 28, 2014}}</ref>
He died in April 1941, with his daughter Yvette having moved there to help him.<ref>{{cite book|author=Brian Busby|title=A Gentleman of Pleasure: One Life of John Glassco, Poet, Memoirist, Translator, and Pornographer|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Q77uC361dbgC&pg=PA327|date=14 March 2011|publisher=MQUP|isbn=978-0-7735-8628-4|pages=327}}</ref> Obituaries were published by Associated Press and United Press International as well as independently.<ref>* {{cite news | title =Mr. Zero Dies in New York | newspaper =Arizona Independent Republic | location =Phoenix, Arizona | page =8 | date =Apr 10, 1941 | url =https://www.newspapers.com/clip/1342807/obit_of_urbain_ledoux/ | access-date = Nov 28, 2014}} * {{cite news | title ='Mr. Zero,' friend of Bowery Bum, dies | newspaper =The Daily Republican | location =Monongahela, Pennsylvania | page =1 | date =Apr 9, 1941 | url =https://www.newspapers.com/clip/1342803/obit_of_urbain_ledoux/ | access-date = Nov 28, 2014}} * {{cite news | title =Body of Bowery's 'Mr. Zero' to lie in State until Sunday | newspaper =The Brooklyn Daily Eagle | location =Brooklyn, New York | page =15 | date =Apr 10, 1941 | url =https://www.newspapers.com/clip/1342802/obit_of_urbain_ledoux/ | access-date = Nov 28, 2014}}</ref> In 1973 an Ed.D thesis was done on Ledoux.<ref>{{cite thesis | last = Woolfson | first =William Charles | title =Mr. Zero : a memoir-biography of Urbain Ledoux | publisher =Laurence University | year =1973 | oclc =28372998 }}</ref>
==See also== * List of peace activists
==Further reading== *{{cite book|author1=Daniel Leab|title=Encyclopedia of American Recessions and Depressions [2 volumes]|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qI6dAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA454|date=15 January 2014|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1-59884-946-2|pages=454–457 | contribution =Ledoux, Urbain (1874-1941) | contribution-url =https://books.google.com/books?id=qI6dAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA454}} *{{cite book|author=Alexander Keyssar|title=Out of Work: The First Century of Unemployment in Massachusetts|url=https://archive.org/details/outofworkfirstce0000keys_k3r1|url-access=registration|date=31 March 1986|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-29767-7|pages=[https://archive.org/details/outofworkfirstce0000keys_k3r1/page/238 238]–249}} *{{cite book|author=Niven Busch|title=21 Americans|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7OWiAwAAQBAJ|publisher=eNet Press|isbn=978-1-61886-948-7|pages=121–127 | chapter =Snow Man | chapter-url =https://books.google.com/books?id=7OWiAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA121}} *{{cite book|author=Claude Bragdon|title=More Lives Than One|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aDGBYME9CQsC&pg=PA93|date=1 November 2006|publisher=Cosimo, Inc.|isbn=978-1-59605-359-5|pages=93–97, 265}} *{{cite thesis | last = Woolfson | first =William Charles | title =Mr. Zero : a memoir-biography of Urbain Ledoux | publisher =Laurence University | year =1973 | oclc =28372998 }}
==References== {{Reflist|2}}
==External links== {{Commons category}} * [https://www.flickr.com/photos/washington_area_spark/sets/72157662274982769 Biographical photo gallery on Flickr] * [http://www.travelfilmarchive.com/item.php?id=12044 A tour of The Bowery in New York City during the American depression (1930s)] (Mr. Zero's bread line is shown in the last minute]
Some blogs have referenced his work: * [http://www.bahaiviews.net/2009/09/22/on-along-the-breadline-a-bahai-sign-of-welcome-on-wall-street-during-the-great-depression On Along the Breadline: A Baháʼí Sign of Welcome on Wall Street During the Great Depression], by George Wesley Dannells, Baha'i Views, Sep 22, 2009 * [https://web.archive.org/web/20160304213343/http://thisaintthesummeroflove.blogspot.com/2011/08/mr-zero-real-life-story-of-urbain-j.html Mr Zero - The Real Life Story of Urbain J. Ledoux], Friend to the Down-and-Outers (1874 - 1941), August 2, 2011 * [http://evgrieve.com/2009/03/at-tub-christmas-1933.html At the Tub, Christmas 1933], EV GRIEVE, March 18, 2009
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ledoux, Urbain}} Category:Consuls for the United States Category:American Baháʼís Category:American anti-poverty advocates Category:1874 births Category:1941 deaths Category:Converts to the Bahá'í Faith from Catholicism Category:20th-century Baháʼís