The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1875-03-01
EXIT TRAMPS.
TO Prevent COntagi0n and Disease,
the CITY Authorities Order Them TO
Leave the City-something that
ought TO Have Been Done Long

Ago.
For the past two months, or more
properly speaking, since the establish
ment of the Soup House, Wheeling
has been inundated with speci'
mems of the genus homo, designated
"tramps' These rowing pauper:
have afflicted nearly all cities of any size
during the past winter. and precisely
what obligations rest upon municipal OF
private bencvolcnce in helping them is Il
question which has not yet been deter
mined in any of the cities: yet the course
of events here have compelled the au'
thorities to take positive measures to rid
our community of all element that were
breeding contagion and disease, if not
crime.
On an average, about one hundred OF
this floating population have been quar-,
tered in our midst, receiving the benefit
of free soup and lodging. That some OF
these men were worthy and deserved the
sympathy and assistance of our people,
none will deny yet four-hfths them
were nothing more than vagabonds, un-
willing to work, or make an effort to earn
| livelihood fact too utterly worthless
and lazy to attempt to keep themselves
clean. Day after day, night after night
these men have been permitted to wallow
and sleep in their dirt and nastiness, in
the police court room, until now we have
disease and pestilcnce following in their
wake. In no city in the United States
have these worthless Stragglers been car
ed for as well and continually As in
Wheeling. Most OF the time they have
been furnished two meals per day by the
Citizens Relief Association, and the
right to the possession of the Police Court
room, for lodging purposes, was I'M
questioned and undisputed. This
state of affairs, made Wheeling "bum-
mers paradise" or sort of "bonanza,'
and is it strange they hocked here
forty in one body arriving Saturday.
This influx Of pensioners for charity, and
the fact that filthy and dreaded disease
the small-pox-had broken cut
among them, was sufficient cause for the
authorities to take decisive measures for
the protection of our people. Accord
ingly Mayor Sweeney issued an order
Saturday night, notifying all trampa that
they would have to leave the city Sun
day, yesterday, or at least seek other
lodgings. Capt. Davis and his deputies
appeared at the Court room
yesterday morning and cleared the
establishment of about one hundred and
fifteen tramps, and notified them if found
Longing around the city, they would be
arrested as Migrants. Some of the men
did not take kindly to their unexpected
and summary notice to vamose the
rancho, and were very insolent in their
remarks on the subject. They
all took their departure, how
ever, and a great many
babe adieu to the scenes of Wheeling life
and Immediately Jumped the town
The Mayor requests us to ask the citi-
Zens to unite with the authorities in the
effort to get rid of the tramps. They
will probably besiege the houses of our
people for aims rs the officers
of the Citizens Relief AS
ISOLATION have shut down on furnish
ing them any meals. Hereafter none
but the resident poor of the city will be
supplied with food at the Soup House.
Let these things of evil be banished
from our midst and the way to accom-
pllsh it is for every citizen to refuse to
give any assistance to them. They
will then seek fields and pastures new.
| Wheeling has done her whole duty in
the matter Of providing for the paupcrs
! of other cities, and the action of the
authorities in this matter will undou oted-
~ meet with the approval of the sensible
portion of the community. The only
fault to be found is, that they did not
act promptly enough. Let us hope that
nothing serious will result from the
delay
There were some wild rumors atloat on
the streets yesterday about the number
of cases of smallpox discovered among
the tramps, we state on authority Of DR..
Jepson, City Health Officer, that but
two persons had been attacked by the
discas e and they were Immediately re-
moved to the pest house, where they are
getting along very well. During last
week, DR.. Jepson vaccinated over one
hundred of the tramps. During yesier-
day the Police Court room was thor
oughly washed, cleaned and ventilated,
and there is no danger of the spread of
the disease, since the cause of its appear
ancc has been removed.
From the experience that Wheeling
has had this winter, we don't think many
citizens can be induced next year, to con-
tribute to the establishment of a Soup
House.
INTERESTING LECTURE.-Prof. Merit
principal of the Eighth Ward Public
School, delivered an exceedingly inter-
esting lecture, on chemistry, to a large
audience, at the school building on Sat-