Middletown transcript., 1876-09-09
THE TRAMP NUISANCE.
Where tIksy Come From.

8 r
THE TRAMP NUIsANCE.
Whore thsy Coms From.
Tramps are new feature in Amer
ican life. True, We have always bad {
few. very poor men, women, and lads
who. when unemployed, would wearilJ
plod their way along the dusty higt
roads, sheltered lanes. and by-paths, in
search Of work, but never, until recently
we're tramps 60 numerous as to amount
to distinct class. nor, until this year,
were they the cause Of suspicion and
alarm. Migrants there undoubtedly were
dishonest some of them may have
been, but generally in times gone by
they were regarded as unfortunate and
as proper objects Of sympathy. Farmers
freely gave them a snack or q meal, a
glass Of milk, leave to lodge in the barn,
or other out building or to sleep by the
haycocks. Often they furnished the
tramp with employment for a day or
two. pittance in money. advice, and a
"God-speed." In the hard times Of
1887, and the yet harder period Of 1912,
when shrinkage in values was at the
lowest point much the worst times that
we ever knew-when tens and tens of
thousands of honest toilers sought work
and found none, those who took to the
road comparatively they were few
and jourueyed onward Offering their
labor to any who might need it, werc
honest men. They were truly unem-
ployed mechanics and industrious labor
crs, whose privation commanded SYM
pathy and received it. The tramps Of
1876 are different class entirely They
may be honest laborers. willing and in
dustrious-sober men seeking work, but
they belle all such symptoms "most
damnably. They excite far other
feelings than those Of distrust and fear.
To analyze the cause Of this great and
alarming change in the character of
tramps, and the prodigious increase Of
their number over anything hitherto
known, is problem 10 social science
that calls on the most patient, searching
and philosophic We confess our ina
bility to deal with it. At best We can
but chronicle facts and hint thought.
With the enormous increase in our pop
ulation- n-prodigiously in excess. beyond
all precedent, in our great eitiesaud their
immediate vicinities, stupendous aug
mentation Of numbers which has been
caused chiefly BY migration from Europe
has come an immense influx Of reck-'
less, shiftless vagabonds aclass fpoor
uneducated, debased laborers and half
trained workmen, the victims Of cen.
turies Of oppression and bad government
in the lands Of their birth, to whom
vagabondage is an inheritance, a normal
and natural condition, even a genial
life; fellows that burn hayricks in Great
Britain, or scum that froths as Com
munists and disgraces them in periods
of tumult on the Continent. They are
ignorant, lazy, and thieving in their
nature from the cradle to the grave. It
is this Importation Of sloth aud vice that
the tramps Of the present day.
Of course, the slunks and rowdies Of in
digenous origin though they are feeble
in numbers, there are none baser-join
them. lead them, and plan the routes
and depredations ofthe gangs This is
the character Of the tramps who now
throng our highways and crossroads,
lurking at night around barns and farm
houses, stoning railway trains, and pill
laying wherever they think they may
DO it with impunity. They have be-
come an unmitigated nuisance, and
unless soon repressed will become q
plague and terror. They leave the
cities to prey on the rural districts. They
should be arrested at once and commit
ed to the nearest poorhouse as vsgrants
and there made to work. The increase
IF the poor rates in the counties where
hey may be arrested and confined may,
40 doubt. deter short-sighted county
commissioners from suggesting or en-
such arrests The officials
will hope that the offenders will tramp
IN over the borders Of their county into
he next. and that no similar swarm
nay succeed them. But, sooner or
ater, the nuisance will spread. and be-
,ome so common and unbearable as to
compel general and sudden measures
or self-protection. English novelists
lave written many pages Of sentiment |
md humor on English tramps. Viewed |
y the aggregate, the al. .fresco life as
painted BY them, the gypsy camp. shady |
anes. the bivouac on the skirts Of moor |
'r wood, the fragrance Of the camp
Zettles stewing stolen fowls or poached
lares, is almost charming picture of
levil-may- -care life to which Kenelm
}hillingly or other wearied scion Of the
,entry would RON for repose or inspira-
ion. Our tramp is no such fellow as
be novelists picture. He is no stalwart
hap. in highlows and tight fitting cor
luroys; swarthy -hued, dark and curly
laired. with almond-shaped eyes, black,
'rilliant, and burning. betokening in all
hings an Oriental origin-a fellow full
{ grace, agility, and wit. alternately
inging song, supervising stew, or
uoting Shakespeare. Our tramp is a
ow-browed, rum-bloated loafer, with
ig club, big oaths. an ugly knife, and
revolver, who demands, in gruff. for
ign accents. lodging. meat and mus
ard. bread and butter, drink and money;
rho gives no thanks, wants no work,
refers to steal and to intimidate. He
ses the hard times as a pretext for bis
nsolence and thefts. This scum Of
coundrels on the road deter honest
ramps Of the old-fashioned kind from
~nolv ffO.