The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1879-03-07
Tramps and Tramp Laws.

AS spring approaches the tramps begin to
leave their winter quarters in almshouses and
roam over the land in search of everything
but work. Their appearance brings up the
question again, "What shall be done to abate
the nuisance?" Tramp acts have been pass
ed in many of the Northern and Western
States, and number of cities have enforced
laws declaring that those who are able but I'M
q willing to work shall not be fed. The effect
of these laws has been to drive able bodied
tramps away from such localities, and they
consequently seek refuge in more favored
of the law. That the professional tramp
breads nothing so much as an offer of employ
ment, is well known to every farmer The
fact was abundantly proved last year by the
impossibility of getting laborers to harvest
the crops in some of the Western States, while
the country swarmed with thousands of idle
men, who would rather starve than work.
These Migrants actually burned reaping ma
chimes in the fields, on the ground that they
were taking bread out of their mouths. That
tramps will not work has also been shown by
the experience of cities where work has been
provided for them. In our own State, the
new House of Correction will probably have
wholesome effect upon the more trouble
some of these nomads. Imprisonment with
out compelling them to work has no fears for
the tramp, but when the two are combined
they take the utmost pains to excuse them
selves. The New York World collates evil
dence of this sort against tramps, as follows
providence found work for all corners in her
public work-yard at so cents day In the last
six months of 1878 she entertained only LOSS
guests against 3, 1863 during the same period of
1877, while the dodgers at her police stations who
were also required to work, diminished from
5,l9l to 1868 Hartford inaugumted stone-yard
on New Years Day. Within twelve hours her
station-house dodgers fell off from 81 to Is, and
during the month of January only 300 tramps
put in an appearance, as against =, 032 in January
1873. In Peabody, Mass, stoncyard was estab
lished where two hours work paid for the lodg-
er's bed and breakfast. In 1873 the town was
visited by but 437 tramps, though ITO had pass
ed through it in 1877. New Hampshire has
stringent but just Tramp act, under which there
have been only three convictions but those three
convictions sufficed to give the brotherhood the
alarm, and the tramps have disappeared, to the
great relief of the local authorities and the abso
lutte cessation of outragcs upon women. Massa-
chusetts talks of settling the matter summarly
somewhat in the manner of the st. Bartholomew,
by laying strong hand on all her tramps upon
given day, giving work to those who can prove
that they are in quest of work and imprisonng
the others. Maine has introduced law similar
to that in force in New Hampshire. Connecti-
cut, though she shrinks from the lash which little
Delaware uses with such good results, proposes
TO punish tramping with long imprisonment
Vermont has rigid law in operation, the effects
of which are seen in the etluX of tramps from the
United States into Canada. In the Western States
still more stringent legislation has been discuss
ed, Ohio proposing sentence of Imprisonment of
from one year to three, and Illinois suggesting
an Imprisonment of fifteen months or less, with
scvercr penalties for otfenses against persons or
property. Inasmuchas it would be absurd to in
fer that the % per cent. of the tramps who disap-
pear from the localities in which their presence
has been sternly discouraged have abandoned
theiridle habits and entered the army of industry
it is question of great Importance to the com
monwealths which as yet have adopted no such
legislation how they are this summer to deal with
the increased hordes of sturdy beggars which
will inevitably pour in upon them from less hos
pitable or better administered Statcs'