Morris tribune. [volume] (Morris, Minn.) 1880-2000, 1884-03-26
THE TRAMP'S CIPHER.
Begging Become a Regularly Organ
lied Profession.
Signs which the Tramp Fraternity
Chalk On the Gate POStS'.iI
Marks for the Di.
rectOPy.
milwaukee Sentinel.

Liz lSpOIIei SuSSeStSi Uuo ~ oPiiOoJ VI
two quarts of beer and a comfortable hay
loft, which was enthusiastically seconded,
The tramp carried the beer after the re-
porter promised to come around and pay for
it some day.
"I'm no beggar," began he with much flu
ency, "and always make it a practice to rem
der some equivalent in promises for faVors
received. But I know all the ropes of the
boys, and it may be that I'll have to come
come down to their level some day. Begging
is, in reality, a regularly organized pro-
fession, the principal varieties of which are
termed Turks the fire lurk pretended losses
by fire.; the shipwrecked sailors Turk; the
foreigners Turk; the accident Turk; the sick
Turk pretended Illness; some tie up their
arms in a very clever way; others feign fits;
others remain in bed Stimulating illness,
while they send out their companions to beg
for them; the deaf and dumb Turk; the
servants lurk (pretended loss of employment
through an explosion; the weayers', calep-
derers and cotton-spinners' turks. To these
may be added the Shallow cove or 'shiver-
Jenny who goes about half naked, and the
'high-fyer,' who Stimulates the broken-down
gentleman, officer or tradesman.
The happy tramp talked as freely as though
the listener was of his own. 1t would require
book to deal comprehensively with all the
receptions and DISCUSSES of these fellows as
there is hardly source of human suffering
or a passing calamity Of any magnitude
which they do not endeavor to turn to their
advantage.
The following are the signs chalked by the
fraternity on doors and gate-posts for the in
formation Of their brethren:
This road is better than the other.
They will buy if you have what they
want
Good for something to eat.
i Religious; but good on the whole.
x No good.
Spoilt by too many tramps calling.
Likely to have you taken up.
Dangerous; sure of being imprisoned.
The upper-crust of the fraternity Chose
that are "well-ixed," in the cities resort to
the directories in public places, and mark
the names of the "good ones" Several
thousand are thus marked in New York and
Chicago, and the "gangs" that profit by this
system are well organized and number from
ten to thirty members.
The following are their marks, with their
meanings:
- Means doubtful, OF not called on before.
= Means good or likely to give.
X Means very good, or very likely to give.
81 know of a gang of over twenty persons
in one of the big towns, who make at least
$40 week each.
"The letters and petitions sent or presented
are skillful fabrications or forgeriesi some7
times they are sent by post but more FREE
quently they are presented in person.
"The petitions often profess to be signed by
the mayor, and have attached to them excel
lent limitations of the signatures of a number
of influential people who are stated to have
contributed to the case. Sometimes the case
is that of a laundress whose horse has taken
fright and dashed her van to pieces, injuring
her only son and causing her great loss, At
other times the case is that of widow in dis
tress, whose husband has died under affecting
circumstances and left her unprovided for
the circumstances varying with the supposed
social position of the husband; or widow is
represented as being in danger Of ruin in cons
sequence Of her shop being robbed by burg
lars, of her having an execution on her house,
or of her cow having died of pleuropneu-
| nonia.
"Frequently the members Of the gang as
sumo variety Of characters, and call upon
people without letters OF petitions and recon-
mend one another for assistance on every
kind of plea-an invalid child requiring to be
placed in an asylum, a distressed tradesman
or foreigner, singer of celebrity
who has fallen into poverty, or a sufferer by
shipwreck or fire. Sometimes the members of
the gang call singly, at other times they work
in parties of four OF six, two going into the
house while the others keep watch in the
neighborhood to give warning of danger.
"The names of the neighboring clergy are
freely used, either as writers of recommends,
tory letters accompanying petitions, or as
contributors of references; or the visiting
cards Of people of position are employed as
introductions, these cards having been taken
from the card baskets lying in the halls oil
other people.
"The leaders of such gangs read all the so
cial news in the papers to be posted about ths
movements of the fashionable world, and
they make it practice to supply themselves
with any kind of reference that may prove
useful. You may ask why I am not one Of
the kinda Well, l am not tony and go or
an occasional bust Good night"