St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1889-07-21
THE RESULT OF nerve
Tramps Of st. Paul Inspected
at Their Regular RendeZ-
VOuS.
The Tenderfoot Too Timid to
Brace for a Square
Meal.
A Young Attorney Who Rose
From the Ranks of the
Hoboes
By the Assistance of Bill
Erwin and a Timely
Loan.

Along the river front, lolling in va
rious and diverse attitudes under the
shady lee of the st. Paul Packet com
pany's warehouses, the curiosity hunter
may always reckon ON finding choice
collection of ragged, world-tossed hu.
mainly. Some specimens with greasy
SLOUGH hats pulled down over their eyes,
and coat collars upturned to keep the
flies off, are sleeping a ftful, restless
Sleep. Others sit upon the edge of the
wharf, gaze out upon the broad surface
of the old Mississippi and calculate
upon what portion of the town will best
bear working for square meal. Some
of these waits have queer stories to re-
late of the circumstances which reduced
them to the level of the deSpiSed and
reviled Tramp, and the popular idea that
to he once a tramp is necessarily to be
always a tramp doesn't hold good in
fact. as many persons now earning fair
salaries in this city could testify.
Among the men who sat upon the
waters edge yesterday was one who at
tracted the attention OF the scribe. lie
held aloof from the remainder OF the
gang and regarded with an ill-concealed
look of disgust the two frowsy old
timers who, unkempt and un washed, sat
at short distance from him and anon
guyed him for his despairing look,
which was but too apparent.
Tell you what, Gully" quoth one of
the twain, addressing him of the de-
jected air, elf yer don't brace some
body for a square yer'll be a-gOin' to the
bone house, and small loss to the per-
flesh. as | might say; for a more timider
cuss to be workin' the road niver did
See."
"Hain't had square in two days, has
yer, cull?" Queried the other worthy, as
he hauled a section of clammy plug to-
bacco from the recesses of his lll-smell-
ing neither garments. ''Better chaw;
it'll keep away the pangs." The prof
cred plug was refused by negative
gesture on the part of the melancholy
youth, and the well-meaning Occu-
pant of the dirty shirt relapsed into
silence. Accompanying the scribe In
his perambulatiOnS was a successful
young solicitor of the city, who. after
listening interestedly to the foregoing
dialogue, remarked:
perhaps you may doubt it, but when
struck this town was in the same fix
as that lad is in, and sat scheming
on that same wharf, with II ten feet
of the spot he is now occupying. L
didn't know a soul in the place, ladn't
a cent, and my present comparatively
prosperous condition is directly trace
able to an act of desperation to which [
was forced that evening. sat there all
one day, having arrived here in a box
car in the early morning. | made up
my mind at last that | would pick out a
name in the city directory of some rep
utable lawyer. l suppose my predIlec-
ton for member of that profession
was on account of the fact that my
father is lawyer of some prominence
in Ohio. The most prominent legal
luminary | could scare up was w. w.
Erwin, and to ErWin'S Office l went.
When | entered the great Grim
inal lawyer sat tilted back in
a spring chair, and was reading tIe-
mendous law volume. He looked terri
bly, majestic, and my nerve nearly went
back on me. once was face to face
with him. l gulped down my pride.
however, as a hungry man will, don't
care how proud he is, made desperate
dash and stated my case.
Are you MI. Erwin" l said.
The occupant of the chair briefly re-
piled that he was the person named and
asked my business. l had to swallow a
| lump in my throat several times before
| could say any more, but L got down to
| it at last.
".Mr. Erwin said /, Pm Oh my up
pers. | want work, and will work like
| the devil if | get chance, but at pres
| ent Pm hungry, and hugry man can't
work. | want to borrow five dollars OF
| Won T'll return if first chance
after / had said it, felt like going
| through the floor, for the great Will
lam looked at me over the top of the
book, and smiled an I'm onto YOU kind
of smile, which made my blood run
cold. I fully expected he would fire
me bodily from the office, but he
didn't. He began asking me cues
| tiOnS, taking notes of my replies. Then
he gave me the worst razZle-dazzie of g
| cross-eXamination l ever underwent
in my life At last he quit
questioning, me, and began
to sum up. There he sat, the big gun
ofthe Minnesota bar, for fifteen minutes
more time than | supposed he ever had
to spare for client Of so little i'm
| portance as myself. At last he broke
the silence:
"'Guess that's true story he said
| Here's the V. Come to the Office at Il
a. m. tomorrow. I'll Try you on col
| lections.'
Now. it may seem strange to you,
| but | went to an expensive hotel, paid
| dollar for my bed, and as much more
for my breakfast: In the morning
went collecting for my benefactor. and
made good salary, almost all of which
l spent for board at the hotel. BY stay
ior thnrQ Ont p0nn and
useful acquaintance, and l have
been here ever since, working
hard every day collecting fol
number of firms. and | never have
seen the time since Erwin lent me thai
SIS bill that | couldn't produce S20-one
on few minutes notice. Now, I'm go
| ing to lend the melancholy chap over
there dollar. I'll agree to furnish him
job of some kind in a couple of days
and you mark my words, that fellow
wants to work."
No sooner said than done, and in an
other moment the subject of Old FrOw-
| sy's boneyard prediction was off to
ward the nearest restaurant, his car
rage more erect by several degrees
| than had been the case few moments
| previously, and with the address of the
| donor of the dollar in his inside pocket
sWell, don't that beat h-ll, Cull?' re-
marked one OF the old-timers who had
| witnessed the transaction.
s'Never seed the like in all my per
fesh'nl experience" responded Gully
| No. 2. L.
WAGE-EARNE JUNKET.
St. Paul Park a Likely Location
! for the Labor Colony.
If the Wage-Earners' Cooperative