Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1889-12-14
MEN WHO HATE WORK.
Shifts to Which Bummers Resort to
Escape from Labor.

Shifts to Which Bummcrs Resort to
Escape from Labor.
| WHAT TOO DETECTIVES TOLD STAR REPORTER
HOW THE TRANPs MIGRATE-scESEs IN
LODGING HoUsE--A STORY OF NICKEL WHICH
SUPPORTED MAN ALL WINTER.
Detectives Horne and Mahon have been at
work in an effort to suppress or reduce the num-
bers OF the class of men known in police parlance
| as buns. STAR reporter asked these officers
who were the fellows designated by this name.
| why" said Detective Horne, 'they are people
who do not believe in work. and sup pose that
| IL Is useless to say that the country is full OF
| them. Some of them are good thieves, while
there are others who would not steal. 1t is
strange that there are so many of these people
who are permitted to travel all over this
country and without getting jagged very often"
| WHAT MAKES ONE OF THEM.
'What constitutes one of these fellows?' in
terrupted the reporter.
Nothing" was the reply. "They are
nothingi they know nothing; never do
| anything. All a man has to do to join
That army OF dangerous people is to leave
| nome, change his name, and be willing to cast
MS LOT In any town where the sun shines warm
! enough to get along without an ovcrcoat. A
| pun never has an overcoat because it would
| De III his way and operate against his chances
| OF success. It's singular that there are so
many young men travelling about the country,
| as 1t were, with no aim in life Some Of them
start out from home when under fifteen years
ola anu without cent in their pockets. Some
/ no doubt start for the wild west under the i'm
huence OF dime literature. while others are born
| touShs and want to be thieves. There are some,
100, who start out for easy life merely because
| they are lazy. Now and then an honest la boring
man may fall in with such people and the in
| huence OF bad company soon puts him off the
| right track and he becomes one of the gang
| linen he Is satisfied and all travel together,
| north III summer and south i'll winter. Nothing
III the world can stop their periodic migrations
| unless they are necessarily detained in some
city by the officers of the law. From town to
| town they wend their way, sometimes on
| heights and some times on foot. If the weather
Is not too chilly they don't mind few miles
| walk, but then that is u rare exception. When
| they strike a town the coal dust from the cars
| Is usually visible on them unless they
Jump the train out of town and wash
up Tor the occasion. On the outskirts of the
| towns they can usually manage to get a break
| fast, and then toward noon they reach the
| business portion or down town. as they call it.
A free lodging house or a cheap one is selected
and down goes their name on the register.
They never expect to remain long in one city,
anu that's why they select cheap place."
MANY COME HERE.
|
ooh, yes; they have been coming for several
weeks and in larger numbers than heretofore.
l think there are more of the free and easy
class here now than there has been at any time
| in many years."
Where do they spend their timer" repeated
! the detective. why, they hang about lumber
yards and on the outskirts of the town during
| the day and at night they turn up on Pennsyl-
! vania avenue, 7th street and other business
streets Some of them play good game of
bluff by pretending to sell goods of their own
| manufacture, such as toys and other little
! articles, but of course none of them expects
| to make living in that way. They get them
selves up III all sorts of styles in order to max @
an impression upon the charitable people, from
| whom they ask assistance. One of their chief
| games is to use croton oil and appear as n
| working man who has been scalded in some
! factory. All that the case requires is the ey-
| penditure of cents for croton oil, which is
rubbed on the arm below the elbow and covers
a portion OF the hand. The oil naturally
blisters the skin and gives it the appearance of
| having been scalded. Vaseline rags are APP
| piled and the arm is carried beneath the coat,
| but not inside the sleeve. Taking his position
| in the flaring light beneath a lamp post the
| bum lies in wait for victim. He doesn't
| have to wait long for some man with kind
| heart Then the bum thrusts his arm in
front of the citizen and braces him for nickel
The chances are that he will get at least dime,
! unless the man is O doubling Thomas and
calls upon the disabled one for an explanation
| The latter is fully prepared to meet the de-
| mand, and when he lifts the cloth from his arm
| the gas light shows up the croton oil wound
| with wonderful effect and fully convinces the
| citizen that the poor man is worthy of what he
| can get The result is that instead of getting
a dime he gets quarter or half dollar and
| sometimes he gets even more than that.
| BOGUS FRACTURE.
| "Another racket they work SUCCESSFULLY"
I ha of sic fba
trick. That is played with equally as good if
not better luck than the other. They use the
splints and tie their arms up so nicely that one
| is not likely to doubt their pitiful stories One
who resorts to this deception practices it fear
| lessly both day and night. as the fraud can
| only be proven by unwrapping the supposed
| broken member. Some time ago arrested one
| Of these beggars and escorted him to head
| quarters. When l reached there 1 sent for a
doctor, but the bum gave the doctor the
| bluff. The spllnts were arranged as nicely as
| though physician had handled them.
| III you unwrap this he said to the DOCTOR
and injure my arm. III hold you responsible
for the damage done The doctor thereupon
declined to undertake the job. Another doc
tor was called in. He spent some time in TAX
| ing the splints from the arm and making the
examination, and at last he discovered that
| the young man was feigning and then the latter
| had good laugh.
| During the day and evening many of them
go to private houses, ostenslbly to beg for food.
| They never think of ringing a door bell or
rapping, but open the door and walk into the
hallway. If they discovered they
shove out their tied-up hand or arm
and beg for something to eat, but if on
the contrary they are not discovered they
| snatch something from the hat rack and sneak
| off. The only thing to do with them is to drive
| them out Of town or send them to the work
house. 1t is not easy, however, to drive them
| from town. Instead of leaving the city they
| only 60 to another section of it and there
remain until they have either taken a trick or
| are again arrested. A single dose of working
| on the farm will cure most Of them and if
| more OF them were sent there the city would
| not be overrun with that class of transient
| visitors.
| WHERE THE DIME WENT.
"The other evening Detective Mahon and
myself" Mr.. Horne continued, "were standing
near the junction of 7th and Pennsylvania ave-
| nue., when one of these fellows came along and
| asked for assistance. We suspected him. but
when he swore he hadn't had a square meal for
several days we rsked dime on him. He then
went in the direction of an eating house and
we continued our journey. We were investi-
eating case at the time, and, to secure some
information, we went into a dive down town.
| After being there several minutes in walked
| three buns, and one of them was the one TO
whom we had just given a dime.
Three stove pipes he shouted, and down on
| the counter went our dime and some other DER.
sons nickel. The three men drank the beer