The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1890-08-17

| IEODl Gu6 SOluSu buOE6S VI NIdlllOluld W
| Philadelphia to look into the inventive gen
Jus of our people, when l saw the neces-
| sity for action, soil secured pen, ink and
paper and formulated the following which
will show our object and intention:
| The necessity having arisen when, we,
| who are sworn foes to labor which far
| from enobling mankind, degrades it and
having to submit tamely to insults of a
varied character, when we ask for food or
ride on some millionaire freight train, ind
! it the prerogative of citizen of this great
republic to act for ourselves Independent
| OF the police or other peace officers, declare,
! THAT all crosstie, brake-beam, blind
| baggage or box car tourists are eligible 10
membership.
2-That we are known by.our strong aver
| sion to work.
| 3-That we are bound to inform each
other where bulls, dogs and wood piles re-
! side
THAT we accept any thing, food. clothes
or Migrants sentence.
5-That five constitute working quorum
and our meetings can be held at any time,
| even If it be in the county jail.
| You see we had been run in by the cops
at the Centennial when asking for bread
and as the world owes US living, we or
ganized our league. We count as members
in good standing, men of all professions, all
colors. all tongues and all descriptions.
! Here, am five miles out of Los Angeles and
would you believe me left New York only
ten days ago. l rode in every shap; esome-
times I'd ride on top of a passenger coach
! but don't like that on account or the
cinders and smoke from the engine. some
times I ride on the blind baggage of the
express or mail car; whilst oftener on the
brake beam or in green line sleeper. May
be you don't know what we call green
| line sleeper-well that's box car. Do |
| off the tCaipCl Wpl1 I'D inst
| calculate, the brakemen and conductors
| often get on to US and then commences a
game of hide and seek and we generally
hide for another short ride. Do | walk
much. No, pard it's contrary to our regu-
| lations to wear out our shoes. We stop at
| water tanks, switches and out-of town
places where trains stop, when we very
generally catch a freight or night express.
| can cross the continent without dime in
! eight days.
| The other day down there at Ell Paso L
met Slim Jim, Black Hills Tom, Vermont
Dick and Arizona Billy, and of course we
had an impromptu meeting of the league.
As president l called upon them to relate
| their experience, when Black Hills Tom,
who had been rusticating in New Orleans,
reported thusly: II have lived high ami
never sawed a stick. AS the climate of
Orleans was In keeping with my wearing
apparel, slept peacefully in the suburbs
and without molestation. | consider the
police and people of the Crescent city the
| best [ ever met. Ineyer served vagrant
sentence there.n Next came Slim jim,
who had been doing Texas. His report
was after this fashion: Run in in Calves
ton for ninety DAYS for asking minister to
give me the price of a bed. Given ten min
utes to leave Houston and served ten days
in San Antonio. Got one square meal from
a swill barrel in Austin, and warned to de-
| part by the cross tie route from both Dallas
and Fort Worth. [ warn all members to
keep the country roads of Texas if they de-
sire to live on the fat of the land, and avoid
the vermin, corn bread and fat bacon of
! Texas jallS.n
| The reports from the others were of a
similar nature, the one saying he had Jared
well; whilst the other filed a protest
| against New Mexico and Arizona as poor
fields for food of any character. 1t was
now bed time and tired l lay down to sleep
very soundly. Early in the morning l
awoke and entering the hotel Office found
my friend up and ready to do ample justice
to the tempting breakfast soon to be set
before us. After satisfying the inner man,
l told Mr.. McGruder, president of the
American Tourists league, uhatI would go
no farther for the present, that [ was
knight of the quill, that L was at this sub
urban town on newspaper business and
that when q leisure moment strayed In my
direction, would put his story in print
$50 you are journalist" quoth he, land
not q man of leisure-why your occupation
is that of nerve and brain, whilst mine is of
brain and nerve. To explain, it takes
nerve to put in print certain articles and
brain to put them in presentable shape to
be read by a critical public; with me its
brain to study up just how to catch
train without being caught IN the act
and nerve to present myself at the hind
end of a palatial residence aud ask for food.
| SO you see we are united by strong ties.
Pard, in putting me in print, doit fearlessly,
have to wear out more shoe leather till
reach the water tank, eight miles from
here when | shall jump train. Well,
| goodbye. I'll see you in Frisco if you
come that way, | am due there in three
days and must make it. Thanks for your
Kindness" Shaking hands with him, he
! trlpped lightly up the track, seemingly
happy and contented. He was "a genuine
tramp. OF good education and perhaps
well raised he had done nothing but roam
the world for over twenty years. He did
not grumble at his lot, he felt that he had
certain things to perform In life and was
filling that measure acceptably. His ways
speech and general demeanor bespoke for
him an aristocracy for which only orr
nabob millionaires are noted. His pompous,
declaration against labor as degrading
stamped him in my mind as an aristocrat
of ante-bellum days and well does he hold
his place as the king of tramps as such is
the title due him by virtue of his being
president OF their anti-labor association
Ofl-ti1nes thought of writing the sketch
of this character and as that leisure mo-
| ment has shOUn have dome m boct to NO.,