Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1892-03-24
TI,AMI's.
THEY ARE NOT ALL PROFESSIONAL.
uuMMEl,s AS Is OFTEN SUPPOSED.

lfr0m HaptTs Tteilyl
The tramp take. many chances Of
accident In Ills mode Of travelling. He
Is subject not only to the ordinary
risks which all passengers assume, but
from the class Of trains ON which he
generally Rides, the places he takes ON
the cars, and his poor opportunities Of
entering and leaving thvm In safety,
TO others which the regular passenger
escapes. a great number nro annually
killed while riding between the express
and mail ears or on tho brake beams.
In event Of n collision, they have
inhHi.ely less chance than the piss
eugers In the cuauhes OF escaping UNI
harmed, In mounting moving cars
many Of them are killed. recently
saw one with his upIer.arm bono
broken, the accident having occurred
while In the act Of climbing into
moving box car. Another in showing
some boys how proficient he was Ia
seating himself on the break beam
after the train had started, put his foot
under the wheel, and, M result, lost
his leg above the knee. Every railroad
IA FgeOn sees similar accidents with
greater or less frequency.
One should not fall Into the popular
error OF thinking that all tramps are
professional "bunmers.n | think that
perhaps n majority Of those whom seq
are men who are going 10 some other
point Ia search Of work. Many OF these
are employed by farmers and ranch
men living In the vicinity OF the rail-
roads at such times Of the year as they
need assistance, and several employers
have told me that they were generally
very good help.
have repeatedly known OF tramps
seeking work who had worthless time
checks In their pockets from previous
dishonest employers. IL would DO do
ing very grave Injustice to these men
TO class them with ordinary Migrants.
But q large proportion never DO any
work when II may by any possibility be
avoided.
The aggregate number OF tramps in
| the country must be ENORMOUS. have
repeatedly seen them In gangs OF from
xix to fifteen, and those OF two or moro
arc met with continually. At remote
points on railroads freight trains have
been repeatedly captured by organ
lied gangs of these men, AMI the train
mon forced TO accommodate the mem
bers us the leadcr directed. II Is u sad
commentary on our economical system
that the number seems to be- constantly
increasing.
There are certain things that we
may learn from the TRAMP, aud one In
particular that would be valuable to
ns all. The Americans are, pre-
sumo, the most impatient OF any race
of people. But the American tramp
IL \ second Job. II he does not sue.
coed In stealing ride on u train on
which he has fondly calculated for
two days, he does the most philosophi.
cal thing there II Tor him TO do--tiat IL,
he watt "a day or two more. II he
does not get anything to eat today, he
hopeR for better luck tomorrow,
ii the impatient conductor Of his
particular tram orders him OIL, he oo.
cnslonnliy gets n little provoked, but
much more commonly lie says some.
thing to the effect that "ho guesses he
ogu II he has n, "and acts accordingly.
In all these things anu th0usanu
others he shows development OF pa
tience aud fOrtitude VIZ all might 10
well TO emulate.