San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1893-10-12
SHORT STOPS.
What the People are Saying.

I =
of the people by the arrest and in
generation of some twenty odd
men who came in oyer the Sunset
road from the west.
These arrests were made at the
instance of the railroad officials. A
wild rumOr was started that sixty
tramps had taken fOrcible posses
sion of a Sunset train and were
running it into our city. and the
police were summoned to intercept
them at the city limits.
The police We're marshalled at
the stock yards, to catch the des-
perate tramps, and some twenty
odd We're "pulled" and put in the
city jail. On the trial next morn
ing, before the recorder. each man
was called, and plead not guilty to
the charge Of vagrancy.
They We're from California and
territories west of us; claimed to
be honest laboring men, who had
been allowed free ride by the
railroad company as far as Sander
son. Texas, where the conductor
attempted to dump them, and
they simply refused to leave the
train. They committed no out
rage, although hungry, and the
train had sealed cars loaded with
supplies.
They were fined $l0or 20 days in
prison. on the evidence of the con-
ductor that they had no permission
TO ride.
The Judge Of the recorders court
imposed this sentence not as a
punishment for any crime but to
solve the problem of getting rid of
them.
They bore evidence of being hon
est laboring men out of employ
ment, seeking to return to the east
ern states. Their statements are
unchallenged by any evidence pro-
duced by the railroad officials.
They are intelligent American
citizens, guaranteed by the cOnsti-
tuition, the right to liberty and the
pursuit of happiness. Certainly,
the right to go anywhere within
the limits Of the Republic in pur-
suit Of living.
1t is rumOred that there are hun
lreds on their way to the east sim
ilarly situated, and no doubt the
railroads will haul them to the
nearest dumping place; but to |
dump them in the desert would be |
a criminal act deserving of nation
al attention and retributiOn.
Times are hard, labor unem-
plOyed, but that is no excuse for
depriVing American citizens of
OF their liberty and making them
criminals because they are unem-
plOyed.
There is no reason why our city
should be disturbed because unem-
plOyed men are seeking their way
back to their old homes after the
California boom bubble has burst.
There was a time when such men
would be a welcome addition to-
our population.
ON the Pacific slope the Ameri-
can labOrer has suffered from the
Chinese invasion, and finds him
self the victim in his own land Of
alien cheap labor. In Texas the
American labOrcr is confronted
with the invasion from Mexico, of
thousands Of MpXicans, who swarm
over our border unhindered by
emigration restrictions, and sup
plant other labor. These MeXicans
are aliens in race. language and
cit iZonship.
Bcggars and veritable tramps
without any visible means of sup
port come over in squads and be-
seige our city and surroundings,
yet there.is no alarm given, no po-
lice called out.
a few years back, in order to
carry a county election, four hun
dred MeXicans We're imported and
worked on the Arkansas Pass rail-
road to be used as voters at the
election. No cry of tramp was