Evening star., 1894-01-24
THE KANSAS HERMIT.
More Interesting Information About q
Peculiar Character known Here.

Written for The Evening Star
| The Star recently contained very inter-
| esting story from Topeka. Kan, concerning
| Hugh Cameron. known as the Kansas her
| init" What your correspondent did not
write. however. would be even more inter-
esting than what he did The writer has
known Mr.. Cameron f6r many years Wash
ingtonians will recall him as a teacher in a
| local academy before the late war. He was
| an ardent abolitinnist AMI on one ocoa-
sion WIS ;lobbed ON Pennsylvania avenue
for expressing himself too freely in the
presence of a party of southerpers. He not
only appears odd in his long hair and man.
moth beard, but he is as eccentric as he
looks. He is the owner of small piece of
property in Georgetown, AMI on the occa-
sion of his last visit TO Washington he be-
gan the construction of a house. hauling
the stone for the foundltion from the 7th
street docks on handcart, and doing most
OF the work at night. While this odd speci-
men or humanity remains a bachelor from
cholce, yet he is most fond of the society
of women, always selecting his associates
from among those of the higher order of in
teliect and manners. On one occasion, few
years ago. Mr.. Cameron attended gather
ing OF women in the city of Philadelphia,
at which there were some fifteen hundred of
the fair sex present. AS the ladies entered
the hall they were in turn introduced to
MIN py name. Later IN tne evening, When
called upon to address the assembly, what
was the surprise of every one to hear him
deliver an essay on Woman in Industry
in rhyme, into which he had Incorporated
the names of more than five hundred of the
women he was addressing.
Mr.. Cameron is a believer in the senti-
ment that the labor problem is to be settled
some day by the general adoption of CO.
operative Industrial system to supplant the
wage system He has been member of
the Knights of Labor for several years, and
has attended most of their annual conven-
tions, having been for several years a men,
Der of the general cooperative board About
three years ago, in company with others of
the same belief, Mr.. Cameron organized
what is known in Kansas as 1.-The Workers
Cooperative Trust Cnion," of which he was
elected president. He Is. indeed, an eccen-
trio man, but truer one never lived.
Among his other eccentricities may be men,
toned his open hostility to the railroads.
In the fall of 1884, just after having had a
tilt with some railroad company at home in
Kansas, Mr.. Cameron walked all the way to
Philadelphia to attend a labor convention,
consuming over two mcnths in making the
journey, and presented himself at the con-
vention hall, wearing a straw hat. blue
shirt and blue overalls. He Is abundantly
able to ride when he wants to- but walked
from choice. A large photograph of his
home in Kansas shows him sitting in the
door of his cabin reading a paper. while
over the door. in large letters, are to be
seen the words, Camp Ben Harrison 1885,"
He is hermit, but there are few nobler
men. His last crust will be divided with
any one in need. His religion is the brother
every day life And who shall say that he
Is not in accord with the teachings of the
lowly Nazarene?
A. NJ. d. Langdon. d. C.