Mexico weekly ledger., 1894-04-05
Merely a Tramps' Picnic.
THE COXEY "ARMY" FAR FROM A
DiGNIFIED AGGREGATION,
Nearly Every Member OF the Band a
Professional Hobo Seeking Only
Free Food and Free Lodging
Gold Treatment at
Washington Sure.

may be some respectable working
men in the Coxey ''army' which
spent the night here and left for
Salem this morning, but this is
doubtful. To all appearances the
movement which was widely adver-
tised as one for securing work for
unemployed in making good roads
under national auspices has degen-
Grated into a mere tramps' picnic.
Of the 1913 men who left here this
morning, it is a question whether
more than ten of them are influenced
by any higher motive than securing
free food and free sleeping quarters.
Soap is an almost unknown commo-
dity in the "army's" paraphernalia
and neatness is not a feature of their
attires.
Coxey left the ''army"' here yes
terday and Louis Smith took con-
troll. He has endeavored to estab-
lish some sort of military discipline,
but his "recruits" are not of the sort
to obey orders. The march yester-
day was unpleasant in every way.
The ground was covered with snow
and the weather vas intensely cold.
So far, none of Coxey's proposed
meetings have been held and along
the line of march the "army' at
tracted little attention. On their ar
rival here the men begged for cloth
ing and shoes.
The camp at Salem has been nam
ed from Anna l.. Digs, the Kansas
Poublist orator, and Henry Vincent
has been elected as historian of the
march.
The roads are very rough after the
thaw yesterday and the severe freeze
of last night, which will probably
cause some delay in the march. The
soldiers passed a fairly comfortable
night with fresh straw for bedding,
and when the reveille sounded ap-
peared cheerful. Food has been
plentiful thus far and as long as the
men have all they want to eat and
fairly comfortable quarters in which
to pass the night there will be little
incentive to raid the hen ~roosts, pig
pens and sheep folds of the farmers
along the line of march.
BUFFALO, N. Y, March 2S.-The
police have sprung a surprise party
on the Coxey good roads brigade.
When pilgrims of the road came in
to ask for a nights lodging they
were placed under arrest as tramps
or Migrants. About fifty were tried
On that charge to-day and sent to the
penitentiary. The city has been
fairly flooded with tramps for the
last few days and the police have in
augurated a concerted effort to get
rid of them.
COXEY EXCUSES o ACCEPTED.
WASHINGTON, March 2S.-Coxey's
"army" is likely to fare badly in
this city. The police intend to per-
sist in treating as Migrants wander
ers pretending to belong to the good
roads brigade. The vagrancy laws
of the district are stringent and give
the two police justices ample power
to commit to the work house for
thirty days or more persons found
without visible means OF support.
Monday night the police found seven
men curled up in a freight carr of the
Pennsylvania company. When taken
to the police station they protested
that they were "Coxey's vanguard"
but the officers failed to see the dis
tinction between ordinary tramps
and "Coxey's piekets." and each of
them was sentenced to thirty days
in the work house.
Senator Stewart says he does hot
propose to make any response to
, Coxey's reply to his letter, saying
be is coming Notwithstanding the
remonstrance. 81 regret" said the
senator, "that such is the fact.
|, The danger is that Coxey's army,
while it may not be large, before it
reaches Washington may become the
nucleus of a gathering of hard char
acters from the large cities near
Washington who will be so much in
the majority as to give character to
the whole organization. 1 fear the
movement will result in much hard
ship and suffering and l think Mr..
Coxev ia on the wrong road tn a.