The herald., 1894-10-28
DUSTY RHODES and WALKER
An Army of Tranaps Headed
for This City.
What Q Professional Brakebeam
Tourist Says.
An Attractive eide to Life withous .
Hcms-Ths Influx to This section
Will Be Heavier This
Year Than Ever.

1t Ia estimated by the police DEPART
ment that there will be the heaviest in.
tiux OF tranps this winter in the history
of Los Angeles. The estimate 10 based
upon the large number OF brakebes
tourists arriving daily-spd this ie early
in the season. For the past week there
has been daily average Of dozen box
car and street door sleepers in the
police court. Statistics in this regard
show that less than Eve per cent Of the
Wandering Williss. ""Weary Walkers''
and dusty Rhodes y fall into the po-
lice drag net. SO some idea OF the largo
number OF homeless wanderers now in
the city and it's environs may be framed
from these figures.
That the life of tramp is an attrac-
tive one is difficult to believe, because
the ordinary, everyday mortal has
never tried it, but q man who has been
tramping for upwards of 10 years, says
that it ia, and he should be On authority
on the subject.
To HERALD reporter hs said that
there are many bright sides to the life
OF tramp. One has to get used to il
though. he explained. This requires
about six months and at the expiration
OF that time it comes easy, for the man
has lost ambition and can knock at the
kitchen door of house and ask for
something to eat with the sang froid of
butcher boy who delivers meat. There
is organization among the fraternity
and it seems that San Francisco ID 3
sort OF headquarters for the chiefs of
the fraternity.
You see it's this way" the fellow
said. IAN advance courier goes out
along the lines of railroads from Port
land cleay through to Ell Paso and sort
OF sizes things up to see about how many
of the gang the different towns can ac-
commodate without causing too much
OF roar from the cops. II we were to
be allowed to go where we pleased, wo
might all pile into this town and then
there would be no chance for
the citizens at ell and they
would have to call out the real soldiers
like they did during the strike. Well,
the couriers go on ahead and then re-
port back to the boys in Frisco or Oak
land, and we fixes it among ourselves
about who's to go to the different cities.
The scheme amt working very good
this year. though, because there's too
many new fellows on the road, and they
60 ahead where they want to without
asking any question, and that's why
there's 30 many hobos here already.
The country south of San Francisco
catches most of 'em because the cli-
mates 30 nice, and q fellow can sleep
outdoor without freezing to death or
even catching cold. Then there's lots of
lse.h q IL 10 l.
hobo, such as picking oranges and auch
that we can do.
"What is there in the way OF attrac-
tions in tramp's life? Well, now,
just imagine after being refused a meal
by some hard-hearted hired girl to 90
up against q nice cozy snap in the shape
OF nice old lady with a heart in her as
big as a door, who asks you into the
kitchen and sets out a meal for you
such as you haven't had since you was q
boy. Ain't that attraction? Amt ID
worth going hungry two days for? And
don't it taste good? Then there is the
kind old farmer, and there are some of
them who'll call you bov and let you
sleep in the new hay and never ask you
to do stroke o. work. These are the
little green spots in the tramp's life."
Asked why most OF the trsmps pat
ronizsd the Southern Pacific cars in this
section, the wsnderer explained that
since the Industrials were punished by
the federal courts for riding on roads
operated by receivers. the tramps were
not disposed to take chances OF doing
terms in Jail. They don't mind q ten,
twenty or thirty day rest where the
food is good, but when it comes to being
looked up three or four months it was
different matter.