Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-02-15
THE TRAMP PROBLEM
Some Suggestions From Mr.. Bailey as to
Its Solution.
How to Rid the City of Idle Vaga-
bonds and How to Help the
Worthy Poor.

| The appearance in the city of so many
| men asking aims on the street. and the
general belief that most of these men are
! tramps and idlers, is causing considerable
| discussion among those engaged in reliev-
| ing the distress of the deserving poor. MIR.
Z. ID. Bailey writes to The Star as follows:
Il sympathize fully with the effort to
minimize the evils growing out of the pres
ence OF an army of unemployed men in our
| own city, but 1 do not believe we shall
succeed in greatly improving the situation
| until We face the real difficulties. 1t Will
| do no good to denounce the idlers ii their
/ idleness is enforced and not voluntary. 1t
| Is due to the public that those who have
studied the situation most carefully should
state the facts which are known to them
| and offer such suggestions experience
may prove to be wise. The Central Union
Mission undertook early in the season to
protect the public against tramps and rem
| der charitable assistance to worthy I'M
employed men by providing means by
which they could work for their meals and
! lodging. 1t may be asked, What is the re-
silt or the experiment" 1t is demon
! stratsd success il market can be found
| for the wood which is sawed, but a par
| tial failure In view of the fact that there
i Is not an adequate market for the wood.
! AT hrst, when the number Of beneficiaries
was not too large, men worked regularly
| for nights lodging and two meals 2 day.
| They were eager for the work. When a
| genuine specimen Of the genus tramp was
| discovered he was required to move on,
| while the honest laboring men who asked
nothing but d chance to live and were will
| ling to work for what they received were
enabled to preserve their manhood and
| live decently. Later the number of appli-
carts for work increased, the mission in
vested all the money 1t could spare in wood
| until its vaults were blocked. and then
called halt on the amount of wood which
| was allowed to be sawed each day. In or
q "a rge
number who were sheltered, the number of
| sticks to be sawed was reduced, and as
the blockade of wood still continued. men
were finally permitted to saw only for lodg-
inss. and were thus forced to secure their
meals in some other way. This is where
an evil has arisen-an evil which the mis-
sion has vainly striven to avert, and which
might easily be averted if market could
he found for the wood, The mission has
facilities for allowing 200 more men to
WORK for meals and lodging if the product
OF the labor can be marketed. This would
eliminate the chief cause of complaint con-
corning tramps.
Now, l have two suggestions to make
First. l would have put upon the market
either by the mission by the central re-
lief committee. a combined charity and
work ticket-a ticket for which citizens
| should pay five cents. but the conditions on
the ticket should be such that the holder
would have to do an hours work as a con-
ditfon OF receiving ten or fifteen-cent din
ner The donor Of the ticket would thus
contribute five cents to the beneficiary, but
the genuineness Of the mans need would
be tested by requiring him" to work before
he could eat. The form Of the ticket might
be as follows:
FIVE CENTS.
This ticket, with one hours work, will
entitle the holder to one meal Of victuals
or a lodging at the Industrial department
Of the Central Union Mission. etc.
A dollar would enable a citizen to answer
the call of twenty tramps and there would
be perfect assurance that the tramps
would have to work or go hungry. This
scheme would drive completely from our
city the vicious and idle beggar. and would
provide generously and charitably for the
worthy unemployed laborer and tradesman
MY second suggestion is that the relief
committee buy from the mission all the
surplus kinding wood. sell what II can
through its various agencies, and give away
the unsold portion to the worthy poor of
cur city. The outlay of money would be
Insignificant il comparison with the bene-
fits, and no part of 1t would be wasted.
Give us a market for the wood, and the
mission will do more to abate the tramp
nuisance than can possibly be done by the
police and the courts.
word in behalf of these unfortunate
classes. There are worthy men, hundreds
OF them, among these so-called tramps.
They are not all bad. and a system which
| leaves no room for discrimination is not
worthy of our nineteenth century civiiza-
ton. Hundreds of these men say to US:
THE public say we will not work-just try
not" Can we do less than to give them a
chance? l am in favor of requiring work
enough for the meals and lodgings given
these men to deter the idle classes from re-
naming here. AS soon every appeal on
the streets is responded to with ticket of
the kind given above the occupation of the
professional beggar will be gone.
| l believe the central relief committee
ought to take this matter under con idera-
| ton at once. My reason for making these
| suggestions publicly rather. than by direct
| communication with the committee is be-
cause the matter is being agitated in the
| daily papers, and l think the public are
| entitled to know the situation"
Word From One of I'm.
Another writer to The Star says:
80 much is being said about the large
| body of tramps that are making their head
/ quarters in this city that deem it duty
| to say a word in behalf of some Of them
| All those who solicit aid are not tramps, in
| the general acceptance of the term, but
many are members of that class of unfor-
Inmates who are willing, yes anxious, to
work, but unable to get it. They must
either beg or starve.. Which is the greater
sin? For twenty years. with the exception
of the past month, I have always been able
to support myself nicely, and never have
1 been obliged to solicit aid until l came
here. Friendless penniless and homeless,
/ have been obliged to beg for something
to eat, or starve. and II doing so is a crime
then / criminal. The humiliation of
being compelled to beg is a punishment
greater than many have any idea of.
have always asked for work when asking
for something to eat, and frequently got it.
A stranger in this city is not entitled to
any of the citys charity. You must be a
resident to obtain it. Many labor under
the impression that you can obtain a meal
at the Central Union Mission by working
for it. This is not 50. No meals are
furnished in exchange for work. With
out money you must depend on the
charity of the housewife for something
to eat. !, and there are others like
me, would rather do an honest days
labor for something to eat than beg. Money
] have never begged for A tramp will
never work. He breads the very thought of
it, and IL he is offered it, will soon make
himself scarce However. 1t is hard to dis
who are obliged to ask for aid are tramps.
city who will not work and who will I'M
hesltatingly tell you On the other
hand I have in my mind a score of stran-
gers who are more than anxious to work.
| Those who are begging money on the
streets can be put down for professional
mendicants, but not all who request some
thing TO eat. ! would willingly go to work
today simply fer my board until such a
time as L could better myself. Am l a
tramp? Is a man willing to work, but who
is a stranger in the city, homeless, friend
less and penniless, a tramp"
Death of Mrs. White.
The death of Mrs. Jane Tompkins White,
the wife of DR.. w. Lee White. at the fami-