The aegis & intelligencer., 1894-02-23
miscellaneous.
TALES OF THE TRAMP
CLASSES, HABITS AND DolNGs OF
THESE TRAVELLERS.

Statistics Mixed With Conclusions and
Observation-Disclosures of Professor Nc
Cook-No Reference to the Temporarily
Unemployed.
Whether the word tramp originated
In England or America is not known. 1t
Is freely used in England in common con-
versation, but has no place in the statutes
of Great Britain or Canada. 1t made its
appearance in the New Jersey statutes in
1876, and by 1892 Is other states had adopt
ed it. The tramp himself repudiates the
name and habitually substitutes for it the
word 'bum" and fastidiously divides his
guild into ''train bums,'' who travel on
railroad trains; "pike buns, F" who travel
on foot; "shovel buns" who affect city
life, and ''religous bums,'' who frequent
the gospel missions. The train buns are
regarded as the aristocracy of the fraterni-
ty and rejoice in the additional appellation
of "hobos." "
The travels of tramp take much
wider range than most people would sup
pose. Several of them have been found
who claim to have visited nearly every
state and territory in the Union, and their
exact knowledge of the geography and of
the railroad lines bore out the assertion.
One reason of this is that the ranks of the
tramps are often recruited from the rail
road bTakemen, and this is proved by the
tender regard which the brakeman always
exhibits for the tramp in not only permit
ting him to stow himself away on the
trains, but frequently in feeding him also.
Massachusetts, which is the only state
that has undertaken to collect the statis-
tics of its tramps, cntertains .529 of them,
and if they are found in other states in the
same proportion to the population the num-
ber in the United States is 10 ,S45, which
Is Is 900 below the current guess estimates.
Among these is limited number of fe-
male tramps, whom their brother tramps
call "petticoat buns, z" "magpies" and
"bags"
Careful Investigations lead to the con-
clusion that Al per cent of the American
tramps have trades or professions, Al per
cent are unskilled laborers, 3.G per cent are
weavers, one in 20 of them is under 20
years old, three out of five under rs years
old, IS out of 100 under 40 years old. Only
SIS per cent of them in the winter of the
grip claimed to be in i'll health, S3.5 per
cent claimed specifically to enjoy good
health. In answer to the question, ''Why
complained of want of employment, some
were "tired of work." some wanted to
"see the country" some charged it to
drink, and per cent declared their inten-
tion never to work again.
of American tramps 56 per cent are of
American nativity, and then follow Ire
land, England. Germany, Canada, Nor
way, Sweden and Scotland. More than 80
per cent are unmarried, and less than 10
per cent are unable to read and write. The
fact is that in intelligence and education
the average tramp is not appreciably diff
ferent from the general population. In the
| winter 33 per cent of them manage to get
sick and to live in hospitals. Others are
migratory and walk down south in Octo-
Der and return north regularly in April, as
the railroad men can testify. Of those
| questioned 90 per cent say they beg their
food, 8 per cent that they beg and work
and 2 per cent that they beg and steal. 1t
| is estimated that it costs 5000 year to
support tramp and $4,000, 900 to sup
| port all of the tramps in the country for
one year.
Only per cent of tramps confess that
| they have been convicted of crime, though
SO per cent freely admit that they have
been convicted of drunkenness. They re-
| gard things to wear and things to eat as
| common property. But felony is confined
| to the few, assault being the felony conf
monest among them. 1t is rare thing
| that they carry concealed weapons. Some
| of them complain of the criminal tenden-
cies of others, whom they characterize as
''mean enough for anything" They claim
| that it is the train buns that disgrace the
| whole calling by their crimes.
. A circular relative to tramps that was
mailed to 35 chiefs of police ELECTED some
| interesting information about them and
| about the way the tramp nuisance was or
| should be treated. Twenty replies said that
| they furnished lodging to tramps without
| any condition of cleanliness and % that no
conditions of work were prescribed. Six
teen said that the same tramps returned
frequently; 3, occasionally; 10, that the
same tramps did not return. Twentysev-
| en- said that the applicants were always re-
| ceived 6 that they were liable to be arrest
ed and that they were imprisoned if they
returned too often. Twenty-Five put the
| able bodied tramps at from 90 to 100 per
cent, and only put it as low as so per
cent. Sixteen thought it advantageous to
| lodge tramps, and Is were of the opposite
| opinion OF the 16 who thought it advan-
| tageous favored it on humanitarian
| grounds, 2 because q small per cent were
deserving, 8 OH grounds of public policy, g
| for the protection of property and for the
protection of the person.
| As to the treatment of the evil, II of
| these chiefs recommended compulsory
| work, 2 confinement, 2 corporal punish
ment, l the shotgun, l severer laws, 2 the
enforcement of existing laws, furnishing
! employment, 8 believed in the workhouse,
| 1 thought encouragement ought to be re-
| fused Not one advocated moral measures,
| not apparently because they. attached no
| Importance to moral measures, but because
| they regarded the tramp as impermeable
| to them. On the other hand, moral meas
ures, when tried, have generally been un-
successful. Vagabondism grows out of
! idleness, intemperance and uncleanness,
and moral means are usually a pow
erful remedy for such habits. But forcible
restraint appears to be necessary in t.
| first instance. Yet as long as tramps are
left to roam at will, restrained only by an
occasional and spasmodic enforcement of
the vagrant laws, it would be an immense
advantage if soft hearted people would re-
frain from giving them money, for, al
most without exception, it goes for drink
or worse. The person who will give any
beggar coin just because it seems too hard
to refuse him ought on similar grounds to
give razors and guns to madmen and chill
dren.-John J. McCook in Charities Re
| view.
! Those ships of the United States navy