The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-11-28
Migrants and Petty Criminals
Flocking Here From the
North.
CHEAP TICKETS THE CAUSE.
Charitable Organizations Complain Of
an Extraordinary Influx of
Mendicants.

| Every war brings in its train evils to
| some who are not combatants, and the
| rate war on between the Southern Pacific
| Company and the Oregon Railway and
| Navigation Company is not an exception
| to the rule, as the charitable organizations
| of this City are beginning to find out.
Hundreds of professional mendicants.
| Migrants, tramps and petty criminals are
| focking to this City from the north. both
| by rail and steamer most of whom would
| not be able to come were it not for the low
rates prevailing. San Francisco's pleasant
winter climate and the reputation the City
has for caring well for the poor always at.
tract from all over the coast large num-
Der of these people who make it business
to obtain living without work during the
| winter months of each year.
For some days past the different chart
table organizations have been applied to
by so many people whom they have found
to be strangers who have come from the
north that they have become alarmed and
have warned the Chief of Police and asked
for his assistance. Most of these people,
they claim. are professional beggars and
Migrants, and some OF them petty crimi-
mails.
One of the officers of one of the big char
liable organizations of the City, who has
been looking into the matter, said yester-
day:
This is a serious matter with US. We have
here plenty of deserving poor to care for, and
every winter we have to contend with large
number of those who make it business to
come to this City in that season. 1t is the
largest city on the coast and so the best field
! for beggars and Migrants to work" Then we
have a reputation for doing considerable for
the poor at this time of the year. So you can
see how quickly many who could not otherwise
come will take advantage OF the low rates.
Many OF them can pay their own way down,
but a larger proportion will be helped out of
communities where they are not wanted by
the people, who find that much easier and
cheaper than caring for them during the
whole winter. i have no doubt that many of
| them have been helped on their way here.
| Only yesterday family came to us for help to
| where they had been given passage TO Port
| land and from there came by the low rates on
| the steamer.
| Some of these people who.are willing to talk
| tell of many others who have been helped out
OF the northern country in this way. The worst
| thing about these people is that most of them
are professional Migrants, and will unscrupu-
] lousy "work" one charitable society after an
| other, and this is very hard on our deserving
Door An attempt has been made to have the
different organization cooperate so as to keep
| track OF all those who make q business of work
ing them, but so far it has not been successful.
There should be some means OF preventing
| many of these people from coming, particu-
larry those who are of the criminal class, and
to this end we have applied to the Chief OF Po-
lice for his assistance. | am sure that an in
vestigation will show that very small proper
ton of those coming down are OF the class of
deserving poor