The Caldwell tribune. [volume] (Caldwell, Idaho Territory [Idaho]) 1883-1928, 1897-06-12

haUsted, the tramp made his first
appearance and the unemployed
became = permanent class with US
Like causes must produce like effects.
And men denied access to the land
from which, and on which alone they
can live, whether in the sixteenth or IN
the nineteenth century, whether in
England or in the United States OF
America, could have, or can have but
one alternative die or to take to the
roads as tramps and Migrants or as
highwaymen. The English parlia +.
ments of the sixteenth century NJ
tempted to suppress and exterminast
the Iandless tramps and Migrants u
that time, by harsh and cruel laws
which were executed with barbarous
severity. American Legislators, In
the last quarter of the nineteenth
century, have attempted to attain the
same end by the same means. The
experience of the race during the inter-
vening centuries has taught us no bet
ter method of dealing with our land
less tramps, our submerged and disin-
herited ones. The prevalent altruism
Of our times will not permit our legis-
lators to ordain that the unfortunate
tramp shall have his ears cut off, or
that he shall be executed as q felon ;
and in most of our States it will
not permit him to be whipped. The
Commonwealth of kentucky did, how.
ever, by an act, approved May 9, 1890,
provide that any male person over 16
years of age should, upon convic-
ton of vagrancy, be punished by q
whipping of not less than five nor more
than fifty lashes, with a leathern whip,
we'll laid on his bare back. - session
Laws of 1SS9-9O, chapter 3O3, p.
$50. The spirit of our legislation on
this subject is essentially the same as
that of the legislation of Henry VIII. e
time. And indeed it may we'll be
doubted if our method of dealing with
the victims of landlordism is any i'm,
provement on that of the Tudor sover-
eigns of England $50 years ago. The
Tudors mercifully put them out of the
way by hanging them we slowly tor
ture them to death by starvation OF
drive them to suicide.
In another respect the parallel be
tween England in the sixteenth century
and our country at the present time ii
striking. In the first year Of the reigr
of Edward VI, who succeeded Henry
VIII, a law was passed authorizing
the sale into slavery of Migrants. Or
the 18th of June, 1893, the Suprem,
Court of the State of Missouri, in the
case of in re Thompson, III Mo-, SO
declared section 8S49 of the Revised
Statutes of 1889, authorizing vagran
not accused or convicted of any crime
to be hired for six months to the high
est bidder after the determination O.
the fact of such vagrancy by a jury
before justice of the peace, to be vic
latiVe of both the State and Fedora
Constitutions, which prohibit slavery
or involuntary servitude, except IL
punishment of crime, whereof thu
party accused shall have been duly
convicted. But in States that farm
out cOnvicts to contractors, the same
end is accomplished in another way
Vagrancy is made crime, and tn,
tramp, upon conviction, is let out to the
contractor. In a considerable numbe,
of towns and cities in this country, tn,
tramp, upon conviction, is sentenced Il
work in the chain gang upon the public
streets. Thus it appears that our mod
ern American law makers have takel
more than one leaf from the statut
books of the time of the Tudors.
have already directed attention to thu
parallel between Henry VIII. 8 tim
and our own time in the matter of ap
peals for charity. In dealing with tn
destitute, as in dealing with the va
grants, we are but blind and helpless
imitators of our ancestors of three ant
q half centuries ago. We still Eek
hort, move, stir and provoke people t,
be liberal in giving slaps We know
how utterly futile is the attempt tt
eliminate restitution in that way, bu
we seem to be incapable of studying
out any other way, and SO we keep III
our frantic appeals for charity.
The English poor law, inaugurateC
by the act of 81 Elizabeth and con
tinued to the present day, is far from
being monument of human wisdom
in the field of legislation. But AmeriF