Richmond daily palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1876-1904, 1898-11-26
THE TRAMPS MUSTGO
CHIEF DEvERY'S WAR ON "WEARY
WAGGlES" IN NEW YORK.

CFIEF OEs6HfS WAX On WEAK
WAGGLES" IN NEW YORK.
Gotham's Chief of Police Convinced
That the Time Has Come to Rid tn.
City OF the Tramp Pest-Methods o.
PanhandIers.
have been asked, since the promul
CATION of special order No. %, dated
Nov. IA, calling the attention of in
spectors, precinct commanders, detect
ives and patrolmen to the annual re
turn of Migrants, why / had been so I'M
usually severe in my language concern
Ing tramps. The req on is that an
convinced that the time has come to rio
New York Of the tramp pest, and in
tend to do it, says William 8. Devery,
shief of police.
l do not contend that there are moi
honest tramps-unfortunat men who
have been dealt poor hands in the game
of life and are struggling to live decent
ly and lawfully. do not condemn al
tramps all men who are not working,
for 1 know that it is often difficult to
obtain employment; but / am Of the
opinion that the thieves, highwaymen,
pickpockets and crooked panhandiers
graduate, scarcely without exception,
from the ranks OF the leisure loving
tramp-the man who would not work
were he given the opportunity.
The hUmorists have taken up the
he is regarded by the general run OF
people with more amusement than pity
or contempt until close contact is had
with him, and then the feeling Of
amusement vanishes in hurry. To my
mind there is nothing funny about the
professional tramp. He is undeniably
vicious. ard my experience with him
here in New York has been that he is
growing more vicious as the years roll
on. l do not think l exaggerated when
in my order l said that their solicita-
tions virtually amount to assault. -
get around the town a great deal
and have had lots of experience with the
gentleman Of leisure known Is the pam
handler. l remember the tfns3 Ehen the
panhandler was almost courts1Dus in his
humble request for 1.-The priceSof . bed
or 1.-THE price of meal" / havenoticed
tesy-whether it was mock courtesy or
not makes no difference-and in its
place has come an insolence that is as
founding. The panhandler has cast
away all thought of playing On the SYM
pathy of the person he selects for a VIC
tim. He is working on new lay-in-
timidation. He has found that the aver
age citizen is timorous, especially in a
dark place with 10 policeman near, and
his boIdness increases with the manifes-
tation of timidity ON the part Of his
victim.
Panbandlers, however, do not work
in retired places altogether. In the
crowds ON Broadway they ply their trade
for panhandiing is a trade, l maintain
with all the insolence characteristic
of their work. They have found that
citizen in a crowd does not like to be
peisistently followed by dirty fellow
with whining voice. 1t attracts atten-
ton. They have found that to avoid
this annoyance the citizen will general
~ give up the first small coin that
comes to his hand. Long training gives
a panhandler an instructive tip of the
whereabouts OF policeman, and his
wiles IN lodging blue clothes and brass
buttons almost approach the exercise of
genius.
1t is the result of natural conditions
that New York should be infested with
tramps. We have here the largest city
Gu the continent. and among our per-
uianent population there is percentage
of tramps. Added to this we have vi
cious men frol all over the country-I
might say from all over the world. The
great railroads bT.T hundreds of ramps
into this city every day at this time Of
the year-men who have been travelling
around the country and want tn get back
to New York to spend the winter They
eome IN not only on trains, int on
steamb boats and Steamships perfect
horde of them.
In the smaller cities, where the po-
lice know everybody, the tramp is kept
moving on. He moves on from town to
town and finally reaches New York,
whether he wants to or not. In this
great city be imagines he can bury hsm-
self, and l will say that the opportuni-
ties for tramp to pick up money
enough to buy drink on are probably
better here than anywhere else in the
county New Workers have money as q
general thing. they are always busy and
tney abhcr annoyance They are easy
marks for the panhandlers. e
Supposing citizen, opening bis coat
to give tramp some piece of small
change, should inadvertently display
gold watch and chain. How many
tranlps would miss the opportunity TO
snatch 1t, even though j; be his first at
tempt at open crime? Not many. The
thieves graduate from the tramps, and
the only .vay to spell the work is to
strike at the root of il.
L havs determined tnat this city shall
be no longer the tramps' refuge We
have been too lenient with them, large
" because their viciousness has grown
50 slowly as to be almost imperceptible-
Ii Eas reached stage Dow that calls
Ter rigorous methods, which have been
l shall hold every precinct
commander personally responsible for
crimes against the person committed In
his precinct and every panhandler
working IN this town is going to be
spotted before long. They will be driven
out or sent to prison. i intend TO make
New York so hot for them that they
VIII be content to migrate between the
move on small towns--New York
Journal
Mine R-r-,-~ FIFTY Year,