The Portland daily press., 1898-02-17
THE TRAMP QUESTION.
Lecture BY William Morse Cole Under Aus
pices Associated Charities.

About fifty people gathered at the coun.
Gil chamber, City building last evening
| to listen to an address given under the
auspices of che Associated Charities by
Mr.. William Morse Cole, who was intro
duced to the audience by John J. Gerrish,
president of the association.
| The subject of Mr.. Coles address was
the Tramp Question, !" and at the outset
he referred to 1t as the simplest OF all
altruistic questions. and might be re-
solved into two inquiries. Is the man
who seeks aid tramp, or is he q way
farer? The former. tries to earn his living
without work, or in other words as
"dead beat" The other is willing to earn
his fare by the way.
The speaker then submitted the fact,
established by unoontrovertable statistics,
that nine out of every ten men engaged
in begging belong to the class defined as
tramps.
He next proceeded to show that the
tramp seeks places where no work is sys-
tematically provided and cited the cities
of Springfield and Chicopee, Mass, where
the wayfaring lodge of the former drove
the tramDssto the latter merely for the
reason that they wanted to avoid work.
He next discussed the tramp from other
points of yiew and gave some OF his
characteristics.
"The average tramp" said the speaker,
lis thief, for how. much difference is
there between lying beggary and petit
larceny? None.'' The tramp is drunkard
and in many cases so we'll seasoned and
experienced that liquor seems to have
little effect upon him; his special fond
ness is for ''splits,'' alcohol diluted with
water, the worst Of all drinks. He is an
"isolated wonder, and going into a town
he seeks his rendezvous where inforIna-
ambition, but to satisfy physical desires
and sensual satisfactions and his private
morals are unspeakable. Tramps gather
in groups of ten to fifty and such gather
ings are distinct menace to the COM
munity, for boys attracted by spirit of
adventure are in many cases led astray
by the story OF the tramp
The tramp is train Trecker, and In
the evening may rob the body of the son
of that very same elderly lady who gave
him his morning meal.
The speaker wondered that there were
not more tramps, in view of the action OF
many householders, and with vivid de-
scription of the personality of the tramp he
passed on to show how the tramp and
wayfarer might be distinguished by ap-
plying the work test. He vigorously dis
countenanced the custom of giving food
to tranps but thought wayfarers should
be encouraged and to this end urged the
establishment of institutions such as the
i"Wayfarers Lodge" in Boston, and gave
an illustration of the methods employed.
Society has a great responsibility in the
matter. Far better were it, in the opinion
of the speaker, TO give glass OF whlskey
rather than o dime to an unknown appli-
can't for aid at the back door. The first
dime may be just the entering wedge in
life of professional beggary, which is
bound to wipe out the mans spiritual
and finer nature. 1t is the beginning
that kills and afterwards it is hard to
stand against the tiae and to bear the
jeers and laughs of new made criminals.
Mr. Coles solution of the vexed ques-
ton lay in the education of public
sentiment which would put an end to in
discriminate aid and the establishment of
lodges with dormitories, kitchen, bath,
with wood yards, stone breaking places,
ETC., all under the direction of competent
authorities. Contracts with the city could
beTmade for one and all the work could
be carried on without serious competition
with organized labor. Such scheme he
thought was especially feasible in Port
land, and it's introduction was forcibly
urged by illustration and exhortation.
A brief discussion followed, after which
Mr.. Cole read extracts from the varied ex-
perienoe of the detectives employed by the
authorities in Massachusetts and the
M Getting was brought to q close.