Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1899-08-31
SHOULD Be ARMED.
Trainmen Have Little Protection
Against Tramps.
SOMETHING SHOULD Be DONE.

prominent RAILROAD OmcIal Airs H1s
Opinion onthe Hobo Problem
Suggests Radical Legis-
lation as a Cure.
"That awful tragedy on the Iowa
| Central near Marshalltown. the other
day, makes me wonder more than ever
what will be the outcome of the tramp
question" remarked prominent Burl-
ington official to a Courier reporter
today. Things have come to such a
pass that every member of a train crew
should carry revolver for self-protec-
ton, and yet there is absolutely no
warrant in law for such an action.
"I'he impression prevails that be-
cause trains are not held up as FREE
quently now as they used to be in
this section few years ago, the
tramp question is gradually solving it.
self. but such is not the case by any
means, think every railroad man
in Iowa will bear ME out in the asser-
ton that the tramp nuisance was
never greater nor more serious than it
| is today. Several years ago bands of
tramps would be sheer bulk and num-
bers take possession of train and
insist upon being carried to the end
| of the division, or as far as they
wanted to travel on that particular
day, but they were generally good ma
tured and harmless as compared with
\ the fellows who make it business to
beat their way on the roads today.
| We all remember how the companies
| used to cut trains in two and try all
kinds of tricks to outwit the hoboes,,
but it rarely happened that trainmen
| We're compelled to defend their very
4 lives.
Almost every day we hear of some
bold deed perpetrated by one of the
hobo type, wherein the life of the en-
ploye of the road and also the safety
of the train is jeopardized. Many of
the trainmen are equal to any emer-
gency or bluff that comes up, and their
phvsic is in their favor. hhaye broth
err out on the West End, who very
seldom has any trouble with tramps.
He gives his orders and they look at
the man and get out. He can handle
three or four ordinary men in a fistic
encounter, and unless he runs amuck
of an armed hobo, does not fear any
of them. The number of reinforce-
ments which the hobo company might
have don't make much difference to
him either. But there are thousands
of employees of railroad companies in
the train service who would not prove
anything near match for the average
tramp that has no other ambition than
that of seeing how .neryy he can be-
come. Such men, ! say, should have
some protection. Assaults from hos
4 are entirely too frequent, and it is
high time that some legislation should
be made relative to this important
question.
THE public is vitality interested in
this matter. Ii things have come to
such pass that trainmen are liable to
be killed between stations and trains
| left without protection it is time that
something should be done. When
worthless scoundrels can kill trainmen
and throw their bodies under the
4 wheels to be cut to pieces the rail
roads are going to clamor for laws
that will protect them. Railroads are
often accused OF working for laws that
Especially benefit them, and | guess
they do, for they need special rights
and protection, and every particle of
| it in turn benefits the public. | think
that the coming general assembly
ought 10 take up the tramp question
and solve it for all time.
In the first place there is not the
4 first earthly excuse for a tramp, The
| professional ought either to be in the
penitentiary or a grave. The only
man who has any right to be idle is the
invalid. That old gag about the roll
ing stone gathering no moss never had
any more truth in it than it has in 1899
The man who can work and won't
ought to be made to. The stone pile is
i just the place for him, and Wapello
county can help along by getting a
| big pile of stone on hand. The OF
i tumwa police are doing pretty well in
4 this direction. but it is pity that
1 their jurisdiction does not extend
around the city for several miles.
/ what would suggest is law
making it a criminal offense for any
person to board train with the in
tcntion of beating ride. If some
poor cuss steals few chicken he gets
sent down to Fort Madison. il man
beats his way over the entire length
of the Burlington, without being dis
covered, defrauding the company out
of.several dollars, he is considered cute
by some people. If he is killed while
stealing ride and leaves relative on
earth, they think they are damaged.
| t'fhere are three or four months in ev-
cry We arin which the elements of danger
4 in railroad mau's life does not lie
/ in the probability of death by accident
but in his dealings with the hoboes.
don't know how long the public is
going to stand this, but it seems to me
that every person who travels on the
] railroads should unite with the COM
panies in securing legislation that
will tend to lessen the tramp nuisance
and protect the life of railroad men
and the travelling public. If the hobo
lis dangerous enough to shoot brake
man in cold blood and then throw
his body under the wheels, he is mean
enough to derail a train"
| Ex.GOvERNOR OF IOWA DYING.