The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-01-30

after awhile, an itll be those blasted gay
cats that put EN- on TO ms, too"
The honest workingman if he would,
might bring an equally severe charge
against the "stake-meO." They are al
ways in evidence at his strikes and labor
disturbances, and are frequently those
who lead him on 10 violent performances.
They have practically nothing to lose and
everything TO gain in such undertakings,
and the excitement of it ali is a pleasure
TO them. They were out in full force in
"Coxey's army" and they were very no,
ticeable in the Pullman strike. In wins
ter if they have not succeeded i'm finding
work after their summers holiday. the5
railroad to our large cities and help to
swell the ranks of the much-piCed "un-
employed" Probably a third of every
city's unemployed are "stake-men." In
the spring they start out again on THEN
wanderings, hating forha moqth or two
somewhere to pick up "a stake" sufficient
to keep them in tobacco and liquor, and
then begins the summer outing.
As citizens in times of peace and just
after they have got their Stakes they
are very patriotic. They think that this
is Gods own country and are most gar
rulous takers about America for the
Americans. Indeed, when down on THEN
luck they try to explain their penniless
eign labor. In war-times they are no less
talka tive on these subjects, but during
the late war with Spain they frequently
found it more convenient TO speak their
minds up in Canada. Just before war was
declared dozens of them were to be seen
railrOading hard toward the Canadian
boundary line. There had hene no sug-
gestion OF a draft. but they thought it wise
to be on the safe side of the line until
they were sure that a draft would not be
necessary. They are not naturally cow
ards: in personal encounters they can
often put up very good fights" and some
Of them make their stakes" wrestling and
boxing in barrooms and athletic acade-
miles, but they cannot bear to be com
PEELED to fight, and il was this that they
feared in the late troubles with the Span
iards. One "stake-mau" whom | talked
with a few days before hosultes began
put it to me this way: 81 want TO have
a good time this summer. an I'm goin up
to Montrea. 10 be sure of il. If they
catch me before | get there an send me
to Cuba, I'm goin 20 fight as hard as I
can. The harder the Americans fight the
sooner the thing win he over, but I'm not
planning to get into the scrap"
Il is, perhaps. an idle fancy, but ! cannot
help thinking that, if The government had
been able to send an army of "stake-men'
TO Cuba, they would have come out of the
ordeal with less loss from fever and camp
disorders than was the case among our
volunteers. The "stake-men," like the
tramp, knows how to take care Of himself.
and have met him in pest-stricken dis
trlcts gorging himself with impunity in tho
deserted homes of the frightened inhabi-
taOts.
How large his class is must remain a
matter of conjecture, for like the tramp
again. he is a very difficult man TO locate
absolutely, and complete count of his
companions is impossible. I think. how
ever that there are more than $1,000 east
Of the Mississippi, which is the estimate of
one who has had good opportunities of cal
culat'ng the number of railway stake
men, Counting all the different varie-
lies, 1000 would seem To me to come
nearer the mark In the West they are
not so numerous, but it s hard 10 believe
that they number less than 25000 there
All over the country they are gradually
becoming the American counterpart Of the
degenerated German acknowledgements
and although they may never develop into
a fuil-hedged tramp class. numbers of
them do, from time to time, join the hobo
fraternity.