Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1899-04-14

less suspicious.
Once ION The road" the life of
these boys can only belikened to that
of slaves. Their duty isto do exactly
what their lockers" the men who
have onticed them on TO 'the road."
command, and they are expected, if
necessary, to find their "jock ers'"
meals, clothes and even lodging house
money. Some become expert beg
gars in few weeks, and are much
priced 10y the men with whom they
travel to the end of their "prushun"
apprenticeship, and there are others
who require a year and more before
they are successful even in finding
their food. Once trained, however.
and if they are carefully exploited,
many OF them take in rs much as 50
a day, the money going, of course. to
their lockers" aud eventually to the
saloon keeper. During the process
of getting trained they are kicked.
slapped ana generally maltreated and
on occasions they are loaned, traded
and even sold. 1t avails them very
little to run away from cruel
'Jocker, for unless they return home,
which most of them are ashamed to
do, they are sure to be picked up by
some one else before they have gone
far. Not all hoboes travel with boys,
but there are so many who do that
it is useless for Il runaway ''prushun, "
who remains in the life, to keep free
of them. They are bound to run
across him somewhere, on freight
train or at some popular hang out, "
and they either persuade or compel
him to take up 'prushuns" burden
again.
This burden has to be carried until
the boy is able TO defend himself and
come off victorious in fisticuff with
his COCKER, or until he has reached
an age when he is obviously too old
to travel any longer as kid" The
age limit various in different cases,
but it is seldom that one finds boy
in the "prushun' class after he has
passed his eighteenth year.
Once emancipated, to use the hobo
word, the boy is supposed to go and
look for revenge. Some do this aud
some do not, but all are told that the
revenge when they get it will offset all
the misery and trouble they have
had to put up with as "pru
sAuns." Indeed, this is the
one reward held out TO them.
From the time they get into tramp
life, as boys, until they enter into the
Joys OF the emancipated, they are led
to believe that when emancipation
comes they can 60 and ''snare" some
other boy OF romantic temperament
and make him slave for them as they
have shaved for others. West OF the
Mississippi River there is regular
gang Of these "eX-kids, as they are
/ called, and the bulk of them are sup
/ posed to be looking for revenge. In
/ certain parts of the country, thanks to
! the Intelligence of magistrates and
court Judges. who have learned what
/ it means when n boy is found in the
company of hobo, it is very danger
0us to attempt any Sharing, or to
be arrested with Il boy lin tow" be
cause very severe sentences are melted
out to men who travel with Young
aters, and this is one Of the reasons
whv some "ex-kids," as well as a
number of the hoboes, have given up
"prushun" cOmpanionShip. Another
reason is that some find the business
heartless and cruel. There are SO
many, however, who favor the custom
that tramp life in the United States is
continually being recruited from the
boys of the country, and every year a
number of them take the places OF
those who have finished their APP
premiership. Those who come to
New York generally arrive in winter,
the time their ''jockers' travel to the
large cities TO get the benefit of lodg'
ing house shelter and cheap restaurant
living. They also put in an appear,
ance in summer for day or 50, bu'
at this time of year the bulk OF them
are scattered along the different rail
roads. They are the most difficult
lads in the world to locate and get hold
of. Excepting during the coolest
months, and even then, it they &C
South, they are continually on the
move, AID it is impossible to KEEP
track of them long enough to do them
much good. When they have com
mitted crime and are put Ill such
prisons as the Tombs 10 await trial
they get the benefit of that very worthy
institution, the Tombs School, ano
come under the good influence OF mer
and women connected with such re-
forms. but only a small number
commit crimes sufficiently grave to be
lodged in jail, and the reform schoo
seems also to have but very little ell
feet on their natures. The great ma
jority of American trGmps have spent
Part of their boyhood IN reforma
tories, but they went on tramp me
again when released. 1t is exceed
ingly hard to reform boy who has
once been in tramp life, and L feal
that the most of those who are now
"prushuns" are destined to develop
into full fiedged tramps. 1t Is possl
bic, however, to prevent q great many
boys from ever becoming ''prushuns,
OF learning much about life among
tramps, and my purpose in wrltlnt
this article is to call attention to the
methods which [ believe will accom-
plisn this end. I have referred totht
fact that some magistrates are &C
ouainted with the position of the boy'
in Hoboland, and punish their Sc
ducers very severely, 1t seems to mt
that this is the best remedy that cal
be applied, The boys themselves
have been sinned against more thai
they have sinned, and punishment fo