Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-02-15
they victims of trusts, monopolists nor cap.


L
Youthful Out-of-works.
Great public undertakings like the world s
fair at Chicago. the recent war with Spain.
new railroad and the attractions of
places like the Klondike have tendency
to increase the number of these youthful
| out-of-works. The worlds fair stranded
many thousands and there are already signs
| that the war with Spain has brought out
| a fresh crop of them They have taken
| to travelling on the railroads because they
| have become ineculated with wanderiust
and because they think it is only by con-
tinually shifting that they are likely to get
| work. The same thing took place only on
| a larger SCALE after the civil war, and our
present tramp class. ia the result. Some
Spanish war, and 'wher mustered oft Joined
| the wanderers ondthe railroads, will even
| tually develop into full -fedged tramps; it
is inevitable. At present they are merely
| out-of-works, and at times honestly seek
| work.
Let me tell the story of one Of my COM
panions for few days on a railroad in
| plumber by trade and had left a job
fortnight before I met him. The weather
| had got too warm to work he said UtaWas
in June), and he had enough of stake
| to keep him going for several weeks on
the road. He was on his way to the north
| west.
| The west is the&only part O. this coun-
Try worth much. i Guess he. said, IN
i
in the east ey'rytRhg is in. the hands O.
/ the rich. There's 10 change for a young
| fellow here in PENNSYLVANIA any more I
| asked MN whether ne was not able to make
| good living when, he remained at work
i on, can live all right" he replied but
| this .country;s got to give me somethin'
| more'n Twin before I'll work hard month
for anybody. I got, as good a rights the
next man to enjoy myself. m when l want
to go on on a trip IN goin'.' l suggested
that this was hardly the philosophy of
| men who made and saved a great deal of
| money. well, 1 amt gon' to work hard
| all my life n have nothin but money at
| the end of 1t. ! want to live as I go along,
| n l like hittin' the road ev'ry row and
! them
Hard Times These.
| How long do you generally keep job?'
IF 1 get good one in the fall gener-
ally keep it till spring, but the year around.
| l guess, change places ev'ry two or three
| MONTHS
How much Of a loaf do you have be-
| tween jobs?" "a =
TT depends Last year 1 was nearly
| four months on the hog once-couldn't get
anything. As q general thing. though, 1
don't have to wait over six weeks If l look
| hard"
| Are you going o'look hard out west?'
| Well. I'm goin' to size up the country,
| n If like it, why, | guess I'll take a Job
for a while. I got enough money to keep
me in tobacco m booze for a few weeks,
| eat
l How do you manager"
| u hustle for my grub the way hoboes do
| its easy enough,
/ Il should think .workingman like your
| self would hate to do that"
Il used TO little. but I got over it, You
| got to help yourself in this world, N I'm
| learnin' how to do 1t, too
Plenty Domestic Talent.
| The nationality of'the gay cats is mainly
| American. A large number have parents
who were born in Europe. but they them
selves were born in This country. and there
| settled here for. several generations. l
bring this out BECAUSE 1t is a popular but
mistaken notion that the native Americans
| contribute very few recruits to the army
| of unemployed" and the tramp class. and
that it is the foreigners who cause most
OF our labor disturbances and fill our poor
| houses and jails
| What L have said in regard to the unem-
ployed young men applies also in measure
to the old men. The latter are in MANY
| cases as much the victims Of wanderust
a as are ! their youthful. fPmpanons; but there
| plain their vagahpndage. The older men
| are more frequently confirmed drunkards
| than are the younger men. Occasionally
curing the past YEAR IL have met an aged
out-of-work who was not addicted to drink
| ana. who was 5pepnileSs and .'on the road
| from. other causes, but nine-tenths of all
| the mature men awerdi by their own con-
fession hard drinkers Whether their loose
| habits are also answerable for, their love
| OF carping and oriticispg and their notion
that they alone know how the world should
| be run 1t is impossible for me to say; but
| certain IT is that their continual grumblng
ana seoidlng against those who have been
| more perseVering than they is another Of
the causes which have brought them to
| their present unfortunate state Men who
are increasingly finding faut with their
| lot and yet make no serious attempt to
| better 1t cannot get on" very far in this
country or in any other.
| This type Of out-of- work exists every
where, Germany, Russia. England and
| france as well as in the United States but
| l am not sure that particular civiliza-
| ton, or rather our form of government has
| not tendency to develop it here a little
/ more rapidly than in any other country
Wnlch nave explored.
| Waiting for. Their Trades.
! 1t is furthermore TO be rema rked concern
| ing these aged out-of-works that pride and
| unwillingness to take work outside of their
| trades have also been causes of their bank
| ruptcy. The same is true, to some extent Of
| all sorts Of unemployed men. young and old.
but it is particularly true about those who
|