The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1900-10-30
TRAMPS HOME IN THE WINTER.
He Used to go South, Now He Finds
Chicago the Best Place.

TRAMP'S HOME IN THE WINTER
He Used to go South, Now He Finds
Chicago the Best Place.
The tramps are coming back to Chi
cago to go into winter quarters. II
used to be that with the approach OF
snow and ice the tramp winged his
flight with the wild duck to the sunny
southland. The tramp would explain
his migration by saying he did not like
snow balls as a steady diet. But the
tramp found that while there was plen-
ty of sunshine and balny breezes dur
ing the winter months in the southland
yet sunshine and balmy breezes We're
also far from fattening, and that the
opportunities for picking up sustenance
during the weary winter months were
much better in q big city than in the
south. A large proportion Of tramps
continue to go south yet with the COM
ing of the first frost, but constantly
increasing number each year turn their
wandering footsteps toward the big cit
les, where a bed In the cheap lodging
| houses may be had for "a dime and
where philanthropic citizens with dimes
may be had on the boulevards.
The tramps that come to Chicago in
| the winter do not remain at a perma-
nent address during the cold months
| Some of them live in the Easements of
| deserted buildings and others occupy
| quarters In box cars on the side tracks
| in the railroad yards. In a yard in
Eighteenth street are a large number of
abandoned traction engines that were
used last winter by the tramps as their
homes. Old street cars showed out be-
hind car barns and left to decay are
also quietly contiscated by tramps and
used until the barn boss drives them
away.
On extremely cold nights, when the
box cars and the traction engines are
cherries and gloomy, the tramps walk
the streets until they can collect the
price of bed at clearinghouse. and
falling to raise the necessary amount
they take refuge in the police stations.
The policemen send them down stairs
to the big room in front of the cells.
They spread newspapers on the floor,
and then lie down and sleep peacefully
until morning. Every genuine hobo
carries a piece of soap and a newspa-
per. On the rare occasions when they
perform their additions they scorn to
use any soap except their own and they
never think of lying down to their rest
at night without spreading their news
papers under them. Tramps know the
value of paper in keeping out cold, and
sometimes an apparently thinly-clad
tramp will have newspapers judieiously
stuffed in his clothing in lieu of UNDER
wear.
The tramp usually dimes in the win
ter months at the cheap saloons i'm
Clark street and in HalStead and West
Madison street, where for five cents
paid for a large vase of beer they are
permitted to stand in front of the lunch
counter and harpoon the tempting vi
ands there displayed until the hoarse-
voiced bouncer moves down upon them
and demands: "Well, dy tink dis is de
Pammer House? How much perwis-
ions dy think yer bought wild dat five
cents?"
In the cheap lodging-house the tramp
can find bed for prices varying from
five cents to twenty-five. The custom
airy prices in the majority of the cheap
lodging houses are ten and fifteen cents.
In the early part of the evening the big
front room of the lodgng-houses, which
corresponds to the corridor of the high
er-prced hotels in Michigan avenue is
filled by a miscellaneous crowd, among
whom are many tramps, and who sit as
close to the red-hot stove as possible.
AS the evening passes on those OF the |
crowd who have ten cents seek their
beds. At ten o'clock a big, red-faced |
bouncer appears and announces in clar-
ion tones, Now, youse fellers wot's got
de price get to yer holes, and youse fell !
lers gotter carry the banner, carry!"
To carry the banner" means to walk |
the street all night or until the wan
derer can get enough money to pay for
bed So the plutocrats who have a |
dime each in their pockets rise Ian
guidly from their chairs, and, casting !
superior glances about them to call at |
tention to the fact that they are guests
of the lodging house, say. well, mite
fellers," and stroll off to their hunks.
The unhappy ones who feel them
selves elected to carry the banner" are
all suddenly smitten with deafness
when the bouncer makes his announce
ment. They sit staring steadfastly at
the stove until the bouncer, who often
carries a baseball bat as an emblem or
his authority, touches them on the
shoulder and says, "Well, young felly,
if youse a-goin to carry, why carry!'
Then out into the night they go.
Many tramps, however, scorn lodg-
lighthouses except on the coolest nights.
They manage to live somehow, no mat
ter how cold the weather may be,
though how they do it is mystery.
They often drag considerable clothing
into the nests they inhabit under side
walks and in the Easements of deserted
and on cold nights, after
putting on all the clothes they have,
hey build small fires and some one sits
Up and tends the fire while the others
sleep.
I'm a-goin' back ter Sheeeago," said
| tramp who sat by the side of the
rack at Oak Park, where the freight
rev had put him Off LAS de school
looks ulster saw DE cole wind does bio |