Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-03-03
Embryo Tramps and the Reforms
They Would Bring About,
ALL WISH TO LIVE WITHOUT WORK
Some Profess Socialism and Others
Want General Shake-Up.
HAVE NO DEFINITE PLANS

Copyright. 1900. by J. F. willard,
Written for the Evening Star BY Josiah Flynt.
Nearly every one Of the thousand en-
bryo tramps or gay cata' with whom 1
| have talked along the railroad lines with
| in the past TWELVE months has his own
notions as to how this country might be
made better place for all concerned. 1t
would require a volume to give them all in
detail, NUT have made a rough classif-
| cation and present them below in the order
| of their radical significance.
The mildest suggestion Of all was that it
was necessary for workingnnen to secure
legislation more favorable to their interests
and to become organized politically. This
was the general idea Of the men who had
the least sympathy with rowing life, and
| had been but short time ION tramp"
| could always distinguish them from the
| other roadsters by their moderate views
| In genera conclave they were not very
assertive. and it was difficult on such oc-
cas1ons to get much expression of opinion
from them, but when / terviewed singly
they did not hesitate to recommend the re-
form mentioned. None of them had any
carefully thought out plan by which it
could be achieved. but all believed it DOS
sibie, and declared that the workingman's
case was hopeless until he had more con-
scientious ''lobbies' working for him in leg
islative halls.
We've got to club together and man.
age votes Just the way the rich do one
man said to me, land when we do we'll
have a good chance to win. The bulk of
the voters in this country are workingmen
ana they ought to be able to run things
Hold Themselves to Blame.
1 was struck in all these assertions Of
the moderate men by the absence of re-
Vengeful feeling toward the rich. Their
IDEA seemed to be that the workingmen were
largely to blame for their impotency be-
cause they had failed to make themselves
felt as party in politics. and that there
was no use doing much for them one way
or the other, until they counted very def
nitely as an organized force In po,itica,
life.
More radical, but less sensible was the
suggestion of another set of men, who rec
commended the organization Of workingmen
into a great labor union irrespective of
politics, and free of the necessity OF leg
islaave action. They declared that it was
utterly impossible to reconcile the interests
OF Worktngmen with those of the EMPLOYER
and that the only thing for the former to
do was to get together in immense bodies
and simply refuse to let the business of the
country go on when they believed that
they We're being insufficienty paid or I'M
justly dealt with in any respect 1t was
their notion that brute force was the means
to employ to control the rich, and that
the latter would never become Thoroughly
just until they were thus frightened and
cowed. Fully two-thirds of ali the men I
talked with held to this opinion, while NOT
more than fifty believed In the milder b,,t
more strategic plan of trying to influence
legislation in the workingmans interests.
Some "Gay CATS sociaifsttc.
Another fifth were avowed socialists and
had memorfzed the usual catch phrases Of
this cult but they We're the easiest Of all to
beat in argument. They had accepted off