Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1901-12-14
HOBO ROOsT GONE
@ Completes Fill of Hole Back
of Rock Island Round
House.
WILL HAVE STORAGE YARD THERE
Place a Famous Resort for knights
of the Road-Railway
Notes.


When the work train that has been
hauling dirt from the sand pit at
Barstow lays off this evening place
famed in hobodom from the Atlantic
to- the Pacific and from Canada to
Mexico as a haven for gentlemen of
the road will be no more. The place
in question is or rather was the hole
back of the Rock Island round house
formed by the Q in making its fill TO
skirt the roundhouse years ago. The
space between the Q and the Rock Is
land rights of way was never thought
worth filling up before this year and
for many seasons il has remained
the harbor into which has drifted
many a derehct, the fiotsam of the
middle states, which is equivalent to
saying that of the continent.
1t was just hole in the ground,
- or Is feet in depth, with railroad
tracks all around it, and nothing be-
tween it and heavens dome, and at
first glance the layman would scarce
" see anything about it suggestive
of comfort or utility, especially when
wintry blasts whistlea over it. But
the American tramp does not meas
( ure by conventional standards and
\ this black hole in the ground filed Il
| long-felt want with him. He was
quick to perceive that it was peculiar
| ly fitted to catch and retain the first
warm rays of the sun in spring and
| the last in the fall and that no mat
ter how fiercely the north wind
howled over it in the winter time it
did not dare to pause and enter. Fur
ther than this, his practiced eye took
in the piles of old ties near at hand,
acknowledged the best firewood for
hobOs, and the snug homes of rail-
road men just across the tracks
where liberal handouts were to be
had. and there he camped.
Many a patrol wagon load of
transients were taken from this
place to be kept over night at the
station and then shown n convenient
road out of town. Whenever the
gentry became too bold in their beg
ging or too loud in their orgies the
police raided the hole and the prob
lem was solved.
But all this will be no more, for the
% has been filling the place all year
with the object of making a storage
yard upon the site and the work Will
be done today. There will be room
for five or six tracks there $500. d..
Burlington Briefs.
Conductor \. +. Barber is laid up
with a bad cold and Conductor Ca
naan has taken his run.
Switchman j. +. Supple caught the
third finger of his right hand in
switch in throwing it Thursday
morning and the memberwas so badly
lacerated that he has been compelled
TO give up work for few days.
Baggageman II. G.. Chalk is laid up
with Il sprained ankle.
Two extra men named Herring and
Bridgewater were sent here from
Beardstown during the week to do
general duty at this point, but the
former has returned home sick.
Brakeman Fred Pollard and Il. Il.
Dial. who ran on the moonlight
freight. have resigned.
Switchman j. L. Weber and Brake
man II. =. Easley accompanied the re-
mains of \. T.. Keefer to Astoria
This evening all the mem
bers of Tri-City lodge of the b. of K.
L. WHO are dDit W StA away VIII -
to Astoria to attend the funeral SER
vices which will be held at 10 o'clock |
morning.
Brakeman G. c. jerks, while rum
ming on the Monmouth local, yester- |
day slipped near Alpha and fell |
against a switch, breaking two ribs !
and necessitating his laying off to
recover
The force in the division offices
has been hampered during the past |
few days by illness, those affected |
being II. X. Mack, Frank Davis, L. y. |
Swan and Miss Mabel Fullerton.
Rock Island RattIinES.
Engineer w. Johnson laid off yes
terday and Dave Hotchkiss was given
his run.
Fireman Frank WyneS has return |
ed to work after a short illness.
Engineer Al Hotchkiss, who has
been off duty on account of illness
in his family, has returned to work.
Fireman Fred Goeckel is running on
the Illinois local.
Engineer L. II. Morgan is laid up
with rheumatism.
Engineer Dan Moriarity is sick.
Joe Kali is off duty and w. J. Char
Vile is on the switch engine, 81.
The time card changes on the Burl-
ngton, heretofore noted in The Argus,
20 into effect tomorrow.