The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1903-05-07
THE RAILROAD TRAMP
II Not to He Countedfn the Glass vith
the Commcr Hobo.

Washington Post.
II the Presidents we4sern trip has borne
no other fruit, IL hasa least furnished
one good headline ofthe country press
over the news OF that Sloodless but thrill
ing encounter betweeIt the secret-service
men and the railroad damp. The chances
are that the narrative 1ill get less exploits
alton in the West thauzin the East. Here
the tramp is & dreadfIs creature. no mat
ter to what branch Oh his profession he
may belong. There tht good people make
a wide distinction between the railroad
tramp and the other soils.
The reason for this is4obvious, II we give
the difference in local conditions a mo-
ment's thought In thu far West the dis
tances are enormous, measured by our
standards. 1t is a far cry from one hu-
man settlement to another in the bad lands
and the nonirrigated de3ert. Railway fares
are not bagatelles by iny means for per-
sons with well-lined pSrses; for the poor
they are almost or qu3e prohbitory. Not
a few families whose siembers are separ-
ated only by the diamtSer OF one State are
unable to effect a reuIS0n more than once
or twice in lifetime because OF the cost
Of travel.
Employment for labc4 in such a region
is necessarily fitful. T9ere may be a great
deal more to do in on1 place for a while
than the people there ON hope TO do with
out help, and every ryan with a pair OF
sturdy muscles and h4nds with hardened
palms is a welcome addition TO the popula-
lation. In a month orr so that job is fin
ished and then. as thfre are no expand
Ing industrial plants MGR by TO absorb the
surplus labor, these saEle men must move
on the the next place where something Is
doing. Few of them &lave been able tn
save anything worth mentioning, and ii
they cannot get employment temporary
at stocking the locomotive FIRE or otherwise
making themselves SUFFICIENTLY useful on a
train to pay for ridA they seek a risky
perch under a car or4top OF IL or play az
stowaway among the Movable freight and
steal the ride denied ITEM as q gift To
them there is no worse ain I'm this than the
average man feels he - = committed when
he climbs a roadside f3lce in the country
and fills his pocket W h apples from an
orchard that does not t3long TO him.
Hence there grew up n the early days OF
long-distance raflroaditg in the West a
rather kindly sentimer2 between the pas
sengers on trains and die railway tramps,
and the train hands. Sd even the officers
OF the carrying compaAies, looked with n
compassionate eye. If tfey looked with any
at all. upon the poor fe bows who took such
means OF getting freq place TO place.
These men did not beleng TO the criminal
class; they were usuallS OF the sturdy sort
that, but for a run O. hard luck would
have made first-rate ciJzens. Most of them
had sxilled trades. WITT the wandering in
stinct that has given ustthe term Journey
man." but continued. ~ force OF circum-
Many unlawful passenger on a brake
beam has shared the lulch and smoked the
good cigars of the pas1snger in the cush-
Toned seat above him. and when orders
have come from the headquarters of a rail-
way company TO clear e trains OF tramps
the employees have sc4ped them on the
cars like flies, but with4 Sery gentle thrusts
of their sticks.
OF course, a railroad lamp with the best
sense would have avoidf1 a train on which
a President was traveleg, merely because
of the suspicious arous4d by the presence
there OF any stranger fithout credentials.
There Is no reason tofsuppose, however.
that the Presidents temp was bent ON
any mischief beyond BETTING a ride for
nothing. He was a stIor by occupatlon
and wished to go from abe coast to the in
terror In order to visit II mother in Mime
sofa. That was not I'D purpose IN itself.
however indiscreet hisS1ethod OF accom-
plishing IL. 1t is pleassrt TO know that no
bones were broken in q Ne conflict I'm which
he engaged with the gXirds-only q bit OF
glass. His experience probably taught
him lesson, and nobo1y Is the worse for
the little excitement.