The morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1899-1930, 1908-05-23

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where | had lain for a week under
charge of a double murder the sheriff
kicked me as left the jail. went
straight to a lawyer and had him ar
rested for assault and battery, and he
settled the case by handing me 500.
IF am arraigned am given law
yer. It's dead easy for him to show
exactly where was at the date, or,
rather, where wasn't On one occa-
sion | was at work In the bayfield, six
ty miles from the spot, On another |
was chopping wood for farmer sew
enty miles distant. am set at liberty,
but grudgingly. The public had its
mind made up that ! was guilty and
should be hanged and it's a disap-
pointment to all.
Let me tell you that the dllapidated
gentleman reasoned things out long
ago, He Is no more a criminal by In
stinct than any other man. He doesn't
want to lose his life or his liberty. He
Is not greedy for gain. Not one tramp
in ten would quit the road If he got a
legacy of 5000. Give him sufficient
for today and the morrow may go
hang. He may hit back II you hit
him, but he has no cause to want to
murder any one. He may steal to as
suage hunger, but not for profit Now
and then you hear of some tramp rob
bing a farmhouse. He is either drunk
or a fool. No pawnbroker will take
anything from him, because he Is a
tramp. No person will buy any of his
plumber for fear of being compromised.
The tramp with sense in his head
knows this, and il dozen farmhouses
were open to him there would be no
temptation.
Suppose that a tramp stole sos In
cash from house. IL he struck
town and went to buy suit of clothes
he'd be suspected. If he went to ho-
tel and wanted to become a guest he'd
be suspected. If he even bought new
hat or a new pair Of shoes ii might be
made the grounds for his arrest How
would 1t profit him, then, to take the
money?
Il have worked for farmer for six
weeks on a stretch and taken the road
with $50 in my pocket have been
arrested a day later and had to send
for him to prove that wasn't thief.
If had a ten dollar bill in my pocket
l might walk 200 miles and not find
anybody to change 1t for me. l once
found twenty dollar bill on the
streets Of town. | carried that bill
with me for four months and then at
last gave tin peddler 50 premium to
change it. He felt sure that l had
stolen 1t, but decided to take chances.
Tramp 10 Suspected.
"You see that horse has been stol. |
en- and a tramp Is suspected. Bosh!
Where would he go with 1t? Whom !
could he sell it to? You see that
country store has been robbed. 1t was
tramps that did it. Bosh! What could |
they do with their plunder? A post |
office is entered and the safe blown
open. Tramps some more. Bosh
When you find a tramp that can blow
a safe you may look for cows with
wings. The door of that postoffice
might be left wide open every night in
the year and he would pass on.
Three years ago In Connecticut a
farmers barn was robbed Of fifty
bushels of oats one night His own
bags were used to sack them up. The
cam used to draw them away was fol-
owed for six miles. was within ten
niles Of the site of the robbery that
light, and next day l was arrested as
he robber. | was held in jail for a
week before being examined to allow
f the sheriff working up the case, but
when things finally came to head
'ou ought to have heard the justice
core him. He was man of sense,
Ie was, and he made the sheriff out a
'orn fool within ten minutes. If
tole the oats l must have stolen a
cam to draw them away. Who had
Ost team? 1t would have taken two
nen to sack and load the oats. Where
vas the other man?
"Oh, yes, there are events in the life
t every dilapidated gentleman on the
DAD, and the moral lesson to be drawn
rom most of them is in his favor. He
oes less lying than any salesman,
ess stealing than confidential clerks,
nd, as for immortality, your millionaire
J convicted Of 1t oftener than your d
ramp" N. QUAD. a