The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1908-12-20
How
Rutherford
Corbin

inc ID Across tie '>ollliiiehl. MI vi
s,o is a former member of The Her
.i5 staff and is well known in Salt
80 He worked as a newspaper re-
aorier in SAT- Lake in 1907 and again
ct summer. On the last occasion he
uas stopping over in Salt Lake for
- weeks while beating it. from San
Fran1 isco TO New York.
putin, rford Corbin is the son of Gen
sraI Henry c. CorSin of the United
Stotes army. He Is an exceptionally
Sever newspaper writer, original in
tbourht and happy IN expression. One
ID the characteristics of Mr. Corbin is
HE roaming disposition. This wander
inst has taken him around the world
several times. into remote and semi
axplorad if not wholly UNEMPLOYED, parts
m Mexico, South America, Africa, Asia.
the Philippines and other Pacific is
b lands and the West Indies
Mr. Corbin is a graduate Of Princeton
university. At the outbreak of the
spauIsh war he was member Of the
washington staff Of the New York Her
all At the opening of hostilities he
was transferred by his paper to Cuba as
a war correspondent. He was on the
spot at nearly all of the famous bat
ties in the Cuban campaign. The fol-
lowing year he went to the Philip
pines as correspondent for his paper.
In 1900 he was one of the secretaries at
the Paris peace conference When this
commission was concluded he took oc-
casion To make a trip through Europe,
Africa and Asia. On his arrival in the
Philippines on this trip he was given
an appointment as administration clerk
BY Governor William II. Taft
After two years in the Philippines
Mr. Corbin returned TO the United
States 10 accept a position as Wash
ington correspondent for the Cincinnati
Enquirer. He came 10 Utah I'm 1903 TO
cover the National Irrigation congress
for his paper. In 1894 he was a member
az the press bureau OF the Republican
national campaign committee. Shortly
afterwards he went to Cuba as manag-
ing editor Of the Havana Herald, pa
per owned at that time by W. II. Taft
In 1907 Mr.. Corbin came to Salt Lake
10 accept a position as feature writer
on The Herald. Writing under the
nom de plume Of Private Burke" Mr.
ror5iu was the author of a series of
EXCEPTIONALLY clever war stories which
appeared exclusively in The Herald. In
he autumn Mr.. Corbin made an eX-
ploTatiOn trip into the isolated and hith-
erto unvisited or little visited parts of
Mexico.
After passing the winter in Mexico he
went to San Francisco, where he began
his enlivoning career as a professional
. tramp The venturesonle life OF the
tramp appealed to the wander instinct
" the newspaper man, and he resolved
TO beat it, across the continent. The
first installment of his story deals with
his trip from San Francisco to Ogden.
From ogden he came to Salt Lake.
where he worked as a newspaper man
for several weeks Then he beat 1t"
70 Denver. After a rest of a few days
he beat il" to Omaha, from there 20
Chicago. then 20 Detroit, and so on
to New York. accomplishing finally the
uip-in box cars. hanging on rods. rid
ing the bumpers, decking It," and ev-
, cry Legitimate manner OF tramp trans
portation-from San Francisco to New
York without paying-one cent<af rail-
road fare.
OF his trip the editor of the Rail-
road Mans Magazine has this to say:
This Is a true story of one mans ex-
perieuces. The author is a well known
newspaper writer. who found himself on
the Pacific coast. with a great disgust
in his heart for the conventiOnally COM
Portable means of reaching his home In
the east. Therefore he decided to fore
gather with the knights of the rods and
tae bumpers.
Not a cent did he spend for rail
road fare. In at least three towns or
the way he DOTTED the garments and
manner Of the tramp long enough Il
secure a good newspaper position, which
he held for a few days of rest. Thes'
breaks in the journey form no part O
this narrative.
The story is sing ular. not so mucl
because of the feat itself, which hal
been duplicated times without numbe
by professional hoboes, but for the rea
son that in this case it was performed
by a man who had the eyes to see and
the skill to write"
The first installment of Mr.. Corbin'.
stoiN, From San Francisco to Sal
Lake: How a Man May Bridge The
Vide Gaps of Desert and Mountain Be.
tween the cities of the West Without
Money and Without Price" follows:
II you stop the next real DO you NEE
and ask him in the vernacular of the
clan where he is FROM" II you yourself
are shabby enough as TO attire to gair
limit.
THAI means, if he is in New York. tina
ne has come from the Pacific coast. L
ae Is Pacificward, II means that he ha.
crossed the continent from the Atlanti,
She. perhaps many times, but at leas
once. and recently. IL he says that he /:
i'om Chi or down the road" he i.
PROBABLY an amateur or beginner. and
IL
The professional hobo Of years OF ex
PeHence crosses the continent on an aver
age or three times a year, always routin,
MS course from east to west and vic,
versa. In the earlier days of his caree
ne may he content with 4 route abou
ths two or three states that he know
oeS'. Until no has gone "the limit" how
ever, he does not dare relate his mino
experiences at the water tank and Jun
s.es sessions of his more matured an
graduate brethren
suppose that was why. when I con
CeNeu the idea that | wanted to know
more about tramp life than I could gathe
!. thr police courts or from the parks o
Fullman window, I chose the San Fran
80 70 New York route for the expert
sieHl or perhaps il was that l was 4
San francisco and wanted TO get TO NeV
,eIN and to make the transcontinenta
~ LOT the tenth time in a Pullman ap
ICED a bit mon0tonouS.
~ II may have been just the strang
.lsco air, which gets into the blood Q
man and stranger and makes hir
~ queer things. At any rate. in Sa
StdlcSco l was. In New York / am, an
'NAuut paying cent Of railroad fare /
limit" e' Ii
~ vas a sunny June day when l crosse
We Terry TO Oakland I had 10 cents /
~ ~ pocket For while It was a part {
me contract had made with myself ths