The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1908-04-18
The Case of Jones.
Copyright


a mechanic and working every day at
1alr wages and happy to work. A
year later he married. A year later
still he lost his wife and babe as the
former became a mother Then he got
into trouble with his union for working
overtime. was expelled from the so
siety. and during the next year 1t was
bitter fight with him against odds.
The shops turned him down. his health
became poor; there were more laborers
than there were picks and shovels. He
was carrying in a ton of coal now aud
then or carrying out ton Of ashes.
when he got In the way of street car.
He wasn't killed Indeed. he wasn't
badly hurt. but policeman took it as
a bit Of impudence on his part to in
terrupt traffic. and he was collared and
sent up for thirty days In one sense
the Imprisonment was q great relief
to Jones. He got something to eat and
got it regularly. When night came he
other sense he felt degraded. His keep
ers and most of the other prisoners
would have laughed at the idea. but it
was nevertheless true. He had made
good fight for it and had been down.
ed through no fault of his own. and
he had done nothing to deserve impris-
Onment. 1t Inundated and imbittered
him. and when his sentence had been
served he had lost his self respect and
had a feeling that the world was
against him.
From that day Jones became a hobo
He tramped without any particular
aim except wanting to get somewhere
when he went among the farmers the
usual thing was to set the dog on him
as soon as he entered the gate or
climbed the fence. Of there was no
dog, then the farmer came forward to
give the hobo the boot. For every one
farmer who fed and lodged him fifteen
turned him away. The latter thought
it necessary to call him names and
threaten him and make him feel his
position. The former demanded that
he pay five times the value of the food
in work. and when he got ready to
move along they insisted on searching
him to make sure that he wasn't car
rying off pillow or the contents Of the
granary. Now and then. at long inter
walls. Jones met human being. man
or woman. They talked to him as one
human being talks to another. and for
an hour after he would feel himself
again man. Then along would come
country constable to run him in on
suspicion Of having stolen a wagon
load Of wheat or potatoes and abuse
him because the proofs were lacking.
For five years Jones wandered over
the face Of the earth. In that time he
met more people and saw more of hui
man nature than the ordinary man
would see in living two lifetimes. In
particular he saw the littleness Of his
fellow men. He discovered that for
every broad minded man there were
thousand with pinched and contracted
souls. He heard gossip and scandal
md lying. He saw the injustice of
man to man. He saw so little that
was good and so much to condemn
that. hobo as he was. he became dis
gusted and no longer wondered why
hogs crowded each other at the trough.
One day he picked UP an old newspa
per on the highway and sat down and
read. among other things, that a GER
tain philaDthropic old lady had found
ed and endowed home for the ailing
and INDECENT. Jones had known for a
year past that he was a victim of con-
sumption and that his tramping days
were drawing to a close. Sometimes
as he lay under tree and thought of
it he reasoned that the roadside ditch
was good enough for tramp to die in.
Again. there would come a longing to
have human beings about him when
the end came. to die under roof. to
die in his bed. even to have to talk
with minister before the lamp flick
cred out.
A month later Jones was asking for
admission to the home He was then
human wreck, and his days were
numbered. Yes. they took him in. but
the attendant in his ward gave him
warning that If he made any trouble
he'd get the bounce. The same attend
ant asked him in the frankest manner
why he didn't die somewhere in a
snowdrift instead of coming among
his betters. The doctor didn't look
him over. He said there was no need
Of that. Any one with ears on had
only to listen to that racking cough.
His excellency the doctor further re-
marked that there was no need of
wasting good chicken broth and port
wine on that case a. tIasteF suppos-
q: !: f.. T.; 4: !: f: f.:
nursing to do. At first Jones wanted
this and that and even dared to call
out at night and awaken the sleeping
nurse. but after few days. after be
had been talked to a few times. he