Arizona republican., 1908-11-10

Gee, but I felt good when I beat
 old lady this morning. It was the first time any man has been able to
 do it in the day time" The speaker
 was "A No. l." the champion tramp
 who struck the town the other day
 and hastened to The Republican of
 flee to tell of the achievement. By
 the ''Old lady" he meant the incom-
 ing M. & P. passenger train of that
 morning. It is a common thing for
 tramps to beat that train out and
 sometimes to beat the freight trains
 in, but it is proud boast that for long time the trainmen have been
 able to head off the tramp fraternity
 on the day run from Maricopa
 There were two conductors and a
 railroad detective watching me last
 night at Tucson" continued A No. l,
 but I eluded them all. caught an
 s. P. passenger out of that city and made good connection at Maricopa. arriving in Phoenix on schedule time for first class passengers"
 After A No 1 had told his story he was asked Why do you do it; what is the object of your ceaseless travel %
 Why do you smoke?" was the tramp's answer to the reporter.
 Beating the trains and constantly travelling are passions with me-" con-
 tinued A No 1.
 T stay in town a day or two and then I am seized by a desire to move on that is irresistible. I do not use either tobacco or liquor but travelling is youthful impulse that has been humored for twenty-five years until it is the overpowering and controlling influence of my life"
 A No. l is a tramp, just a conS mon. ordinary tramp, so far as world ly occupation is concerned. He has no desire to pile up money. or win
 fame by any achievement that sepa- rates him from a continuous passage on one railroad or another. He has given himself over unrestrained to his passion and therefore has adopted and guides his life by the motto, Whoever you are, Whatsoever you do, Wherever you are, be A No. l." Destined to be only a tramp, he now seeks to be the champion" tramp, the best there is. and now claims the title. He has a pocket full of his business" cards. One side bears his picture and his trade mark, "A No l." and an arrow head at either end of the mark. Below it is his claim of championship. On the other side of the card is this appropriate but somewhat ancient quotation: Pre- this card. Circumstances might force you to become a homeless tramp. Should you meet me, this card will be good for a square meal. provided am not dead broke myself" It also carries an advertisement for paper bound book he has written entitled Life and Adventures of A No. l." a copy of which he always carries and arranges for placing on sale at a local news store wherever he stops.
 The reader no doubt has by this time pictured grimy, nasty looking person, ragged and lazy. The reader is wrong for A No. 1 is a unique character and a genius in his way, a genius applied to an unusual if not a bad end, hardly the latter, for he has done and is doing a lot of good in the world, along with a lot of wasted effort, as shall be explained. He is of French and German parent age, reads, writes and speaks fluently French, German. English and Spanish, picked up on the road, for he left school at II years of age. He is not literateur but his book is very well written and describes a number fptc- lot of morals, warns boys against the life of a tramp and it's awful end and the rough road has to be travelled most of the way, saying also that the pro fessional hobo becomes such as rule before he is of age, thus differ between hobo and work ing man out of a job, which thea hoboes generally pretend to be. And through it all he does not pose as a hero He admits that his life is thrown away by an awful saturation of the wanderlust. that he might and would have done much better only for that and advises every boy to shun it. But not for his; it is in his nature now and to stay to the end when he hopes to rest under a tombstone he has already bought and paid for in Pennsylvania, if he is not ground up too fine by the car wheels that will eventually kill him.
 He is dressed in a better business suit than the average business man, though it is well filled with dust, wears a derby hat. we'll fitting eye glasses. soft shirt which he washes every Saturday night. and when in town has his shoes shining black from the materials which he carries in a hip pocket. When he in The Republican office and began to unfold the story of his own useless career. he provoked doubt 1t once and excused himself for his decent appearance by saying he wore overalls and jumper on the road and always slicked up as soon as he got .o town. This is as much business move with him as with anybody for thereby he gains the ear of respect able people, and he has a flow of anguage like that water that comes town at Ladore. He is good natured. always travels alone and works his ,wn system. He knows all the pro 'essional tramps when he meets them
 I.s T..