The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1908-03-09
ny rnEpEnIC y. MAsKIN.

. The annual migration OF tho tramp
wGrld ia. beginning Tho opening OF
the weather brings thousands OF these
deniscns. OF tho underworld ffpm the
to the Northern States. whore finan-
c!al conditions arc usually more favor
,ahlo from the hobo standpolnt some
time ago minister wrote magazine
article on the tramp problem. A man
who had formerly been ii hobo replied
to II and stated that the minister did
since he could not even make the dis,
tinction between hobo, u tramp, and
" bum. There ara no statistics as tol
the number of each of these classes
Ia estimated from figures at hand that
there are about 10000 OF them In he
United States. i has been estimated
that the average tramp costs the con-
leaving ,heir depredations entirely out
Of consideration. their cost per year
to The country would be about sl2,.
cent eeuv0V of them oY admit hat they are are
able to work. OF the remaining scv
enteen per cent, more than one-half
are afflicted will, contagious diseases.
acknowledge that they are habitual
drunkards. and inquiry among several
thousand shows that only seven per
cent. of them are married.
| Those students of the tramp evil who
!, have, gone about among tramps for
awhile for the purpose of learning alie
why's and wherefores OF their exist
ence have found that the reasons are
many, One of them is q, natural de-
/ sire to roam. Thousands OF young
boys start out to beat their way, to
ride brake beams from city to city,
| up or down to the professional hobo
station of life. Profligacy Is another
reason; The tramp does. not know
the value of money. One Investigator
M MI n~ ira, " ant two
ty-eight dollars for drinks In n single
night. Another had gotten $4,000 as
back pay on his pension account. and
within single month had squandcred
some of these old fellows, who fol-
lowed the flag but who now follow
the rail, are often TO be found resting
up for season and spending every
two of the time they get It. With them
the. morrow must take care OF It
New York. OF course, is tho centre
OF the tramp world. No other city In
! the world is so liberal to the hobo as
Is New York Mendicancy would pay
better than hard work there. II only
the beggar were as saving as the
worker. 1t is estimated that there
i. arc over 5000 professional beggars In
the city. Some of them are citizens OF
/. both the upper and the lower world
!; Only recently woman was discovered
I who begged by night In order that she
: could wear fine clothes by day. There
are nearly 10000 beds in the city thai
may be occupied for few hours' worl
l or for nominal charge, or even with
: out money and without price.
:. Aside from the big cities the wors
, sufferers from the tramp evil are tn,
!, the United States amount to over s25.
;, 100000 q year, The leading railroads
: of the East, now maintain police forces
TN ne hny orr Ia
train crews. In 1906 the police fore
of the Pennsylvania Railroad ARRESTED
tover 800 Migrants. But while TIL
;, tramps do heavy damage to the rail
4 roads. the railroads in turn levy heav.
S tolls on them.
n During five recent years there *er
:. more trespassers killed by the rail
: roads than passengers and trainmel
combined. There were $4,000 tres
passers killed as compared with les
. that 1000 passengers and 1900 train
:, men. There were about $4,000 tres
: passers wounded. OF the class know
n as trespassers, railroad men estimat
/ that three fourths were tramps. Fror
= this IT will be seen that every othe
tramp hurt In an accident was k,l ls
In which the poor patron OF the sid
y door Pullman" must ride. so fatal t
Is the tramp is the railroad, that man
} along the nght-of- way. Where tn
:, dead hobos are placed in unmarke
- graves. IT is said that foreign conn
!; tries are very much ahead OF tn
= United States in the matter Of handlin
e. the tramp evil. and that trsmps a.
G, seldom seen on the right {
>, railroads in Europe. An effort.
ID which the railroads are q party,
& now being made to prevent cities an
E. e towns from forwarding their vegran
5. on to the next place. The railroad
~ say that II the municipalities alon
rs their lines would imprison the yagran
at hard labor instead OF sending the
h. on to the next place, much of the eV
lwould be overcome.
Los Angeles, California and yum
Arizona, in recent crusade again
RI tramps, found notices very helpfr
4 They put up posters which rea
y, '.Hoboes, keep moving. Rent is hit
~ and food Is scarce. TaXpayers WI
- pepper, Mr.. John 3. Taylor Dr. frar
~, Hancock and Mr.. Crowder'
70 Nj,. NI{upr was also II