Daily press. [volume] (Newport News, Va.) 1896-current, 1908-09-20

"Washington-the easy city" 90,
have worked this town to 4 finish.
said a girl hobo" here recently. land
! intend TO work it over again. II is
the easiest city l have seen in a long
while" Exactly one week after shf
made this statement h"r game was
exposed and she was arrested by the
police. She was sentenced to several
months in the workhoUse short time
later.
Wa hington Is easy II the word or
professional girl hoboes" nay be r.
lied upon II is worked to a finish.
not once in a while. but almost daily.
The police will tell you these workers
OF petit? swindles ar hard TO catch:
Not because they have brains and
plan good, but because their gam
are seldom report d to headquarters.
The average human being does not
like to admit he has been done" II
may be only matter CT dolla@ or s..
but he would rather stand tho loss IN
silence than 10 report the matter ana
have the criminal caught. Girl no
bocs" arr well aware of this weak
ness and il is their achief stock in
trade. Their game has 10 be WORKED
many times a day to be prcfltaDlc.
and they know that if the public is
warned. the city is not safe for them
TO work in.
Most of tho girl hoboes' stay we'll
within the pale of thu law. and work
their games for petty larceny amounts
only. MANY of them are attractive and
fair, while tho largest asset tn
others have IS their deformitr.
"How do We work in Washington
said one OF these girls in answer to the
same question a short time ago, to a
person who had befriended her IN
trouble. And what do We think OF
the town? Well. ven have been good 10
me. and will tell you.
washington is the easy city. II S
worked day after day by us girl no.
boes'-that's thn name we like TO be
known by-and some of "s, am sor-
nv to say. tell the OLD. old story. Tat II
alwa=s woes. girl with any kind OF
sense can work this plac.. to the linn t.
Dangerous. you ask? Well. no, much
II YOU know the rop-S you can't get
more than six months or at the most
year at the workhOuSc. Sure.
have ben pinched. but not lately. it
hammered when | was green at the
business.
"This Is Hard-luck Town"
"YCu see. this is a hard-iuck town
There are NOR disappointed persons
to the square inch in this burg ;Aa1
yen can find anywhere else on earth.
And that's the reason they listen to
every hard-,uck tale that comes along.
The easiest gam ever saw work
cd was done right here in town. ana
is probably still being worked. One
of us girls hit this town YEAR or so
ago broke. She bad never been here
before, so to get line on the place
she started out by asking for the
simplest thing she could think of. and
that was that was a car ticket. she
asked the frs nan for car ticket
and got it. Then she asked woman.
The woman gave her two. The taiA
she told was that she wanted 10 GET
10 work in distant part of the CITY.
but could not get there because she ala
not have car fare. If the listen r
had the ready ear she speued a lou
about a sick child. and how she would
lose the work if sha did not ach the
appointed place on time.
We'll. this game went so coed, that
the girl continued 10 ask fer car tick
cts. At first she thought she would
ONLY STAY here for a week. bu> things
went fine and she remained month.
New she has been here for many
moons and Is still working the same
old gag.
"Mavbe a few folks have gotten
wise. if she happened to ask the same
person twice, but say. who would re-
port to the police shat he had Il IN
zone ou; of car ticket? Why the
COPS would laugh at him.
Then I used to know kid who
worked the going far away with me
sick child and haven, enough money
gag in all TIL depots. She would hire
a baby as soon as she hit town, Dress
Up as If she was going away, take
a suit case. and go to the depot. 81.
would keep her eye on tn train boar1
and just about fifteen minutes be-
fore a train was going to pull! out for
distant parts. she would go out and
stand in front of the eatn. Then
Whenever any one would come along
that looked easy. she would tell IN;
guy that she was a poor widow, and
was taking her Only child homo. TO
where her folks lived. Then. sobbing
a bit. she would say she had lost part
OF the fare. Sometimes she wouli on
" b. a dollar short If the fellow look
ed stingy. but II it was an old ann,
she needed Nv dollars.
Plenty Of Places to Hire Babies.
cOuldnt ID
worked often. But she used TO make
a good 80 or sI5 day. Where did
she get the ,baty? VIII, there's