The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1908-06-26
THE TRAMP QUESTION.
(Contributed.)

tramp question. Our towns are infest-
ed and our country districts overrun
with them They come and go. like a
swarm of ants, from north, east, south
and west They sneak in and out on
trains when possible, and when not
they plod along through the country.
The tramp is the most ieisurely indi-
vidual in America. All time Is his, and
he is a spendthrift accordingly Tramp
life is said to be the most fascinating
Of all lives, and the open air freedom,
lack of care and responsibility con-
tain a charm that draws the tramp to
tramping and holds them fast. Nature
holds deep interest for the tramp
and he will lie basking In the sun for
hours when other mortals are toiling
in the fields. The entire country con-
tributes to his living and his only enc
mics are the axe and lawn mower.
1t is said that tramps first became
numerous after the civil war when
the soldiers were disbanded. There
were hundreds of men who never were
supported by the government during
that period. The habit of not working
took hold of them and as they found
that as they could obtain charity by
posing as veterans they began tramp
movement. Whether this is the true
origin Of the tramps or not the tramp
ranks have been swe1led and increased
a hundredfold by men who find 1t more
convenient to beg than to. work.
Several causes are now given as to
the reason of tramps. One is that a
number of men became tramps because
of some bad habit, as using liquor, etc.
Men addicted to the use Of liquor are
unable to hold permanent positions and
so wander about from place to place
seeking employment. Another cause
put forth by economists is that many
men are made tramps by our public
school system.
It is said that our boys are made to
dislike farm life and becoming dissat-
isfied start out to seek their fortune
They are not prepared to do other than
farm labor and so fail to get the en-
ployment they seek. Becoming dis
couraged they go here and there until
they acquire the tramp habit and be-
come beggars.
The excuse usually given by tramps
is that times are hard and they cannot
find work. Then again, they claim to
be going to manufacturing or mining
centers to obtain employment. These
excuses are not legitimate as every one
knows. In America where great and
varied industries are being developed
there is employment for every man in
the country Any man who has the
least sense Of pride and self respect
will not go from town to town and
beg from persons who are in no better
condition to work than himself
Whether there be a financial panic
or an era of prosperity the tramp re-
mains with us. There are so many of
these human drones among us that
there comes to every citizen the
thought What are we to do with
them?" 1t is not charity to feed and
lodge most tramps for they are capa-
BILE of supporting themselves. BY feed
Ing tramps we encourage them to be-
come parasites, living at the expense
or our best citizens. This Is not right.
The world owes no man a living.
In trying to solve the What shall
we do with them" problem, some men
have tried to, employ all the stray ho-
boes that come to their homes for food
and while this picture seems plausible
yet 1t is failure. On the average
nine tramps out Of ten will not work
In one place for more than two weeks.
They simply work long enough to OBJ
tain what they term a Cub stake" or
money enough to buy meal or two
now ana then when they cannot obtain
the same by begging. rheu the long
ing for freedom comes and away these
men go to wander whera Yar their fancy
leads them,
Among other devices are the wood
pile and rockpile. Some houseboiders
give the tramp a meal AMI then lead
him to the woodpile, While this pra c.
tice is far better than giving food
gratis, still very few men earn their
food and very few are led to seek per
manent employment. Most o fthem
work very unwillingly ILLUSTRATING
TINS Is story told of tramp IN 1897
when the song Just tell them that
You saw me" was very popular. The
tramp asked the lady of the house for
~ VIZ" ''' save SIiul HIS breakfast
upon his promising to saw enough
wood to fill her wood box After fin
lshing hearty meal. the tramp arose
and the woman piloted him to the
woodshed, where she left him to his
work, Returning in half hour she
round the tramp disappeared and a
note tied to the saw handle. 1t read. |
'ust tell them that you saw me, but |
that you never saw me saw" The wood
was untouched.
The city rockpile is very good
work house for tramps IL the marshal
ran catch them. But as soon as the
ramps know there Is rockville in
town they will avoid the railway tanks
and Will go quietly down the side al
|eys to the back doors to obtain food
tramp who has once served sor, a
'ockpfle Is as wary as an old fox SIZE
gets what he wants but keeps from the
view of the city officials
An odd device recently tried was
originated by a Leland Stanford UNI
rersity student. who was interested in
'ociaiistic questions. He tried tramp \
ing for a year and found California 1
to beaindeed tramp's winter paradise.
As Palo Alto. the Stanford college
Town, was, like most California towns.
overrun with tramps during the win
Ter, this student determined to try his
experiment there. He erected a large
house. furnishing II with clean