Los Angeles herald., 1908-01-14
YEGGMEN AND
HOBOES HERE
IN NUMBERS
POLICE STRIVE TO COPE WITH
TRAMPS
HUNDREDS JOURNEY TO LOS AN
oELEs EACH WINTER
Detectives Close Students of Class,
Arrest Many and Drive Others
from cIty-Have Strange
Jargon

siderably below zero in the far and
frozen east. and Southern California Is
experfencing the balmiest and bright
est days of its perennially- gentle ell
mate. we of Los Angeles are harvest
ing a major portion of the overflow
alien immigrants, tourists, eastern
health and pleasure-seekers and no
MAIDS. 1t is perhaps one of our best
harvests but he trains are also daily
bringing scores of another variety CT
travellers who are by no means deslr-
ab1e-namely, the "brake-beam CLASS
This class of nomads can also Dc
divided into several interesting strata
which affords the theme OF our art1cie'
III society is, as Macaulay once az
6rmed. the natural and inevitable Sc
gregation through sitting clrcum-
stances OF the divers and sundry
classes of character, it follows as
logical sequence that even the most
undesirable element-the coarser class
zvbich will not pass through the sleeve
of ethical demands-divides itself into
certain. however ridiculous, characters
and classes Thus 1t is that the genus
hobo exists in several separate ana as
tinct families. enigmatically known 10
the fraternity" and to the wiser police
officers as the 'moocher," the Grip
the "dyno," the "gay-cat' (now seldom
applied), the "chronicer," the "yesg-
man. the "hookster" and the white
lime stiff"
Distinguish Them Easily
The ability of police officer or de-
tective to discriminate between these
classes. each of which has marked pc
culiarities in contradistinction to the
others. enables the former to spot
dangerous types of the family without
much trouble, and experience In TINS
line, If possessed by a few good OF
Acers detailed to the tenderloin dis
4ricts. would soon enable the city to rid
itself of "yeggmen." For that reason
every good police force should have
several officers for this purpose. and
these officers should be none other
than men who have acted for NUMBER
of years as town marshals or constapies
in small railway stations or division
towns in one Of the desert states Such
an officer. who in small town has
chance to observe the great throng or
bobos in their camp life and at close
quarters knows more about the classi-
fication Of tramps than the average
city policeman can CLEAN in the course
of decade of metropolitan detail
work.
statistics of detective work in the
larger cities prove that the best cap
lures and the best police Work are
performed by officers who have had
from two to five or more years ex-
perience as mere marshals or consta-
bles in railway desert town of small
population.
How They Are Classified
The hobo if he belong to what the
.profesh" considers the upper ten
cIassifies himself with great pride and
braggadocia. For the benefit OF the
reporter and others uninitiated the
names applied by the professional to
the various types of hobo, which names
are as inexplicable as some OF the
hobo's slang terms, are explained by
one of the prisoners now in the city
jail who is known from coast to coast
as one of the most clever beggars and
anti-work professional tramps that
ever swung under the trucks, rode the
step-rods or straddled the bumpers.
AS defined by this old time beggar
of the "vhite lime" class the social
distinctions are as follows;
''Moocher": tramp who refuses to
commit robberies or serious crimes, and
who lives by plain begging. "Crip" !:
A tramp who has lost a leg or has been
otherwise manned, and who lives by
exciting sympathy, either through beg
ging or selling lead pencils. etc.
.sDyno": Also called a "blanketer," be-
cause he carries blankets, sleeps In his
own bed, generally refuses to associate
with other hODOS, makes ms way iAlOt =
by walking than by beating the train
conductor, and generally is in quest of
employment This type of hobo is fire.
uuently an embryo professional, VINO
later discards his blankets, gives up
Iaboring and degenerates into full
fedged 'yeggman" or other type OF
professional
Their unIiked Member
"Gay cat": Any tramp who associates
commonly with all classes, and who,
when in the city and able to get job
cuts loose from his former associates.
The "chronicer": Whatever tramp does
not hold his hand out and beg on the
street, bnt lives by begging merely
something to eat at back doors, and
who is willing to work for his meals.
This dodge is sometimes resorted to by
@yeggmen," however, when they desire
access to a. residence to learn the lay
of the land for future burglary work.
sTIookster': criminal type of tramp
who will commit almost any crime ex-
cept use-breaking when danger is
involved. He is beggar and regu-
lar professional. but makes all of his
.'hauls'' by picking pockets and rolling
drunks, etc. One of his favorite meth
DDS of "mooching" (begging) is to pro
cure some boy who has run away from
home, and either cause him to get
manned while beating his way, such as
bv getting him drunk and making him
lose a leg or arm by falling from a
brake beam, or who induces the boy to
allow an artificial bug" or ulcer to be
burnt by an acid on his leg or arm, and
then compelling the boy to display his
injury or so-called sore" and solicit
aims
Arm Is Bandaged
Sometimes if the "hookster" is not so
fiendish he merely procures splints and
plaster of paris and fastens bandage
about the boys wrist so tightly that
the hand swells and gives the arm the
appearance of really being broken.
When the artificla al sore Is resorted to
the boy is generally made the victim
OF a number of them, which 1t is said
can be cured in a few days when de-
sired. The boy is then told to say that
ne is AFFLICTED with a terrible blood dis
ease and is trying to get to Hot
Springs, Ark.
The white lime stin" is the tramp
who drinks alcohol, pure or diluted. He
is a professional tramp, but generally
regarded as unreliable by the yeggmen
The latter type-"yeggmen"-- are too
well known to be defined. They are
the most dangerous criminals, and sell
dom stay in one place, but they are
none the less easily distinguished.
The yeggnen resort to many meth
DDS to disguise themselves They
have been known to sit in camp by
some water tank for several hours rub