Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1908-04-17
New York TrampS.

presented at the State Conference OF
Charities and Corrections, recently
held at Albany, by Mr.. Arthur w.
Towne, secretary of the State Pro-
baton Commission, regarding the ex-
tent of vagrancy and the habits OF
tramps. Over thirty-one thousand
persons, mainly Migrants, were given
free lodging in New York State, In
town and city lockups during 1906,
and the number in 1907 will probably
be fully as large. Seventy-five cities
and towns thus provide for their wan
dering visitors. Half of these towns
and cities also feed the wanderers
free of charge.
A large number of places give
lodging also to boys, many OF them
as young as ten or twelve years,
thus encouraging the wandering spir-
it that makes the later tramp. With
only one slight exception, not single
town or city required any work at
all from the dodgers in return for
the lodging or the food provided,
thus giving absolutely no incentive
to the wanderer to work for his board
or meals.
The speaker urged that the sys-
tenn of allowing the police authorities
to give these free lodgings, as well
as the similar practice in some jails
and almshouses, should be abolished
as a most direct encouragement to
vagrancy and that in their stead such
free lodgings as are necessary should
be furnished by the overseer of the
poor, but only when repaid by some
form of work such as chopping wood
or. breaking stone.
Mr.. Towne also brought out the
fact that tramps like to go to jail
in winter. Instead of considering a
Jail sentence for that part OF the
year as form OF punishment, they
welcome 1t as a chance to keep warm
and loaf at the public expense. Forty
three per cent. OF the commitment
of tramps occur between November
/ and February 1. In short, the jail
or the penitentiary becomes sort
of winter vacation resort for tramps.
Many chiefs of police. with whom
Mr.. Towne has communicated, said
that tramps In winter would ask to
be sent to Jail, and that IL this were
not done, they would sometimes COM
INIT offenses for the express pur-
pose of being arrested and sent
there. Many places in New York
State are known by the tramps as
having constables who will give a
tramp a tip of fifty cents, which the
constable is enabled to pay by rea-
son Of receiving a fee for each ar
rest.
It is declared to be significant that
In the tramps slang the word dump
was applied to both lodging-houses
and jails. With a cold winter the
number OF Migrants in penitentiaries
and jails increases. In 1906 there
were over 10000 tramps and Migrants
In penitentiaries and jails, while In
1904, which was a very cold winter,
there were over $4,000. On the aver
age. about one-third of the prisoners
are tramps and Migrants. This means
that the public is annually paying
several hundred thousand dollars for
the avowed purpose of Furnishing men
for vagrancy, but in reality 1t
amounts only to furnishing free
place OF winter rest. Most Of the
chiefs OF police believe that 1ails
and penitentiaries do little good IL
any, in their treatment Of tramps.
Another fact is that the sentences
for this class of offenders are too
sAort to accomplish any results.
Another fact is that the sentences
are from only one to sixty days.
Mr.. Towne specially pointed out
that the most helpful way of combat
ting the tramp nuisance is to lessen
the habit of stealing rides upon
freight cars. Mr.. Towne has gath
cred a mass of statistical material,
never before collected in New York
State, concerning the conditions now
prevailing, and from this material
he showed concluslvely that large
number of boys. especially those liv-
ing not far away from the railroad
tracks, become addicted to stealing
rides. For instance, in one truant
school, 10 out of 81 inmates had
stolen rides on freight cars before
reaching the age of 10 years, and
IA of the boys had done so when
only 6 to 10 years old.
This habit of ride-stealing is recog-
nized by workers among boys as en-
couraging both crime and vagrancy.
On the New York Central Railroad,
on the division from New York to
Albany, during three months Of this
last summer, there were $40 arrests
for vagrancy and stealing rides, OF
which over 60 per cent were under
twenty-one years Of age. Some boys
were as young as years, but the
majority ranged from IA to II years.
While 1t Is generally supposed that
the drink habit has been chiefly in
fiuential. in making tramps. Mr..
Towne took the position that the
causes of vagrancy are many and
complex but that the seeds Of the
wander habit are usually sown dur
Ding boyhood before they become alb
dicted to intemperance. One Of these
boyhood causes, and the hardest to
eradicate, is the train-riding habit.
More detectives should be employed
along the railroad tracks to demolish
nide-stealing.