The morning journal-courier., 1908-09-12
Reports Are Conflicting, But Their Numbers Are Prob.
 ably Growing,
WHAT THE RAILROADS SAY
Labor Colonies, Voluntary and Com pulsory, and Their Effect on
 the situation.

evil Is almost disappearing" This Is rumor, says orlando Lewis In the Des. eret News.
 The present writer has just received from George T. Slade, general manager of the Northern Pacific Railway com pany, some facts "Our line Is more troubled with yagrants this year than ever before Vagrants are seen riding on our passenger and freight trains In every conceivable place In many cases there are so many vagrants on train that It Is hazardous for the trainmen to put them off For the fiscal year ending July So 1eO1 l3S trespassers were killed and lS6 injured. These tres passers were largely vagrants. am hearty believer in some system of compulsory labor colonies for vagran- cy with long incetermlnate sentences, hard work and adequate supervision. Vigorous methods to control vagrancy must be adopted
 The Philadelphia & Reading railroad reports that there has been marked increase during the last year in the number of illegal train riders. men who have been laid of in diff, rent mil and industries along the line of the 1 road.
 "If the so-called yagrants were com pelled to perform manual labor for a number of hours each day during their sentence, 1t would have a very fene- fcial effect,'
 | af al ha A Aat t1 agent of the Canadian Northern, writes under date of July l5 that the trou ble with hoboes on this road has ia creased 10 such an extent that they will arrive at a station during the night, steal a hand car or velocpe le, pump down the line for twenty or thirty miles, then throw the yelocipede in the ditch and go their way. In this province (Manitoba) all prisoners sen tenced to twelve months CT less are sent to the provincial eaol There Is no farm in connection with the same, and there is not enough work for these men to do. As you are aware, tramps and hoboes would rather be arrested In the fall and sent to gaol where they are l Sult VI Npllilbl lthif Iudi lflc lhl Alit winter
 Another important letter. President w. II. Canniff of tho New York, Chi cago and St Louis Railroad company states that i've have been troubled to greater extent with vagrants and trespassers during the las, year than for long time. On one occasion, with in the past month of June, 1905 lo3 vngrants were ejfcted from one of our freight trains between Conneant and Bellevue, l32 niles
 This docs not look as if railway va grancy were diminishing The newspa pers during the last year have been filled with accounts of the movements of the tramp army. What Is to be done? one thing every enc agrees should be done.
 Work should be exacted of all the able bodied How and where?
 The United States Is beginning to look for instruction to the experiences of European countries. where for twenty-five years vagrancy has been one of the most serious social problems. Germany is particularly country that has studied the problem and has e-er'- ed many forms of institutions, st
 for tramps out of Jail and some labor colonies to keep tramps at work who have been committed by the courts. Let us briefly study German labor colonies These labor colonies are of two kinds, voluntary and compulsory. The ie hot ba nnl nies are managed largely by private charity and are retreats where the down and outer" can enter for time averaging about two months, In return for his work he receives good care good food and chance to earn a It, { tie something, And since 1t is hard tc find work in Germany the colonies are popular. Tn l9O3 10000 colonists were : admitted and 5000 more were refused admission for one cause or another Nine hundred and thirty-nine thousand two hundred and seventy-six days work was done. But the majority oi . the inmates are permanently inefficient 7 men, and few of them reform or re. turn for good to the ranks of the req , workers in the industrial army There are about thirty-three voluntary col onies, but quarter century of expert ence does not show that the United States could reduce vagrancy or re- form vagrants to any great extent by introducing such colonies.
 But the compulsory colonies are hay ing some effect, There are twenty -foul of them The sentences are long ant the average time of detention is abou a year The men must really work There Is no snap "snoW shoveing 1T July" no being one of forty to haul { little dump cart around yard. Vari ous industries are carried on. The men learn what 1t means to work,
 Compare these labor colonies witt our county jails which have been class flied by Investigators as only too ofter
 schools of crime" In the United States, short sentences are spent 1T ideness and in demoralzlng other in mates. Bad sanitation, poor food, un cleanly and vicious habits have no re formatory effect and tend to the de
 velopment of anti-socia tendencies. - Vagrancy is undoubtedly increasing in the United States, because to be tramp Is so easy, Vagrancy will no be reduced until good hard work loom ahead for the man that hits the road.
 But this work must not be solely punishment for idleness. It must train d if not Co a joy in work at least to ; :, knowledge of how to work and Wh, men must work The iails cannot b } reeast for this function. Tramp col onies seem necessary New York ha
 made a start in drafting a labor col
 oney bill that will go to the legislltur
 next winter The leading charitable so eieties of the city and several of tn