The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1909-02-04
O. R. & N. AK DROPS
ON HOBO SPEEDERS

Iutimation that some Of the boys
have been increasing their earning
capacity by taking "hobo money. y
has resulted in the hauling onto the
carpet of practically all of the IL pas
senger brakemen on the Oregon disi
sion OF the q. X. a. N. Direct
charges, it is said. have been made
against a number of the brakemen by
Superintendent Campbell, who has
had the division picketed for some
time with a whole swarm OF the
shrewdest railroad "spotters" in the
county, says the Evening Telegram.
Information has leaked out that
some of the boys who have been un.
justly accused intend to resign rather
than bear the stigma OF having been
branded as thieves aud grafteIs, with
out cause. The sweating OF the EN-
ployes under suspicion has been going
on for some time, and 1t has resul ed
in number OF them seeking employ
ment elsewhere.
Ii 10 charged that some of the brake
men have been making such good
thing out of il that the Hartman di
rectors are jealous because their own
dividends are so small In comparison
Investigation in the present In
stance was inaugurated as result OF
the influx OF ''globetrotting" railroad
ers, who blow I'M tJwn and look tor
a "boomer iot" to enable them to
gather In enough shekels to tide them
over till they seek some new Held.
This class, when it secures II job ad
brakeman, Las nothing at stake, and
picking up "hobomoney" is about the
easiest kind of graft in the world.
The usual scale OF fares which the
"boen" are supposed to pass over to
the "wheel saueeZers" or "spesd re-
ducers, as the "brakies" ale called,
10 81 for the division; short hauls are
less. Freight and blind baggage are
the same price, and instances have
been found where tho "hoomer
brakeman have formed conspiracy
or combination with all sorts OF
"yeggs, " crooks and ordinary hobos,
Whereby any of the gang can get
through on the particular run, and to
give the countersign when the dollar
is slipped to the brake.
The fly by night railroaders who
want to see the country aud who stay
on the joE for month II 30 aud then
skip out, have been carrying the bust
moss on IN such IA glaring manner
that, as many us 100 blind baggage or
side door Pullman passengers ha' o
been counted on IA single run by the
"spotters " And their rich harvest
has often been five or ten times the
wages paid by the company. Not on
ly that, but it has resulted In some 1T
the honest bTakmen being held under
suspicion, and they have been hauled
into the uperintenient' Office with
the others.
Some of the accused have not made
any bones about taking this easy
money, aud have hinted to Supelin-
tendent Campbell that it was won
der all the boys didn't graft because
the wages are so low. About the best
money passenger brakeman can make
on the Hartman liuea in the North
west is on the Southern Pacific, where
the maximum Is S9i month for e
days of 10 hours each. The o. II. 4
N. scale ia under that The oniy
penalty for taking "hobo money" Ii
discharge
Another thing which inspired the
Investigation is the fact thaf there hal
been an enormous increase In the
number of "bums" tiocking towerC
Portlsnd and other points in this ter
ritory. aud they have been growing
80 hold that they tell the btakman tt
take their "hit aud shut up" or they
will "get the worst Of it " The pres
ent winter is reported to be the wors
in many years in this respect, anC
the smaller towns along the q. X.
N. from here to Arlington have beer