The Washington herald., 1911-06-04
SEASON FOR"GAY CATS"
. STRANGEST OF ALL TRAMPS
Skilled Workmen with Good Trades Leave Their Homes
Jobs to Go on the Road in Answer to the Wanderlust

lodging house in ST. Louis there lounged
recently half a dozen weather-beaten
and hardy men, self-confident OF mien.
and monosyllabic Of speech. In there
short words was none Of the whine Of
the professional begger, and in their
| straightforward look was nothing Of the
hangdog. They had Travelled to most Of
ant Of alien languages and customs. had
supported themselves by the sole re-
source OF their own hands. They were
confident of taking care OF themselves
in any situation. They were soldiers OF
fortune in the worlds army Of indus
trial advanturers.
Who would have thought that the
squalid parlor. into which the warm
spring sun feebly filtered. was a place OF
dreams But so 1t was. The taciturn little
Epglishman in the corner. who was born
in South Africa, was gazing into spacs
upon the yellow corn fields Of the Argen-
tine Republic. upon construction camps
in the Andes, and upon broad roads lead
ing by gentle stages through the pampas
from one hospitable ranch to the next.
Aroused from his inarticulate vision by
a question. he stated IN matter OF fact
way that he would be in Argentina next
fall.
Man Of Day Dreams.
The booted, gigantic Swede was think
ing Of logging camps in Minnesota, OF
perflous drives to the lakes, Of fst-to-
fist battles between champions among the
SHOWS. Another. in his minds eye. be-
held the sunny orchards Of California;
another imagined himself helping build
steel bridges in Mexico. The sap Of
spring was rising in their veins. and.
like birds Of passage, they were impatient
to be Off A few more weeks would see
them scattered to the points Of the COM
pass. ensconced in box cars and on
blind baggages. but all bent on the quest
Of their golden ieece'-the perfect Job
Below the gay cat whose occupa-
tions are versatile and include all the
skilled trades. are the ''hoboes." who,
strictly speaking. are railroad construc-
ton laborers. Therefore, all classes OF
migrants feel a contempt. mixed with
indignation. at the members of James
Eads How's Brotherhood Welfare Asso-
citation in ST. Louis. who arrogate to
themselves the title OF ''hoboes.'
Those fellows have as much right to
the name of hobo" said one gay cat"
"as a baron has to adopt the arms Of
king. Most of them are takers and Llain
tramps."
Lowest Of all come the "scissor-bills."
or grenhorns, sometimes called apple
knockers in opprobrious reference to
their recently abandoned agricultural
pursuits. The different classes. Of course.
overlap. A 'scissor-bill'' may develop
into a ''hobo.'' a gay cat" bum
or even .'yegg."
But the gay cat" is a clannish crea-
ture and fiocks to himself. In the inter-
walls between his travels he usually lives
with others Of his kind in lodging houses
II he is prosperous he takes room at
25 cents a night. II he Is financially en-
barrassed, as he often Is, he rides the
broncho" or rides the camel" In other
words, he sleeps on the top or the bot
tom shelf of double-decker beds at a
dime a night
.'Gay Cats" with Money.
The gay cat is not socialist. but he
believs that his constitutional right TO
the pursuit of happiness includes the