Arizona republican., 1911-03-15
JOE SOTO BEGINS
LIFE AS A HOBO
ACTOR OF "TooOLEs IN HoL.
LAND" COMPANY A TRAMP.
Arrested at Marieops as a Suspicious
Character and Chained to Jail

lie who have tears to shed. prepare
to shed them now. Joe Soto, newsboy.
messenger, actor, cute kid" and GEN
ersl nuisance. has left Phoenix. For
saking all his numerous occupations.
he has adopted the profession. of
Happy Hooligan and is now a tramp.
Part of his first night on the road was
spent chained TO a railroad rail in the
town Of Maricopa, dignified by the
| name of Jail"
With another emulator Of the ira
| ditiOnal Weary Willie. Soto left Phoe-
nix Monday evening. The other kid
was some newsboy about his own age.
whose name is not known
Los Angeles was the destination
chosen by Soto and his pal when they
decided to leave Phoenix OF course.
real hos" never have definite des-
tinations, but Soto & Co were new
to the business. They had a choice
of two routes, and after reading the
ads in The Republican, chose the
Southern Pacific.
I've always wanted TO see the Sal
ton sea, and now that / am going
travelling. l guess I'll just pass by"
remarked Joe
When time came for them to leave
they committed another objectionable
breach of hobo etiquette by buying
tickets to MaricOpa Whether they did
this to avoid suspicion or because
they couldn't find suitable lounging
places on the rods is not quite clear
At any rate. they were first-class
passengers to the junction town.
At Maricopa the newly made
knights of the wandering foot began
to think of getting a hand-out They
were little shy of coin. which was
certainly a good beginning for life as
tramps. Here Soto's genius came
into play. They ate at a restaurant
and promised to pay later. That is
quite ethical 1t will not be ethical.
however. if they 60 back to settle the
bill. Soto. however. can he trusted
not TO go TO such an extreme
1t was Soto who first fell into the
hands OF Officer Powell. the railroad
bull at MaricOpa. Powell spotted
Joe as suspicious character. The
other kid ducked.
= What's your nance" demanded
Powell.
Casey" replied Joe.
What's your other name?"
Il don't know whether I'll call my
self Red Dog or 'Bludgeoning Bill
'Bludgeoning Bill sounds worst. but
the best bum in the world is a Teller
up in Phoenix that they call Red
Dog. I'll bet he could get you to
buy him q drink if he was here
That insinuation so incensed Powell
that he put Soto in Jail. In other
words. he chained him to Jail.
The MaricOpa Jail is a rail buried
ten or fifteen feet in the ground with
only five or six feet extending into
the air A paddock and switch chain
are effective in preventing prisoners
from breaking Jail.
1t was early yesterday morning that
Soto fell into the clutches of the first
policeman he met on his career as a
hobo AS soon as he was in Jail he set
up a howl that woke every living
thing between ella Bend and Casa
Grande. The language he used would
doubtless have shocked some of the
young ladies who played with him in
"Toodles in Holland" The things he
said about Powell might have embar-
raised that officer some had he re-
manned around to listen.
Some of SotO's Phoenix friends
heard his protests and called at the
Jail to sympathize. Between remarks