The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1911-06-29
Men Have Met
By + {. Q.

In writing this paper I want to
call your attention to some of the
many DIFFERENT kinds of men /
have met and who, | am sure, most
of my fellow members have, some
time during the past. / do not
pose as a student of human nature,
but | have seen many men, in Jail
and out, and wish to give you my
Impressions of them.
We will first consider that class
which comes in for such large
amount of notice in the comic week
lies, and the back pages of many
of the dailies-the Tramp or Ho-
DO.
Now in discussing this class of
human beings, / do not want to
make the common mistake of call
ing all men who beat their way
about the country tramps. I
might qualify this by saying that
the man who sometime during his
life has beat the railroad out of a
few dollars in fare money, is not
meant when / speak of tramps.
Then again there is many man
who has never left his home town;
much less travelled all over the
country, who is bum of the first
water. You can find him in the
country towns, sitting in front of
the postofice, or down at the little
railroad station, calmly whiting
stick, and borrowing chewing to-
bacco from all who have it. He
often borrows the knife with which
to do his whiting. He never
works, that is, not if he can help
it. Some times he is forced to
work for a day, or perhaps week,
to secure enough money to. pur-
chase some article that he cannot
borrow.
A few of these migrate to other
places when they have worn out
the patience of their fellow-towns-
men and few more seek employ
ment in the cities, but a large ma
jority of them can be found in the
small towns that are scattered all
over this country, from Maine to
Washington, and from Canada to
to the Gulf.
The migratory tramp is not the
joke that some of the comic writer's
and cartoonists try to make of him.
He, unlike his brother of the small
town, will steal anything that he
can lay his hands on and instead of
going to work when he is in need
of money with which to purchase
clothing, etc., he will break into
box car, or store, and help himself
to the goods he thinks are neces-
sary to him, taking at the same
time anything else that happens to
be handy that he can sell or trade
for food or drink mostly drink.
He is not above stealing his part
ners shoes while he is asleep, or
going through his pockets and tax
ing whatever happens to be in
them from few cigarette papers
to a ten dollar bill. If he is in
bad need of anything he will not
hesitate at murder. / know this
is strong charge, but when we
read that such things as robbing a
man, and then pushing him off a
rapidly moving train are everyday
occurrences, Think that I am justi-
fed in making it. 1t has been
said that what we read in the pa
pers we must take with a grain or.
two of salt, but it is obvious that
all of the accounts of such nature
that we read are not mere flights
of fancy on the part of some over
active newspaper man.
/ have said that he never works;
by this / mean that he will never
hire out to anyone. Sometimes
he is sent to the workhouse or put
in the chain gang and made to clean
streets. Literally he is working,
but he never does it unless there is
someone standing over him to-
make him. This is not proof that
he works. Then again / do not.
CO onsider that the word work:
covers the small chores that he