Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-09-02
H0B0ES BLAME LAW
If 1t Wasn't for That All
Would Be Working, Says One.
PREVENTS GETTING JOBS
Reno Bill, Who "Hiked' Hundreds
Of Miles, Gives His Views.
DELEGATES SHY ON GRUB
Commissary : Department Causes
More Concern Than Anything
Else at Convention.
PREVENTS GETTING JOBS
DELEGATES SHY ON GRUB

Johnny Law That's the man. II It
were not for Johnny Law there would be
no army Of hoboes. for every hobo would
have a job. Johnny Law intefferes,
and arrests the hobo every time the hobo
hangs around long enough to scout for
a job.
Johnny Law is cop or policeman. .
constable or sheriff. It is the hobo term
for officer of the law. Reno Bill, who
walked across several hundred miles of
alkaH to attend the present convention
of the unemployed in this city. told about
the real reason for 100000 hoboes, at
headquarters, 1914 G street, today:
Go on. Don't tell me. I hiked it
across country from the salmon fisheries
in Oregon to Bill Comets fleet Of oyster
schooners that left Baltimore las week.
I know. What I'm handing you is on de
time we stops at farmhouse some kid
says: Hide de silver. ma; dere's a tramp :
Up comes Johnny Law, and we has de
nippers on de wrist.
de Johnny Laws, den we'd all have a
job
He Is Migratory Laborer.
Reno Bill Is one Of the sixteen delegates
to the convention Of the unemployed. He
says he has a trade. His calling, he ex-
planned. is that Of a migratory laborer
He Is one Of the unkempt, unclean, under
fed men who want free transportation to
the job. A Star reporter asked him if
he had ever paid any railroad fare, any
how. He said he had not.
The chief business Of the convention to-
day had to deal with the commis0ary.
Food is scarce.
Although officials claim that only six
teen accredited hoboes are really dele
gates to the convention. seventy-eight
hoboes were fed at various missions
around town last night and this morning.
Thirty-1our were fed at the Gospel Mis-
sion. on John Marshal place. Several
went down to see Mother" Cans on Mis-
souri, avenue. None of them went to
the municipal lodging house, where a
load Of wood has to be sawed before q
bed and q breakfast can be enjoyed.
Fell Down on His Job.
A big mass meeting for tomorrow and
Monday was planned today. A national
commissary committee was formed, Also
Brother Grooms, the local hobo who
was appointed last night to provide grub.
must have fallen down on the job, for
the first thing the army did today was
to appoint a committee, consisting Of
Brother James Eads How. Brot.-er Alex
ander Law and Sister Cora D. Harvey. to
look after the commissary In a broad
way. and local rustling committee. con-
sisting Of Brother Andrews. Brother Pat
ten and Brother Burk, to really provide
this evenings meal and that OF tomorrow
morning. The national corr nittee rs COM
posed of persons of some wealth and
will not let the hoboes starve. This is
all the hoboes care.
A large public meeting Is. planned for
5 o'clock this afternoon and another one
is planned for tonight. Ap open air
meeting in the space near the Center
market is planned for some time Mon
tomorrow.
Commissary Problem.
The first business Of the convention
yesterday afternoon was to hold an exec
utive committee meeting. In an upper
room of 1914 street. with dust on the
window stills thick as the dust on many
a hobo-trod pike, and with the wall paper
hanging of the walls in tremendous
slashes, Charles F. Sanders, a socialist
delegate to the convention, took his place
as chairman Of the executive committee.
Miss Cora D.. Harvey. secretary, who
had been shopping, kept the records on
sheet Of wrapping paper taken from
one Of her packages
There was g. great deal Of parliament
ary fencing, showing a knowledge of
the subject. all Of which was referred to
by DR.. Haviland of New York as rag
chewing" Exactly what the executive
meeting accomplished is problematical,
beyond the fact that 1t put up to Broth
err Grooms, who claims the Central I'm
ion Mission as his home, the very i'm
portant task Of rustling around to get
food for the army.
1.-The bakers always help us out" said
Brother Grooms, in reply to query
as to whether he was worried by his Job.
Letters Of Regret.
Miss Harvey made an odd figure con-
trasted with the army Of the unemployed
as represented by the executive commit
tee yesterday afternoon. She read let
ter from the White House. signed by
Charles D. Hilles: one from Gov. Wood
row Wilson and one or two others, all
expressing genuine regret at not being
able to attend. Representative Berger
wrote that he had to be somewhere else,
but that he should be delighted to be
known as the representative of the Broth
erhood Welfare Association In any legis-
lation.
one Of the sore points Of the army is
the publication In several newspapers OF
the statement that the Western Mary
land railroad had offered Jobs to a thou
sand unemployed men and that none had