The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-02-14

travel during the hot summer nights,
b.. during the day the hobo sleeps in
his side door Pullman" or rides In
place Of concealment. \ hobo seldom
breaks a seal of freight car. 1t II
unethical. and besides it carries a
heavy Jail sentence and in the summer
the hobo much prefers to be free.
And so the hoboes came TO New
York. where food and shelter were T.
he obtained for the asking. Look at
the municipal lodging houses, at the
improvised sleeping quarters on the
docks, and you will find thousands Of
hobocs. II is 10 their liking-some
warm place 10 sleep. even though a
man must roll his shoes up and use
them as pillow. The hobo Ia used To
that, for he has done II hundreds of
times before. Some are from San
Francisco. from chi" from New or
leans. and the summer has seen some
Of these men in even more remote and
dosolatc sections. There is no part OF
the country where they fear to go.
Even Death Valley has seen them.
Some of these men are dreamers.
]
some Of exceptional keenness OF mind /;
some cannot read or write. and some
are college graduates. There is not a
walk in life that has not contributed
to this army.
Look at the bread lines. The ma
iority who patroniZc them are of the
/ hobo type. for the man who tastes
| 0 he fire g1,, ri, lie,
accepting charity in the public gaze
Not SO the hobo, for he has profession
allied charity and he feels that society
owes him living. But few OF the
really worthy poor of New York ac-
cept this open air charity unless they
are driven to it by desperation.
Out Of 500 men questioned in five
1 bread lines in the city $40 declared
that they at one time had "hoboed" il
of this number 3O5 had been on the
road during the past summer. while
the others had worked in various
ways about the city OF the 500 only
ninety We're natives of this State and
only seventy born in the city of New
York.
The 500 had attended school ne fol-
lows: No public school education
l 10; third year. 10. fourth year SO
I nth year 81; sixth year, 1ls: seventh
year l4S; public school graduates
20; had entered high school. 80: high
school graduates, 10; college grad
yates, I, OF those admitting they were
/ college graduates three had studied
law, two medicine. one to be a civil
/ engineer and one To he an electrical
! engineer. And five admitted thai
| they had been hoboes for severa
| years
They were divided in the following
occupations. Common laborers, 3S7
mechanics, 81, clerks, ., bookkecpers
! Z; artists, 3; brakemen and fremen. !
and two had held responsible position,
with New York firms The men WEI,
| selected at random and almost with,
| out exception answered with perfec
| candor, The college graduates, Will
! the exception of one, who declared
himself graduate of the 1907 elias!
| OF Yale, refused to tell what colleg,
| they attended
! Their natiCnalties were as follows
American born, 357; Italian, Al; Jew
ish, a.; S,avonian, 1S. French, IT
Poli"h. IL; German, 3, English. 3
S"Iss /; Spanish. /; Russian. 4
Armenian. /; Canadian, ., and Mcxi
can /.
The news N the Hotel de Gink anC
its mulligan stow will spread. TIL,
same hoboes will return next year
for this city Is better than Chicago II
It's kindest mood, And instead o
"Chi' being the rendezvous New Yorl
Will be the favorite resort OF hoboei
unless some steps are taken quickl!
to deal with the evil