Iditarod pioneer., 1916-11-11
THE HOBO IS A PIONEER,
 ACCORDING TO JEFF DAVIS

Jeff Davis attracted considerable attcn- ton in New York last spring by instjtutsng q hotel for transient "hcboes" For long time the venture was a sociological success, Philanthropsts. city officials and church workers co-operated with him in keep ing the Hotel de Gink open When sum mer came the hobo guests went away, some on roads and some on side door Pullmans, and the hotel was closed, says the Great Dl, vide, of Denver. Davis IS credited with the following sketch:
 'If you want to learn What Is a hobo| don't refer to your dictionary. Ask hobo, He ought to know.
 "A hobo is . man making his way from place to place, beating it or working his passage honestly, in search of employment, but at the same time looking for an op- portunity to better himself.
 "For instance, a man in your town be comes unemployed, and, believing that he can better his condition by going somewhere else, decides to pull his freight tget away. Being broke, he decides to ride the rods Underneath the trainj or the bumpers Cbetween the cars(, or the 'side-door Pull mans (boXcars That man is a hobo.
 There are close to 100000 hoboes in America What if they demanded charity passes? Think of the expense it would be to the taxpayers. If the 'boes do beat the railroads, at least give them credit for not increasing the taxes.
 "Hoboes ask nothing of society except the right to work and the same oppor- tunity to migrate that was offered those early hcboes, the pioneers of the West who blazed the way through Michigan and the North down through he central part of the country into the South, and finally out into the West thereby clinching the whole of our great, big country into solid union.
 But the hoboes are not Christopher Co., lumbusing for new land these days-they are seeking work.
 "The West still shouts, Come West, young man, come West and other parts of the land seem equally eager to impress the public with the genulneness of the spe- cihc brand of gold opportunities they are dispensing, and thus the seed of 'hoboism Is soWn.
 "The Pacific coast today is flooded with at least 15,000 hoboes-skilled and unskille laborers, who have come West either on ac count of grating employment sharks or through advertisements booming the ad- vantage of the Pacific coast and its ideal climate Convict farms stockades wood yards, vag road work and jail sentences are not going to help matters. In fact, It only aggravates the situation, and is liable to result in serious trouble.
 There are three kinds of unemployed- those who will work, those who won't work and those who couldn't work if they wanted to. The first is known as the hobo, the second as the tramp and the last as the i bum.
 But society, police officials and city au- 1 thorities classify the three as one and treat them accordingly A man broke and friend less is considered vag, and made to work 1 for nothing on country roads, rock piles convict farms and frequently confined in bull pens for from thirty days to six months. This breaks the fighting spirit of 1 the best man on earth.
 There are more than 80,000 such cases in America today
 "Peonage is still in existence in the South, especially in Louisiana and Mississippi
 "Governor Brewer stated to me on my visit to the capitol at Jackson, Miss, that they had to enforce the vagrancy laws on account of the negro element. l realize, he said. that the penniless white man must suffer, but I can't draw the color line
 Some time back the governor of Ar kansas released 36O men, claiming that it was unjust and uncivilized to imprison them for nothing.
 Tn many parts of America police of 6cers pet from 50 cents to S2 for each hobo they pick up' Many officers have made a small fortune in this unique business oi bounding jobless men. Improved machinery, immigration ano the desire of individuals to seek their for tune are the conditions that make hoboes, '