The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1916-05-26
THE TRAMP'S
SIDE OF 1T
He Lamenls the Wickedness Of the World
By NJ QUAD
Copyright. 1916, 10y the Mcclure
Newspaper Syndicate.

cave up in the mountains.
DO you tnd it growing worSe:" was
asked.
preachers tell us that the world is
growing better" continued Willie. but
if one days travel in the country
wouldn't prove to the contrary Id give
my old hat | began touring sixteen
years ago. and | give you my word
that there Is at least twice the wicked
ness now that there was then, and it is
growing mighty fast. Yes; Ill give
you some illustrations.
II meet SO many liars that | have
come to believe that not one man in
hundred has any respect for truth.
get two or three days work with
farmer. After the days work is done
the family looks for me to sit down
and relate my adventures. They encour-
age me TO lie. They want me to tell
about the robberies and thefts have
committed and the prisons | have been
in and escaped from. If | don't lie out
rageously they think am Il villain
who will not give himself away; if
/ do lie the chances are that they will
give some constable the tip and he will
arrest me for the crimes ! have con
feSScd.
IL have heard husbands lie to wives
and wives To husbands | have, in fact,
heard so much lying as to disgust me.
and | am only Il tramp. There are ny .
pocrisy and deceit everywhere. There
are swindling and graft everywhere, \
country constable who arrests me on
the highway as | am plodding along
will swear before the justice of the
peace that was just entering or lcav-
ing Il farmers barn. The owner OF
that barn can be induced to go into
court and pcriure himself, ana the jus
ticc who tries me will remark that |
look like Il murderer
Il very seldom ever heard one fam
lily speak well of another in the coun.
try. but when they met they were al.
ways very cffusive. one afternoon Il
farmers wife had me in the house
scrubhing floors ana washing windows
and moving furniture about. In three
hours time She blasted the character
of every family for five miles around
She had Just finished her TRADE when
n woman that she had accused most
bitterly happened to drop in. The nc
cuScr rushed for her with open arms
and kissed her half dozen times &c
fore she stopped
81 have read and heard about say
! n. ..,s.. IL.
| poisonous gases the starvation Of pris
oners but let me tell YOU that Their,
| is savagery elsewhere than in war
| Man was born savage
Let me give you an incident.
was plodding along the highway sn,
summer morning about half.past
o'clock. passed country school
| house Thirty rods beyond the houS,
| l met the SChoolma' am on her wa!
to open school. | had not quite for
gotten the manners of other days an,
| raised my cap and babe her II gooC
morning. She passed m without
word in reply, and short quarter o
mile beyond ! met three children
going to school ! gave them a smi
and Il word. and they laughed in re
ply. That was the whole thing, sir
the whole thing knew that tn
children stopped and looked after mt
but | stepped along without turning
my head.
AT n farmhouse a mile further on
got work hoeing corn. ! worked S
hard during the day that the farme
complimented me Mt night, and
heard his wife whisper to him thu
they had found a tramp at last VIII
seemed willing to sweat a little to ear
his way. | was to sleep in the barr
and soon after Q o'clock and when
was getting ready to go out to my roo'
there arrived at the house, headed b
the schoolma'am, gang of five or 81
farmers. Three among them had gun
two had clubs, and one had Il coil {
rope in his hand.
"'Thcrc Is the villain-that's IL
man. exclaimed the woman as ST
caught sight Of me.
"'What is the troubler | asked.
"'You ran after me this morning
she cried. You would have caught hO
of me If | had not picked up a stoI
and threatened to throw 1t In you
face"
well that was nice fix / was In
said the tramp. Nothing Of the kin
had taken place, and for a minute
was dumb with surprise. Then | d
MED 1t, but 1t was no go.
"In a moment or two more somethiI
would have happened to me II | hd
not thought of the three children | me
asked that some one might go Il
them. and my employer was goo
enough to hasten on that errand. /
said that | should have fair sho'
The children and their father came, al
1t put a different light on the story
once. When the young woman vi
asked why she told such yarn, whit
might have brought about the death
a man, she carelcssly replied
"'Oh. | was so scared that | real
8 don't know just what did happen
"My employer said to me:
y "'You are an innocent man, but
e marked man. You will have to 8
/ You can't stay in this neighborhood!
e "And Weary Willie moved on" W
e the conclusion Of the story. HE W
threatened with lynching because
/ had raised his cap and given good che
to a woman on the highway! Don't 81
we have returned to savagery. Sa
rather. we have never lost it."