The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1916-05-30

1
"Oh. yes; l see good deal of human
nature as l travel about" replied the
tramp as he put his wet shoes against
the hot stove. land the more see of It
the more | wish | was a hermit in
cave up in the mountains"
do you lind 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 I'd give
my old hat ! began touring sixteen
years ago, and l 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; I'll give
you some illustrations.
| Il meet so many liars that | have
| come to believe that not one man in a
| hundred has any respect for truth.
! get two or three days work with a
| farmer After the days work is done
! the family looks for me to sit down
ddN MY thNOul-
| 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 l am a 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 l have con-
! fessed
II have heard husbands lie to wives
and wives to husbands. l have, in fact,
heard so much lying as to disgust me,
and am only tramp. There are by.
| pOcrisy and deceit everywhere. There
are swindling and graft everywhere. A
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 leav-
ing a farmers barn. The owner Of
that barn can be induced to go into
court and perjure himself. and the JUS
tice who tries me will remark that
look like murderer.
II very seldom ever heard one fam
lily speak well of another in the coun-
try, but when they met they were al
ways very ELUSIVE. One afternoon a
farmers wife had me in the house
scrubbing floors and 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
woman that she had accused most
bitterly happened to drop in. The ac-
cuser rushed for her with open arms
and kissed her half dozen times be
fore she stopped.
II have read and heard about saw
agery of war the submarines, the
poisonous gases, the starvation of pris-
Oners-but let me tell yoa that there
Is savagery elsewhere than in war.
Man was born savage.
Let me give you an incident.
was plodding along the highway one
summer morning about half-past
o'clock. | passed a country school
house. Thirty rods beyond the house
: l met the schoolma'am on her way
to open school. | had not quite for
gotten the manners of other days, and
l raised my cap and babe her a good
morning She passed Sn without a
word in reply, and short quarter of
a mile beyond | met three children
! going to school. | gave them q smile
/, and word, and they laughed in re-
ply. That was the whole thing, sir
the whole thing. | knew that the
children stopped and looked after me,
but stepped along without turning
my head.
AT a farmhouse a mile further on
got work hoeing corn. l worked sc
hard during the day that the farmer
cOmplimented me at night, and
+. heard his wife whisper to him that
they had found tramp at last who
. seemed willing to sweat little to carr
his way. | was to sleep in the barn
, and soon after 0 o'clock and when
: was getting ready to go out to my roost
:. there arrived at the house, headed by
the schoolma'am, a gang of five or si1
. farmers. Three among them had guns
two had clubs, and one had a coil OF
= rope in his hand
There is the villain-that's the
\ man! exclaimed the woman as she
. caught sight Of me.
a "'What is the troubleT | asked.
+ You ran after me this morning!
4 she cried. You would have caught holt
. of me II had not picked up a ston,
3 and threatened to throw it in you
= facet
well, that was nice fix l was in,
}. said the tramp. Nothing Of the kin,
It had taken place, and for a minute
n was dumb with surprise, Then l de
s MED it. but it was no go.
d "In a moment or two more something
$ would have happened to me II ha'
y not thought of the three children met
s l asked that some one might go 70
s them. and my employer was goot
It enough to hasten on that errand. HI
t said that | should have a fair show
a The children and their father came, an,
e it put different light ON the story a
once. When the young woman wa
II asked why she told such yarn. whicl
n might have brought about the death o
l. man. she carelessly replied:
Il "Oh. l was so scared that l reall
a don't know just what did happen
e my employer said to me:
d "'You are an innocent man, but
" marked man. You will have TO g
r You can't stay in this neighborhood!
e "And Weary Willie moved on" wa