The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1921-05-23

- IoS0 VI GAO0 AA10 W 0Ak 8to In
that far-away day. and that all q
those In whom the nomadic impplse
was strongest naturally volunteer.
cd to 60. Perhaps circumstance
made It impossible for them to set.
tie anywhere % . whole. and =
they kept moving. the less strons
and adventurous dropping out on
by one, until only a band OF hardy
born wanderers remained.
The fact that the gypsy person..
Ess the vagabond and the nomad h
all OF ~ doubtless explains tia
different accounts Of him that Won
cot. By most respectable people
he 10 regarded a. q cheat, a thi6.
. hdnapper, and . bad fellow gen.
orally. On the other hand, many
distinguished persons, Of whom
George Borrow, the English au-
thor, n the mast famous, hays
learned the gypsy language and
lived among the gypsies. and these
without exception testify to the sin.
cerity, kindness and hospitality of
the road people and to their great
capacity for friendship.
Why Gypsies Are Not Liked.
No doubt there Is an instructive
antagouism between respectable
folk and gypsies. The Respectable
settled life is achieved only by re-
pressing and conquering the no
lnadic impulse the gypsy repre-
sent&- The farmer, ploddinr
through his daily routine perhaps
sees in the gypsy. without being
exactly aware OF the fact, his own
self, the self that he has had to
nght-the self that led him to play
hockey from school. and tempted
him to go to sea. and even now
causes him to leave blowing for
fishing once in a while. His atti-
tude toward this self. as incarnats
In the gypsy. is one of mingled
envy and antagonism. He despises
the gypsy and still he hangs around
the gypsy tent and has his fortune
told and swaps horses and loses
money on the trade.
Needless to say, some Of the gyp-
sizes have earned their bad names,
The gypsies from the south OF Eu-
rope are naturally the dirtiest, tho
most inclined to pilfer and cheat
though none Of them are to b.
trusted In a horse trade. The gyp-
sizes who come to this country from
Ireland and England, on the other
hand, are often well-to-do, and
their travelling homes are remark
ably clean and comfortable. There
arc all grades Of gypsy as Of other
society. Some Of the better class
gypsies own homes and farms.
where they spend part Of the
year, going on the road perhaps
only in the summer. These usual
lily send their children to school q
part Of the time. There is colony
Of gypsies here in Washington who
ride about in automobiles and seem
always to have plenty Of money.
One of the men of this group was
arrested by the Washington police
on the charge that he had no wis.,
BILE means of support, and he prov
ed in police court that he had In
:. visible means to the extent Of $780,
600 in a Washington bank.
Some few Of these well-to-dO and
educated gypsies are said to desert
the road life entirely and settle
into professions or trades But
even these feel the call of the road
at times and wander surreptitious'
;!y.
Those who have studied the gyp
, sizes closely are jail of the opinion
that they should be tolerated ant
!, allowed to live their free and cas-,
, lives as long as they refrain from
> actual crime. They say the gyps,
: stands for something valuable taa
the rest of the race is rapidly los
} ing under the influence Of civiliza
uon-for the primitive spontaneou'
: love and understanding of nature
as distinguished from our highl!
{ artificial admiration Of sunsets ami
: moonrises, for the joys of chang
. and freedom. It is we'll that a gyp
sy wagon should rattle past on
2 doors once in a while. Maybe
: will only make US feel SNUG AM
: superior in our neat little paints
l houses, our neat little lives
: habit and work. But maybe it vii
make us reflect that there are 9th
er things in life than dollars an
, duties and routines-things that
gypsy knows.