Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1921-05-07

we all dream of, and the man for whom the
alternative is 10 hours day at some mo-
nOtOnOus mechanical task cannot perhaps be
altogether blamed if he prefers life in
which labor and leisure alternate and there
is change of scene a. occupation.
Unfortunately society makes no allow
ance for men of that temper. The seasonal
worker out of work is regarded as a va
grant He is hunted by the police and pitied
by charity. He and his pocketful of savings
are the proper prey of all kinds of vice and
fraud. No place IS open to him but the
lodging houses which are dirty and COM
fortress places, breeders of the drug habit
and of other habits which unfit men for
normal social relations: Hence. the seasonal
worker generally deteriorates into con-
firmed' tramp, beggar or thief
A Study of Tramps
There has been much romance written
about tramps, and also several honest rea-
listic books The best of these are by Jack
London and Josiah Flynt, both of whom
tramped with the tramps. These books bring
wildly home to one the social waste and
deterioration that go with vagrancy, but also
the lure of freedom and adventure which
leads men into it.
When it comes to scientific study of va
grancy, remarkably little has been done,
considering what a large fraction of the ma
tons labor supply it absorbs. Perhaps the
best thing that can be found in this line is
a study of one thousand homeless men made
by Mrs. Alice Willard Solenberger for the
Russell Sage Foundation She studied care
fully a thousand men who applied for AID
to a certain organization in Chicago. She
found that of this thousand only 22O could
be properly classed as tramps-that is, men
who wandered for the sake of wandering
The distinguishing thing about the tramp,
she found, was that he had an overpoWer-
ing nomadic impulse. He is almost 1nVarla-
blv man who Graves wandering as some
oil al craving
was incessant and kept them always on the
go. In others it was periodical. Some men
deserted their families regularly at Intervals
of years. wandered for while, and then re-
turned and settled down as usual. In yet
other cases. the men had controlled the I'M
pulse to wander until some misfortune over
took them. Usually this was either the death
of a wife which broke up the home, or a
failure in business or the loss of sum or
money Such men usually deteriorated rap
idly on drink and drugs, feeling that they
had lost their proper places in society,"
The continuous wanderer, on the other
hand, is often a man who enjoys his way or
life and keeps his self-respect. Iramps OF
this class come from all grades of society,
and include a considerable proportion of col
lege men. Many of them have ways OF max
ing money along the road. Some OF them
are very accomplished beggars. Many OF
these inveterate wanderers are lnteIlgent
men who differ from others chiefly IN that
they cannot endure the routine or settleu
life and must wander. Explorers, profess
sional globe trotters, literary and journalist
ic vagabonds, are of the same type put
have had the good fortune to find way
of making living that is congen1al to
them, and approved by society.
1t is said that crime is the conscience OF
society. That is, every crime points to some
imperfection in our social organization. The
feeble-minded murderer would not nave
killed if he had been properly studied IN
the public schools and isolated.
Neither would the seasonal worker and
the hobo be a menace, perhaps, II their
cases were intelIigentIy studied. The season
al worker is a necessity. Crops could not be
gathered, nor boats manned, nor ice harvest
ed without this army of floating labor. But
society makes no proper provision for this
man who is necessary to it. His numbers
could easily be ascertained his movements
directed. Government could see to it that his
living and working conditions were decent,
as it does in the case of settled factory
workers. AS it is, when he works he is pro-
vided with the most degrading sort of sur
roundings, for the most part. The typical
lumber camp, with its vermin and dirt, is an
example. When he has finished his work in
one place and starts for another he becomes
hunted animal The police keep him NOV
railroads throw him off when he tries to
execute the order. Only the tramp lodging
house opens its doors to him, trusts him
and welcomes him. So he is hammered down
into the ranks Of the confirmed Migrants
and criminals.