New-York tribune., 1921-06-19
HAT makes q hoboe
on the road as tramp.

4 Most people think poverty Is the chief con
1 .-h,ting cause. Such is not always the case.
4 ,s.nv men Of means have shown liking for
\. hohos life In this country there is
.,anr St. Louis millionaire, James Eads How,
| rho is always ready to help the fraternity of
/ ia road and who organizes their conventions
.,S is q welcome figure at their meetings By
| ia roadside In Australia there have been
/ several wealthy men who have shown dis
.;net preference for the life of the tramp, or,
4 .s the hobo is called there, the 'sundowner."
1 50 It can be put down that in many instances
,,n turn hoboes because they have il in their
/ bood It would not make any difference how
l .ncb money they had-the wanderlust would
| ,;ll possess them and they would prefer to
1 r,vel the habo's way rather than among those
| who go first class.
| MANY writers and artists have found appeal
| IN the hobo's life, In this country some good
| books have been written by men who have lived
* hoboes, getting their material. / met Jack
fandon in New Caledonia at the time of his
rrp with his little boat the Shark London
had done good deal of hoboing in ms time,
IS his books will tell. Going back further in
literature, George Borrow's Lavengro and
o.ber books are recitals of hobo adventures.
Not only must one have the call to be
hobo, but there is art in it as well This
will bring smile from many, no doubt, but
the statement is true. A real hobo must
have good physique and a quick brain He
must know when to take chances and when
not TO take chances. He must know human
nature and the peculiarities of the people
IN whatever district he happens to be cover
inc. He must have something of a per-
sonalty and be able to tell a convincing
story-not always true story, but convinc-
ing Oftentimes he has to tell some kind of
q story to get piece of change in order to
kind Of man to tell the story to, the Jail may
be his reward. Also he must be able to tell
the police something convincing in case of
trouble and to argue q railroad man out of
ride The hobo who is discouraged at the
first rebuff in the railroad yards is never
going to get on well, but it is not going 70
do any good to be meanly persistent, as that
will just make trouble He must know just
how far he can go with men to get the best
results for himself
He must have a quick eye and brain, be-
cause he must take desperate risks, especial
y in Jumping trains. He must know lot
about the different kinds of cars Also he
must know that hoboing is vastly different
in different countries.
All this is not to be taken as an argument
in favor of young men turning hoboes. 1t
Ba hard life, and one that gets you nowhere.
There IS more bad weather kE1an fair, and
more cold days than warm, and more kicks
and cuffs than sandwiches and kind words
This goes even for the best of the life. AS
far as I am concerned, have always worked,
and worked hard. / have been sheep
shearer and have worked my way around the
world as sailor, and between those cailings
have done everything else that man can
be called upon to do. Ny hoboing is done
simply between jobs. 7 cannot hold Job
more than a month before the road calls me
and | am gone-and as long as can work
free passage by one means or another
an not going to spend good money for trans
portation. Besides, the companionship / like
pest is ii what some one has called "Hobo-
hemia"
An uncle was responsible for my hoboing ex-
perences. He had done a bit of it himself
IN Australia, where | was born at Sydney, and
ne used TO tell me such tales of the road that
When was quite youngster I drifted out to
see for myself When came back / had
something Of an argument with my father
VINO cursed my uncle for his influence over me-
Then went away from home and became a
hobo for good
IN Australia there is always d welcome for
me tramp, because he is needed in the sheep
faslng districts and at harvest time Sheep
are turned out in that country without herd
ers as there are no wild animals to destroy
'aefn. When it comes shearing time the hoboes
are IN demand. In fact, the sheep men could
a0E get on without them. There are stations,
zen or twelve miles apart in the Australian
sheep country, and the hoboes tramp or ride
from one station to another. When I say
Tide | mean that the hoboes ride in their
own eonveyances, which may be bicycles or
saikles-called buckboards in this country.