The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1922-08-10
Denver DutChy Declares That
Wanderers Bear Brunt of
Many Heavy Tasks.
BEMGANS The DEAR old DAYS
Old Thoroughbred Tramp Has Passed
and Profession Has Petered Out
Only in Comics Do You See
Tried and True Tramp.

Seattle, Wash-Where are the
trampS of yesterday aptiy
dubbed knights of the road" who, in
halcyon days, were common sight
along stretches Of railroad right-of
ways, throughout the country. Shift
less, happy-go-lucky fellows they were
readily identified as wandering
Willies,' or members of the rowing
mendicant fraternity, by their make
Shift hats, unkempt and usually I'M
washed stubhla boards. iIl-htting
patched trousers, nondescript coats,
battered and tattered diversified
shoes, hut, best of all, by the tools
of their trade" a tin can and BAN
dana handkerchief bundle which they
carried on the end of d short stick
over the shoulders.
ALAS, poor Dusty Rhodes! l knew
him wen, Horatio." moaned Denver
Dutchy, a more or less retired veteran
of the road, as he gently closed a
grimy paper-bound edition of Emer-
sons Essays. which he had been read
ing for diversion while beating it a
division" several weeks ago in a box
car from Pueblo to Denver, Colo, over
the Colorado & Southern railroad. His
travelling companion and Confidante
of the last three days, the reporter, a
mere novice, whose experience as a
hobo consisted of a triting $4,000
miles covered at intervals during Il Pc
riCd of four years, had asked for rem
iniscences of the old days when box
cars were box cars, and men were
men, stirred by fond memories of the
past was visibly affected
Bemoans Dear Old Days.
"Ah, will those dear days ever come
again he said almost sadly, shifting
his weight as the train took a sharp
curve and rumbled into a long dark
tunnel in the mountain side When
daylight again showed through the
open door Dutchy continued: Il think
not Tho old thoroughbred tramp has
passed, aud the profession has petered
out Ony in the comics do you see
the tried and true tramp of yesterday.
"Tramp life Is a different life now
from what it was ten years ago. And
what makes it different is this The
Old-time tra,ag was on the road to do
as little work AS possible. When he
needed a stake To hold him over the
winter in the North there were plenty
of jobs in almost any town where he
could put in few days work and
come clear with enough money to live
for a few weeks. On the road he
could always tackle a woodpile for
some kind lady and get fed. Then,
again the jungles in every town were
always full Of hos who had plenty of
food they had hummed or had bought
Getting was easy in those days"
Dutchy went on. "But now! There
are several million men on the road
tramps and buns all-but they're not
on the road because they want to be-
Unemployment has put them there.
Homeless, penniless and sometimes
friendleSs, they are beating IL from
one town to another looking for work
Few Realize Hardships.
people in the city with jobs don't
know what a hobo is up against For
that matter few Of them know what a
hobo, in the true sense of the word is
They don't know that a real hobo is a
travelling workman who does some Of
the hardest and poorest paid labor in
the United States. Who haryests the
great grain crops Of the Middle West
each year? Hobos who drift in from
all over the country harvest It. They
also build the railroads, irrigation
projects and other construction jobs
cut the timber In the often.lousy log
ging camps, harvest the Ice crops,
work In mines and oil fields, and per
form other work that lasts for only
a short time and which only the drift