The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1922-10-17

one OF their infreQuent but specific.
ular raids upon street beggars r..
Gently, the city's courts were liter,
ally filled with prosperous bekear.
whose weekly income ranged from
$40 to SIS. One who aroused erest
Indignation In the breast Of m
good-natured metropolis, had bean
accustomed to drive to and from
his daily beat in his high-priced
limousine. 1nasmuch as the AMI.
tude 81 the New York police tovam
street beggars, except for occasion.
al bursts OF aggression, is apathetic
and as the New York jails do NOT =.
quire hard toll from smail-tir,
prisoners, the city is likely to r..
main permanent favorite with fhs
hobo fraternity.
While Manhattan is the best plae,
for the hobo to make money, With
Newark, N. j., ranking q close SCI.
ond. it is in Philadelphia and otae:
large cities of Pennsylvania that
the tramp is best fed. According to
one veteran tramp, there Is scarce
ly town or hamlet in the Keystone
state which does not provide At
least a comfortable living" for
vagabonds. The good -natured haus-
fraus of the agricultural districts
especially believe that i'll luck will
come to them il they refuse
hungry man food, and, so keen Is
their desire to avoid calamity tina.
in addition to the large dinner SET
out for each tramp, they provide
him with box OF food to take with
him upon his Journey"
Chicago Is Unpopular.
Chicago, while popular with
tramps, especially as winter
abode, is considered slightly dan.
gerous. as the Chicago police are
disconcertingly prompt in arrest
ing suspicious-lo&sing beggars, AMI
the Chicago jails are stern in their
treatment of Migrants. Thirty days
in Bridewell" is a sentence that nJ
tramp is likely to risk twice. Be.
sides, the city is heavily populated
with earnest students Of crime, who
are always invading Hobohemia in
West Madison street and making
f., the residents extremely uncomfor,-
| able.
- A tramp is by no means an easy
| subject of study. Unless the investi-
gator adopts the heroic method II
joining the hobo fraternity, he is
not likely to obtain much true in.
formation OF the brotherhood's
; character. Not only are tramps full
of suspicion and prejudices and apt
either to exaggerate or to keep
silent if they suspect their question
er, but they have clearly drawn
caste lines and slang OF their own
altogether bewiidering to the I'm
| initiated. be-
! The lowest type Of tramp. onc
which has largely dropped out OF
sight since the war. is known a.
| the 'tomato-can vag." This type
used to be particularly numerous in
New York City, where it lived In
boxes. barrels, cellars and under
wharves, where it could curl up
and have a "doss" (sleep). 1t fed
upon the refuse Of garbage cans
andnot quite empty, tin cans re-
covered from ash barrels.
| The "gay-cat" Is another type
sp.rnad and often prosecuted BY
the body of the fraternity. for the
gay-cat is one who cannot depend
entirely upon his wits to support
him but who, in the face OF neces-
sity often accepts work. 1t is this
| type which engages In various sea.
sonal occupations such as hop and
berry picking, harvesting, and CON-
mercial canning.
| Almost in the same class with The
gay-cat is the poke-out, the tram,
who is content to subsist on eGld
food poked out to him through the
household door 1t is this type
which lives in the cheapest lodging
houses in the cities, sleeping Ell
| masse on the floor of one room AMI
paying only 10 or Is cents for thu
, chance. 1t is the poke-out, also
who is most commonly found in thu
| free bread line, because according
to his superiors in yagrancy, he y
: too lazy and shiftless to earn
good living"
q The high-class tramp, on th'
t other hand, possesses diligence
. patience, nerve and politeness AM
| takes great pride in his success
: He considers it a duty as we'll as
privilege to eat regularly, and feei'
: ashamed If he fails to do so. Fo'
: supper he usually has about VIVA
) other people have-potatoes ans
) beefsteak or some other good cut o
5 meat, tea or coffee, bread and pul
l ter, and often dessert. The oni!
t difference is that he obtains 1t WIN
g out work. This may not seem laua
t able to the majority of nardwork
ing mankind, but the tramp is pfou'
g of the achievement.