New Britain herald., 1927-06-11
LIFE OF A HOBO
 ONE SWEET SONG
Costs Him Nothing and Easy Public Pays the Freight

day, at the practice or ms own pro fession. That is what Professor w. B. Bailey. formerly with the faculty of Yale and now economist for the Travellers Insurance Co.,. told the members of the New Britain Rotary club last Thursday evening at dln- hsT profsssor ~sss,as. Bailey. in ordeAo learn about hoboes, spent three summers 4s a hobo and for 10 years ran a hobo lodging house. He said he ac- cumulatcd d wonderful fund or ln- formation.
 "The hobo is interested in the same things that other men are in terested in," he said. The only dlf- ference is in the way he approaches the subject. He is interested in eat ing. sleeping getting smoke or drink, and a little travel now and then.
 Thanks to the gullibility of the American housewife, the easiest thing tramp does is eat. The only objection he has to the American housewife is that she insists on feed ing him cake and pie when he doesn't want it. What he wants are two large slices of bread, with but ter spread liberally on one side, and a good substantial piece of meat between.
 One om his troubles is that he often must throw his feet lie never walks, he throws his feet around to the back door where he is handed a lot of advice. It would be . wonderful thing if people would only put up signs on their front doors 'hoboes fed here or No hoboes fed here It would save lot of trouble. There ought to be a Blue Book for hoboes so they would know the best places to go.
 There is a tramp map. It consists of a sketchy drawing on a piece Of brown paper, showing the main street of a village with cross marks indicating the best stopping places. had such a map once but l lost 1t Il loaned it to a minister and never got 1t back.
 Signs on Gate Posts
 'The tramp can't carry map Of every place in the country so he has worked out system of putting marks on the gate posts. On a dark post he puts a white mark; on a white post he puts a black or red mark. The sign may be a cross dog sign, it may be 'sawbuck' sign or 1t may be a food sign.
 Whatever it is he puts it on and another hobo can walk through Q village street and read the whole record of the people by the signs on the gate posts.
 Getting food is extremely simple for the tramp. Getting a good place to sleep is extremely difficult. He can't sleep in a haymow because the farmer will root him out with a pitchforh. He can't sleep outside un- der a haystack because it might rain or snow, or it might be too cold. So many times he has to turn to the village lookup. In the morn- ing he gets bread and water which he despises.
 "A tramp never sleeps. he 'flops,' pounds his ear or doses A 'doss house is where he sleeps. He usual fly spend five or ten cents to sleep"
 Professor Bailey at this point gave . humorous description of the Bis marck hotel, a hobo lodging house to1. n1n train to Chatham square. get off and walk through Chinatown. Go over Mott street and turn down a dark, blind alley at the end of which you see a sign Bismarck hotel.' You go Up a flight of stairs to a heavy wooden door. A man inside will pull open a little slide and give you the once over. If you look disreputable enough he will open the door. Then you go over to book and sign the name you have selected for the eve- ming. and you pay your five or ten cents according to your resources for a bed. If you are wise you pay five cents.
 Sleeping de Luxe
 You are shown into a room 'lp two more flights where you find one of the old fashioned swell bodied stoves. The beds are made of gas pipes in berths or hunks, three high. Over these gas pipe frames IS stretched cheap cotton ticking. That is your bed. If you are a gentleman you will remove your hat, cOat,vest and shoes. You wrap up your shoes in your vest and that is your pillow. You cover yourself with your coat. You sleep with your feet toward the stove and keep warm.
 When the room is fairly well fill ed you get the idea that window ought to be open. Some one opens 1t. Some one notices the change in the air and demands that it be shut. Then the argument starts. Finally 'bouncer' comes up. says few well chosen words and slams the window shut and the argument is over. The air there is worse in winter than 1t Is in summer. It's also worse in summer than it is in winter. Every time you go it is the worst.
 Some of those fellows are the most eloquent sleepcrs you ever heard. When one after another tunes in. you ought to hear them. Generally about the time the last fellow gets going, some one wakes up and starts the great African in- dustry of scratching. That's some job, too. If the Bismarck hotel burn ed down tomorrow at high noon the loss of life probably would go Up into the millions. Yet il is home to those fellows and they love il. Iou'll find them there anytime from the first week in November to the last week in January.
 SIP to Sl5 a Day
 "Any hobo with a good hard luck story can earn from SIP to S15 day. Every 'bo' has his hard luck