The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1932-08-16
CHILD BUNS
ON ROAD IN
HUNGRY HORDE
100000 Boys, Girls Driven
From Home by DepreS-
sion: Seek Only Food.
BY HARRY FERGUSON
United Press staff Correspondent

WASHINGTON, Aug. ia hun
CRY horde of 100000 children, boys
and girls, driven from their homes
by economic adversely, is loaf1ng
back and forth across the nation on
an indefinite junket to nowhere.
They seek only enough food to
keep them alive, as they push out
of the north and east in their fight
to escape the suffering of the COM
ing winter in the everlasting spring.
time of southern California and
Florida.
This roaming army is product of
the business depression, and one of
the Strangest phenomenon of the
postwar years,
The only thing comparable to it.,
according to social welfare experts,
are the so-called wild children" of
Russia who banded together and
ravaged the countryside.
Information of these wanderers
has been assembled by the depart
ment of labors childrens bureau.
Not a Social Menace
Officials feel there is little i'm
mediate danger of the children be-
coming social menace, but the
future is dark with danger unless
the nomads can be returned swiftly
to their homes and either placed
in school or put to work.
The mass of documentary evil
dence assembled by the chilorens
bureau tells, in the Unconditional
manner of the research expert.
thousands of stories like this one
that came out of the hobo Jungle"
in Ell Paso, Tex:
We next encountered two men
making coffee. One was 10. He was
from Mt. Carmel, Pa. He gave me
letter to read from his sister and
mother.
The sister wrote a good letter.
told about the high school basket
ball game.
The mother was a poor Speller
She said the father was out of owrk
and that the sister would quit high
school and go to work if she could
find anything She urged the boy
not to come home.
He was eating a loaf of bread
tearing out pieces of it and wash
ing it down with coffee. His nose
was swollen where he had been hit
by brakeman"
Beyond Railroads Control
Railroad officials virtually were
unanimous in saying that the white
collar buns" have driven the pro-
fessional hobo off the brakerods.
and sent him to the larger cities
where he is content to live in the
breadlines and sleep in the open.
The railroad men agree that
problem almost has gone beyond
their control. They are quoted by
the bureau as saying:
THE policy is to remove the tran
sients from the trains. But the
last year we have been unable to
do so because the numbers are so
large"
Ell Paso, Tex, a city of slightly
more than 100000 inhabitants, had
$3.50 persons pass through. bum
ming rides on freight trains, in sir
months. An average of more than
1900 men day pass through
Kansas City.
Some of the boys say they are
going to certain CITY," a research
worker reports. Most of them are
not going anywhere, but have to
keep on the move.
Some Beg Auto
Police can not arrest them, for
the jails won't hold them. They are
boys whose parents could not sup
port them, so they took to the road
as the only alternative"
Freight trains are not the only
method of transportation. Thou
sands prefer to line the highway
and beg rides from motorists.
Railroad detective can spot no
mad" instantly by the awkward way
he swings on to a brakerod. Re
Gently a report was received of
boy, who wasn't quite agile enough
in getting aboard the freight. He
fell. his leg was cut off and he died
that night. Welfare officials who
notified his parents in a distant city
received this reply:
Please to see that he is buried.
We got no money"