The new era., October 03, 1907, Image 6

About The new era. (Walden, Colo.) 1906-19??

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TRAMP EVIL COSTS
RAILROADS MILLIONS
* SERIOUS PROBLEM EM MGERS
Common Carriers and Charitable Or
ganizations Alike Seek Remedial
Legislation—Wrecks and Robberies
Are Laid to the Doors of Vagrants
—Problem Most Acute in Eastern
States.
Chicago.—What to do with the thou
sands of tramps who wander aimlessly
about the country and interfere with
the safety of passengers traveling on
the different railroad systems has be
come a serious problem, and has
aroused the charity organizations and
the railroad companies to the need of
a general cooperation with the au
thorities in an attempt to put an end
to vagrancy In all its forms.
At a recent conference of represen
tatives of several large railroads in
Minneapolis there was presented from
eaih road a set of figures approximat
ing the amount of damage sustained
by the different systems through the
depredations of tramps. The total sum
< ?
si raxx fir 77i 2'
leached the amazing figure of $25,000,-
000.
The showing made in the reports
was supplemented by reports of the
Interstate commerce commission,
which stated that in the last five years
25,974 trespassers had been killed.
Not all of that slaughtered army were
tramps, yet it was shown that the
vast majority were of the class of
aimless wanderers whose vagrancy is
much mixed with viciousness.
An Army of Vagrants.
Representatives of the Baltimore &
Ohio railroad reported to the confer
ence that these hordes of the Tents of
Shem constitute one of the most seri
c»*is problems with which the road
hid to deal. Others, who were compe
tent to testify, asserted that from one
half to three-fourths of all trespassers
were tramps.
It was asserted that on the Balti
more & Ohio accidents caused by
tiamps were not infrequent, and that
the robbing of cars, freight houses and
stations was of almost dally occur
rence.
James McCrea, president of the
Pennsylvania railroad, declared that
the 900 vagrants arrested on his road
for trespassing in 1906 were but a
small percentage of the vagrants con
stantly traveling over the Pennsylva
nia system.
Conference In Minneapolis.
At the Minneapolis conference ini
tial steps were taken to establish a
national vagrancy committee, which
will have as its work the study of
vagrancy and the recommendation of
measures for the reduction of vag
rancy and for the more rational assist
ance of the honest wayfarer out of
work. Its field Is very large, and be
cause general knowledge of the real
frets of vagrancy is so limited, the ef
fect of the committee's work will prob
ably not be immediately apparent.
Yet it Is evident that much thought is
to-day being given to the question of
the public's duty to the vagrant, and
of the vagraut's danger to the public.
Professional jokemakers have cre
ated out of tho tramp or the "hobo,”
as he la more familiarly known, a pic
turesque, happy-go-lucky soldier of for
tune. Possibly one tramp in a thou
aaad Justifies this pleasant concep
tion, hut those who know them best
have no illusions about the thousands
of vagrants who roam over the coun
try. ia cities persons generally re
gard the tramp frivolously as they
laugh at the colored pictures in comic
weeklies; hat it Is vary different with
those who dwell In thinly settled dis-
tricts. There the “hobo” Is a serious
menace—he trespasses, steals and
sometimes even wrecks a railroad
train and commits assault or murder.
An Incident at Ridgway.
An incident at Ridgway, on the
Pennsylvania railroad, a week or two
ago shows how train cVews are in
danger from tramps. In Mils case It
was a bottle of nitroglycerin that did
the damage, puttting four or five men
In the hospital and injuring one of
them so badly that his leg had to be
amputated.
Two freight trains were about to
leave Ridgway when the conductor of
one of them found a man lying upon
the top of a boxcar. The crews of the
two trains, when about to eject the
man, found him apparently powerless
to move. He seemed to be in a drunk
en stupor. In his pocket was a bottle
which the trainmen thought to be
whisky. This bottle was taken from
the tramp by an enginemnn. who
either dropped or threw it on the car.
Immediately It exploded, doing severe
damage.
“Hobo” Depends on Rail.
To nearly everyone the picture of a
"hobo’’ riding on a freight train Is a
familiar sight. It takes only a min
ute's thought to grasp the fact that
the railroads are the most valuable
asset In the tramp’s existence. A
tramp cannot remain a tramp long un
less he can move about and be a
stranger to whomever he meets.
Thus the “hobo” depends upon the
railroads to go from city to city and
frem state to state. He cannot pay his
fa«e, rarely having money, so he steals
hit* rides and thereby becomes a tres
passer. If “ride-stealing" can be pre
vented, vagrancy will receive Its
deathblow. And that is the peg upon
which the effort to disband the army
of vagrants is to be hung.
Cooperation la Necessary.
Naturally enough the railroads have
always been anxious to stop "free
rides." The trespassers not Infre
quently steal valuable packages of
freight, damage cars, interfere with
signal and switching apparatus and at
times attack and seriously injure em
ployes. But It has been impossible to
make any headway against “ride
stealing” because the trespassers, if
detected and arrested, are rarely pun
ished by county or town officials, but
are just ordered to “move on." wfcich
y ■GJ2rT‘Z~- go j
means that they board the next freight
train that comes along.
Thus, to accomplish results, there
must be cooperation between railroads
and authorities. To obtain this co
operation several charity organizations
are planning a national educational
campaign and will seek to have ade
quate legislation enacted and the laws
enforced. The railroads through their
regular employes and through their
police departments will work in har
mony with the charity organizations.
Acuta in Eastern States.
The tramp problem is peculiarly
acute In the eastern states. The av
erage number of trespassers killed to
every 100 miles of track in the United
States ia 1.6 persona. In the group
or states Including Louisiana. Texas
tad New Mexico tho proportion falls
to loss than a single person per hun
dred miles.
But In group 2 of the Interstate com
merce commission’s classification of
states, comprising New York, Penn
sylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and
Maryland, the proportion rises to 3.2
per hundred miles of railroad in oper
ation. This means that the largest
number of tramps are in this and
neighboring states. The cities con
tinue to attract the vagrants.
It is the country districts and little
towns that suffer most from the “ho-
A GATfE" JTf *
A BOX g4jz*
ho." At the same time they are less
able to deal with the question because
of the expense involved In the prose
cution and imprisonment of offenders.
If a tramp drops off a freight train at
some village It is much easier and
cheaper for the village constable to
say “Get out of town in 12 hours” than
it is to put the tramp in jail and feed
him for ten days. This “move on"
order relieves the town of that one
tramp, but some other town gets him
and some other tramp Is unloaded In
a similar manner upon the town that
sent the first one away.
Recruits Constantly Come.
So it goes on interminably. Every
year the number of wanderers with
out available means of support is In
creased by new recruits. The habit of
idleness once contracted is rarely
abandoned, except under compulsion.
Tills compulsion has not been supplied
by separate communities; it will
probably have to be brought about by
state or national action.
Railroad police departments have
been mentioned as a probable cure for
vagrancy, but this goes only a short
way. If a tramp Is arrested, but is
discharged in court, the lesson is of
little value; he is then free to resume
his “occupation.” This failure to pun
ish In most cases may be laid to the
matter of expense. Therefor#, it is
suggested that the expense of main
taining prisoners, or at least part of It,
be shared by the state.
Another method suggested Is en
forced labor. “Work," says James J.
Hill, of the Great Northern, “is more
dreaded than all the other terrors of
the law. If every tramp were sen
tenced, under a penalty of a diet of
bread and water, to work hard before
he was passed along, the end would be
in sight. The construction of good
roads would be assisted by compelling
every tramp to break stone, wheel
dirt or go hungry. This, with a fine
enforcement of the criminal laws by
the local authorities, would probably
furnish a simple and satisfactory solu
tion of the vagrancy problem."
Legislation Suggested.
Railroad policemen who have had
experience with "ride stealers” are
quite as enthusiastic advocates of en
forced labor as Is Mr. Hill. "But,”
they ask, "how can we have enforced
labor for tramps when labor organiza
tions have worked up a powerful sen
timent against giving work to prison
ers when 'honest men’ go idle?" This
opposition to letting prisoners do work
that wage-earners might do is regard
ed as a powerful obstacle to the “en
forced labor" solution of the vagrancy
problem.
The superintendent of police of one
of the large eastern lines says that the
greatest blow to vagrancy would be a
law passed by the legislature of every
state making It illegal to trespass on
the right of way of a railroad. At
present, in this state, the tramp can
not be punished for simply being on
the property of a railroad, though he
can be punished for “stealing rides."
Plans of the Pennsylvania.
The Pennsylvania railroad has sot
out to perfect the organization of a
well-disciplined police department.
Members of this special police force
will travel along the road, on both pas
senger and freight trains, and will
make It their special duty to look out
for trespassers. If they were aided by
a state law making it a misdemeanor
to trespass on the right of way, un
doubtedly the number of tramps on
the Pennsylvania and other railroads
and the risks to employes and equip
ment would rapidly decrease.
Railroad officers say, however, that
they can accomplish little Unless they
are able to work in harmony with the
authorities. It is the object of tho
charity organizations. In undertaking
the study of this problem, to bring
about such harmony. The results to
society at large can be appreciated
when one learns that the number of
vagrants is estimated as great as 500,-
000. This great army, many members
of which are well able to work, is now
a dead load to the country. The
quicker they can be assimilated—by
persuasion, by force or by the press
of circumstances—into the producing
classes the better.
LIVE
STOCK
USEFUL PIG TROUGH.
One Which Can Be Easily Turned for
Cleaning.
This trough Is one that is firmly
fastened to the ground and at the
Hume time can bo turned />ver to be
cleaned. Make the trough of two
boards, one six Inches wide and the
Pig Trough in Place.
other seven inches, each six feot long.
For the ends, take two six-inch boards
each 2% feet long and fasten them be
tween two stakes by a bolt. Cut the
lower side of one of the ends off
round, so that It can be turned over
readily. For large hogs, says Farm
and Home, this trough should be
made of larger size than described
above.
REMOVING HORNS FROM CATTLE.
Better to Lst Thom Grow and Then
Dohorn Than to Prevent Growth.
Many who write cn this subject
recommend the removal of horns, so
lo speak, by preventing them from
growing. This sounds well, but it is
at least open to question as to wheth
er it is better to prevent horns from
growing by the application of some
caustic material or to take them off
at a later period.
To prevent horns from growing is
not in all instances the easy task that
some persons imagine it to be. If too
much caustic potash, which is gener
ally used, is applied, it will bum too
deeply. If too little is applied the
horns will not be sufficiently checked,
and a second application will be nec
essary. Many of those who have used
this application have not used it with
entire success. The result has been
miniature horns that have been more
or less deformed. The caustic is more
or less dangerous to handle. If any
of it should reach any other part, and
this is easily possible unless the
calves are Isolated, It will remove the
hair. It is also very easy to injure the
fingers unless great care Is exercised
in handling the potash, and It must
be kept with care or it will waste.
But there Is the strong objection, says
Orange Judd Farmer, to such dehorn
ing arising from the fact that animals
dehorned young learn to push with
the head and to strike in away that
they would not if the horns were al
lowed to grow until they can punch
just a little with them and they are
then cut off. The loss of the horns
seems to discourage them so much
that it takes all of the fight out of
them. The most docile animals by
far aro those who have lost their
horns after they have come to know
how they could use them.
HINTS FOR FARM HORSES.
Never shout at a young horse while
training him.
A well grown yearling is worth
more than a stunted two-year-old.
Keep the colt’s feet in good shape.
Do not let the toes become too long.
Irregular feeding makes thin
horses, no matter what amount Is
given.
The oat box should be large, with
broad bottom, so that the oats will
scatter And not be bolted.
The brood mare should have a few
hours’ exercise in the yard or on the
road every day. It does not pay to
keep her confined.
The horses and colts should be kept
away from the hens and hogs. The
odor of the pigpen is offensive to the
horse, and hen lice are hard to erad
icate.
See to it that the work collars fit
and that they are kept soft and clean.
There are few things more discourag
ing in the beginning of a busy season
than horses with sore shoulders, and
this vexation and cruelty can be
avoided by the exercise of proper
care.
Breed only to pure sires. Use
pure bred dams If possible.—Cole-
Man's Rural World.
Hitch a steady team to a hayrack,
lowdown wheels preferred, and let
while another with a good sharp
one man drive slowly along the hedge
while another with a good sharp
scythe stands on the rack and mows
off the tender shoots. Stop the team
as necessary and work up along the
rack. The flat rack is the handiest
and works faster. With a little prac
tice part of the mowing can be done
as the team is moving, says Wallace's
.Farmer. By this method one man
and a boy to drive trimmed eighty
rods of fence down one side and back
on the other in less than three hours.
Dip the Hogs.
Do not allow yourself to get so
busy that you do not have time to dip
the hogs at least once a month. Be
sides freeing them from lice and nu
• merous skin diseases it opens up the
pores of their skin and tends to pro
mote the general health of the herd.
Poison for Mice.
A reader sends the following: One
part flour, one part sugar and one
part arsenic mixed well, makes an
ideal poison for mice. They eat it
readily and do not produce a disgust
ing smell when they die.
SEXES OF PIGS.
Boars Seem to Be Btightly More Nu
'merous Than Bows.
George A. Rommel, animal hus
bandman of the United States Depart
ment of Agriculture, reports:
In response to requests, the Animal
Husbandry office of this bureau has
recently collected information regard
ing the relative proportions of the
two sexes of pigs at birth, with quite
Interesting results. This Information
is not to be obtained from the herd
books for the reason that while the
total number of pigs farrowed ia usu
ally given, the number of each sex
is given only for the pigs raised.
Reports were received from eighty
two breeders, located in twenty-three
states and two territories (Indian Ter
ritory and Oklahoma). Eight breeds
were represented, as follows: Berk
shire, Chester White, Duroc Jersey,
Hampshire, Large Yorkshire, Ohio Im
proved Chester, Poland China and
Tamworth. In a few cases the record
of litters of grade and mixed breeding '
was given; these are Included in the
results.
The number of sows whose litters
were reported was 1,477. The number
of boar pigs was 6,660; the number of
sows, 6,625, and the total 13,285. The
average per sow was as follows:
Boars. 4.52; sows. 4.48; total, 8.99.
The figures are mainly for litters far
rowed during 1906. In 49 cases sec
ond litters during the year were re
ported for the same sows, which some
what raises tho average per sow.
Boars are seen to be slightly more
numerous than sows, but for all prac
tical purposes the sexes may be re
garded as equal in number at birth.
The relative proportion was found to
be 1,005 boars to 1,000 sows. Ex
pressed In another way, the proportion
is 100.53 boars to 100 sows, which in
lowest terms of whole figures is 201
boars to 200 sows.
FAT ON THE HOG.
Only Put It on When Fitting the Ani
mal for Market.
The hog that Is to be kept on the
farm for breeding purposes does not
need much fat. The more fat he ha*
the more expense of muscle and en
ergy there is required to carry it
around and the more food must there
be expended for that purpose alone.
The hog stores nothing on his body
except what may be used for some
other purpose than to please the
butcher. In fact, the butcher is not
looked out for by Nature. The object
Nature has In storing up fat is to give
a surplus to be used as fuel in the
lungs. This fat is to be burned up in
the creating of energy to keep the
machinery of the body in motion and
in the creating of heat to keep up the
temperature of the body. There is,
therefore, no reason for putting on
the back of the hog a lot of fuel for
him to carry about with him till the
time he needs it. It would be like
piling onto the tender of an engine
more coal than could be used in a
single trip. The extra weight would
be carried for nothing and would only
be In the way. The hog that is to be
kept should therefore have only a
small amount of fat on him at any
time. This will make it more natural
for him to exercise and the exercise
will Improve his health.
The fat on the hog that is to be sold
is worth money in the market and
should be put on freely. The hog
should not, however, have so much fat
that he is likely to go down when
on the Journey to market. The buy
ers of hogs like to have fat hogs, but
they do not > want them too fat. An
overfat hog on a hot day has a good
chance to die before reaching the end
of his journey.
FOR A COOL STABLE.
Gate Which Will Keep Stock in and
Let Air In, Too.
A simple arrangement which will
allow stables to be kept thoroughy
aired and kept cool on hot days is
The Door Gate.
shown In the sketch. Make a light
gate of railings and hang it just inside
of the stable door so that It may be
used when the door is open. This per
mits the animals to be in the stable
without danger of their getting away
and also with plenty of sunlight.
Be Good to the Cows.
Do not excite the cows or expose
them to sudden change in the weather.
Feed them liberally with fresh, palat
able feeds. There Is nothing made
by denying tho cows all they will eat. j
In addition to this allow them all the;
water they can drink. It should be
pure, but not too cold. I
Separate Them. !
Separate the cockerels from the pu!
lets at once for both will make better I
growth if they are on separate range,'
or in separate yards.
TRIUMPH OF SURGERY
BOY WITH FRACTURED BKULL
LIKELY TO LIVE.
I
Case of New York Toddler of Four
Years Old Is a Proof of the
Heights Reached by Mod
ern Bcience.
New York. —A moßt remarkable
1 case of surgery in St. Gregory’s hos
pital is that of a four-year-old boy,
who has an almost complete fracture
of the skull, and, according to the
physicians, will recover. Seven sur
geons worked over the patient for
1 over six hours, assisted by three nurses
and two orderlies.
Thomas Mcßride, Jr., son of a la
borer, of 160 South street, fell from
the fourth story of his home, strik
ing squarely on his head. He was
picked up by his father, unconscious
and bleeding freely.
A call was sent In to the St. Greg
ory’s hospital, Dr. Kresky responding.
The physician saw that he could do
nothing for the boy on the spot
to stop the flow of blood, and rushed
him to the hospital. The ambulance
driver, Sydney Whiteway, made a rec
ord run, driving both ways in four
minutes. The lad was immediately
put on the emergency operating table,
where Dr. David, the house surgeon,
found that the boy was fast dying
and gave him oxygen. He was kept
alive in this way until the arrival of
Drs. Turner and Stewart, visiting sur
geons to the Institution.
Drs. Heacock, Duke ‘and Swift as
sisted In keeping the boy alive.
The boy had a horseshoe-shaped
fracture of the skull, extending from
the frontal bone to the base. Frag
ments of the skull had become imbed
ded in the brain tissues. The physi
cians began removing piece by piece
the broken skull. A trepining knife
had to be used all through the opera
tion. The surgeons had to use the ut
most care, as the brain was partly ex
posed. The skull was broken in such
away that the surgeons had to raise
it nearly half an inch.
During the operation the boy’s
heart had almost ceased beating sev
eral times. As soon as the operation
was over the child was put in the med
ical ward. Shortly after the opera
tion the boy returned to unconscious
ness. A few minutes later he asked
for a diink of water. This was the
first sign thta the chances were in
the boy’s favor. Later the patient
was able to move his body and tried
to sit up.
He talked freely and asked for a
piece of custard pie, which is a favor
ite dish at his home. The boy’s moth
er was at his bedside all day and beg- M
ged to take the child home. The phy
sicians were highly elated over their
success.
If the boy lives, the physicians say,
silver plates will be placed in the
skull when the broken pieces had been
removed. A number of outside physi
cians called to see the patient.
KILLED A MONSTER LYNX.
Boy Hunters of Washington Cover
Themselves with Glory.
Spokane, Wash. —John James and
John Zimmerman, each 12 years of
age, had an exciting time with a mon
ster lynx at Garden Springs, but
came off victorious, after enlisting the
services of a dog, a revolver, two
rifles and 16 bullets.
They were hunting rabbits and had
but one cartridge left in their rifle
when their dog scented the lynx. It
was found crouching on the limb of a
tree, and nothing daunted the boys
fired their one cartridge, but without
effect. They went home and got a re
volver belonging to one of the boys,
with which they returned to the siege
and fired 12 shots, one taking effect
in the cat’s paw. Again they found
themselves out of ammunition, and
again they returned home, this time
bringing with them a rifle.
The animal, however, had left his
limb, but was tracked through
brush to where he was again treed,
and after three more shots, he tum
bled to the ground with a bullet
through his heart.
When measured he was found to be
three feet long, without the tail, one
of tJie largest of its species ever found
in this part of the country.
Firemen’s Pet Monkey Dead.
New York. —Jennie, the ring-tailed
monkey which has been the mascot of
Hook and Ladder No. 20, at No. 155
Mercer street, for 12 years, is dead.
Jennie came from the bush of Bra
zil and was presented to Chief, then
Lieut. Edward Croker, on duty at
Truck No. 20, by the captain of a
tramp freighter.
Recently Jennie took to going to
fires with the men, and she contract
ed a severe cold at one of them, when
she broke from the blanket she had
been wrapped in, to investigate some
hats which had been thrown from the
burning building. A hose burst and
deluged her with water.
When Fireman Frank Murphy took
her on a Broadway car recently Jennie
snatched a woman's hat and tore it to
bits before Murphy could stop her.
While In disgrace for this bit of mis
chief she destroyed a lot of valuable
I papers belonging to Battalion Chief
' Worth, and, escaping from tho flre-
I house a day or two later, made her
way to a restaurant In the vicinity and
broke S3OO worth of glassware beforo
she could be caught.
I Jennie's skin will be stuffed and^
I mounted and placed at one end of^
• the sitting room in the truckhouse.