University of Oregon monthly., April 01, 1908, Image 5

g
'
U niv er sity
of
O reg o n M o n t h l y
The very fact that there are so many tramps adds to their num­
bers. The ease of their existence attracts.- g-Nd equipment is nec­
essary. Thé true tramp does not even carry a blanket but spends
his nights' under the stars or huddled away’ in some corner from
the rigors of the weather. He often does, not know where his
next meal is 'coming from but relies upon the kind hearted farmer
wife. This resource failing, it is easy -enough tp' filch a Tittle
fruit or some' vegetables. The wayside brookoffers the means
to satisfy his requirements for cleanliness^ .meager as they "are.
In turn, old clothing, begged.from the housewives, is readily pawned.
Lacking this the free lunch counter and the shelters managed by
different charitable associations renders life bearable, eyen agréé-
able: Their life is absolutely without worry. Thepr take each day
as. it comes and are happy even when hungry or thinly clad.
Ragged, dirty and unkempt, the hobo forms a picturesque
figure. We .cannot help but wonder how his life ja sp e n t, where he
has.been and where he has come from. W hat is the hobo’s origin?
A great shock or sudden grief in which relationships are severed
drives men to the road where they are able to get away from their
surroundings, fraught with reminders of their trouble.
Many men spend restieW, dissatisfied lives, misunderstood by
: all their friends, simply because they desire "to* ,get away from
their environment, and haven’t the gumption to break away. Fears
as of mad dogs, robbers, hold-up-men and, the terrors of the un­
known hold them fast within chains tP their humdrum surroundings.
In this age o f American over-production, a surplus is.'èônstantly
on the market. .Consequently, rnafiy mills and factories have to
shut down and innumerable men are thrown puL pf 'employment
or.kept upon starvation wages. Âs long as this^over-productfon
contingeW make a glut upon the market, the rank and file ofhobos
will increase. No work and starvation naturall^ffrives men to the
life ÿ ca -tramp—an "easy existence, without .Worries.;** I
H
Modern sociologists hold, wealth concentration responsible tor
this Condition. The remedy lies,, perhaps,’ more in thé hands of
the State Legislature than in the city wood? piles, ,as .supposed by
wealthy and well meaning philanthropists.
Ruth Hansen.