CHAPTER XXVIII
Houston—The Church and the City’s Sin Against Society
“Do no wrong, do no violence to the stranger.”—Jeremiah, 22: 3.
The weather was bright and cold when I reached Texas. As I walked the streets of Houston I noticed that the police glanced at me suspiciously. Several of them, by their looks, seemed to be weighing my worth. After my arrival in this city, from morning until night I walked its streets in search of work, until compelled by the shadows of the night to seek a free place to rest.
During all my earnest endeavors that day the only opportunity for work came from a labor solicitor offering me a dollar a day and board to work ten hours a day in the woods.
“How do they feed you?” I asked.
“As good as in any camp.” (I knew all that meant.)
“What are the sleeping accommodations like?”
“Well, it is a new camp, and, of course, they are not the best.”
“What is the fare to the camp?”
“Five dollars.”