“Indeed the whole tramp problem she believes could be well-nigh solved if vagrants of all ages could be kept off railway trains. It has been estimated by several authorities, working independently, that there are in the United States at least half a million tramps. In her book Mrs. Solenberger studies the genesis, character, and previous environment of 220, and comes to the conclusion that in the huge army of which these are typical examples the variations of character and of inducing causes are so great that they call for much variety in methods of treatment. But the basic characteristic of all of them is the abnormal propensity for incessant wandering.
“‘It is the mere accessibility of the railroads, more than anything else,’ she writes, ‘that is manufacturing tramps today. * * * When we succeed in absolutely closing these highways to any but persons having a legitimate right to be on them, we shall check at its source the largest single contributary cause of vagrancy, and the problem of the tramps, as such, will practically be solved.’
“She thinks the problem should be dealt with by states, and that if several of the most populous and most tramp-ridden would deal with it adequately, for which she makes a number of practical suggestions, the rest would be driven, in self-defense, to follow their example.
“Other subjects treated by this same scientific method of study of actual cases, with all the preceding and following data that could be gathered, and then discussed in their general implications, are chronic beggars, seasonal and casual labor, interstate migration of paupers, homeless old men, the crippled, the defective, and industrial accidents. A number of appendices contain much statistical information and some articles on lodging houses. The book is published under the auspices of the Russell Sage Foundation.”
Transcriber’s Notes
Table of contents was created by the transcriber and is hereby placed in the public domain.
Obvious errors and omissions in punctuation have been fixed.
Any inconsistencies in spelling have been retained.