Lecture explores hobos, homeless

The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review ^ | Sunday, January 4, 2004 | Jerry Storey

[Willie Green]

Hobos were very different from the homeless of today, according to Todd DePastino, a Pittsburgh historian and professor at Waynesburg College's Southpointe branch.

DePastino will discuss the subject in a free lecture on his book "Citizen Hobo: How a Century of Homelessness Shaped America," 6 p.m. Monday at the Hilton Garden Inn at Southpointe.

[Willie Green]

King Of The Road
Roger Miller

Trailer for sale or rent
Rooms to let...fifty cents.
No phone, no pool, no pets
I ain't got no cigarettes
Ah, but..two hours of pushin' broom
Buys an eight by twelve four-bit room
I'm a man of means by no means
King of the road.

Third boxcar, midnight train
Destination...Bangor, Maine.
Old worn out clothes and shoes,
I don't pay no union dues,
I smoke old stogies I have found
Short, but not too big around
I'm a man of means by no means
King of the road.

I know every engineer on every train
All of their children, and all of their names
And every handout in every town
And every lock that ain't locked
When no one's around.

I sing,
Trailers for sale or rent
Rooms to let, fifty cents
No phone, no pool, no pets
I ain't got no cigarettes
Ah, but, two hours of pushin' broom
Buys an eight by twelve four-bit room
I'm a man of means by no means
King of the road.

[Support Free Republic]

Here we go again folks... why not donate now and help get this fundraiser over with!

[jolie560]

Hobos traveled to where the jobs were. Today's homeless don't believe in working in that manner.

Hobos worked and supported themselves. Today's homeless demand the largesse of other people.

[Land_of_Lincoln_John]

Hobos worked and supported themselves.

According to that most famous hobo, the late Boxcar Willie, the word hobo is a shortened version of "hoe-boys," i.e. men travelling from farm to farm with hoes. (Okay, no off-topic posts please, I can see trouble coming).

I saw Boxcar Willie on Letterman years ago, and he carefully explained the difference between a hobo and a "homeless" person. But BW didn't say "homeless," he called them "bums" and Willie made it quite clear that hobos work, bums do not.

Bums: A word not often seen in your daily newspaper. PC editors.....

[Our man in washington]

One difference is that all the "flophouses" were closed by the "enlightened" leftists, not realizing the unintended consequences.

I bet a flophouse could still make money in Washington, DC if such businesses were legal. (We'd also have to make it legal to run them the way they would need to be run, such as allowing the owner to enforce strict rules and kick people out.) An old warehouse in a bad location, a bunch of mattresses, a common shower, a price of a few bucks a night, and a business is good to go. It ain't the ritz, but it keeps people off the streets and encourages them to do minimal labor so they can at least afford the few bucks.

(As opposed to the public shelters that just encourage bums to stay bums.)

[Tax Government]

Unionism and minimum-wage law are what prevent people from living a hobo lifestyle today. Many people would choose to live at the lower end of the financial scale, if it were only re-legalized.

[Old Professer]

That was covered on at least two episodes of the Andy Griffith show.

Pretty soon, someone will discover the wheel. (Speaking of which, if some smart guy came up with a knife and cut a citrus fruit equatorially wouldn't the first wheel have spokes?)

[lodwick]

Thanks for the Urban Outdoorsmen news.

Cheers.