DISGUISED AS A TRAMP.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 5206, 21 November 1927, Page 4

DISGUISED AS A TRAMP.

A RECTOR’S EXPERIENCES.

HOW HE MADE A LIVINGt

The adventures which befel him when he went on the road disguised as a trajnp from Manchester to the, Midlands were described by the Rev. F. G. Chevassut, rector of Hulme Church (says the Manchester Guardian). The ..aim of the exploit was to find out what .were the conditions under which the educated man who was down and out was living. To discover this he tramped from place to place, at the same time searching for permanent employment.

“I started off with eight shillings in my pocket,’’ the said, “and I earned my living in any way I could. I did any sort of odd job that cam along, such as sweeping gardens, carrying parcels, and selling papers in the street. If I was in a suburban sort of place I used to go to a house where ;a gardener was not employed, and offer to sweep they'garden. If the people at first refused I used to stick out my elbows and look down at the leaves lying about, and they generally changed their minds. “After about a. fortnight I got apermaneait job in a works packing parcels. It was the softest thing I ever had in my life. I got so bored at the slow pace at which the work was done that I used to get through my work and then retire to a. secluded corner and get on with a review I w;as writing. It was actually more trouble to get out of the job than to get in. If I told them the truth I thought they would feel that; they had been ‘had,’ and if I disappeared I felt I would queer the Pitch for the next genuine unemployed man who came along. Eventually I got; a friend in Manchester to write and say he thought there was an opportunity for me to get back to the sort of work to which I was accustomed, and I gave a week’s notice. “The one great impression. I formed was that anybody with moderate intelligence and a. fairly ready tongue, after. about two days’ can tell a tale that is almost questionproof. I refused to take any money unless I had earned it. People offered me money often, and' rarely less than silver. If I had taken all I. was offered I could have made upwards of ten shillings a day. In fact, people were too ready to give money. On the whole, I always managed to earn an average of four shillings a day. Of course I went under an assumed name. Most of the lodging-houses were very dirty. At one place I got a clean little bedroom to myself and breakfast for two shillings. That was very exceptional, however.”