Hobo News, alternately "Hobo" News, was an early 20th-century newspaper for homeless migrant workers (hobos). It was published in St. Louis, Missouri, and Cincinnati by the International Brotherhood Welfare Association (IBWA) and its founder James Eads How. Hobo News was important for legitimatizing the hobo identity and has been credited as a predecessor to the modern street newspaper movement.
Cover of the "Hobo" News in the late 1910s
A 1946 issue of The Hobo News (1936–1948)
International Brotherhood Welfare Association
The International Brotherhood Welfare Association (IBWA) was a mutual aid society for hobos founded in 1905–1906. It was the second largest after the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW). It was started by James Eads How who had inherited a fortune but chose to live a hobo life. IBWA was less radical than the IWW, focusing on education and cooperation rather than direct political action. It published the Hobo News, distributed through street sellers. The IBWA was centered in the midwest and had locals in about twenty cities including Baltimore, Buffalo, Philadelphia and San Francisco. The centers, called "Hobo Colleges," offered lodging, hot meals and education. They also became important meeting places for migrant workers during the winter months.
An IBWA poster advertising a meeting with Ben Reitman and James Eads How