Evening Republican, Volume 15, Number 300, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 21 December 1911 — HAPPENINGS IN THE CITIES [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

HAPPENINGS IN THE CITIES

Curb on Simmers in the Alien Hotels

MEW YORK.—Robbing immigrants n and emigrants has long been a recognised industry around the docks of New York and proprietors of lodging houses have been taking money away from these people coming and going. Two laws recently became operative by which lodging house keepers will be compelled to give the arriving and departing persons of foreign birth something like the equivalent, for money received. Foreigners arrive all the year around, but those who depart for a visit to the old country generally begin coming to New York about October l and continue coming until the Christmas holidays. Then the steerage begins to bring them back, and by March nearly all are again in this country and ready to go to work. Under the old system, runners for the lodging houses boarded the steamers and went through the steerage pas-

sengers looking for victims. No matter what country the arriving emigrant came from, there was some runner to talk to him in his native language. When the boat had docked the runners led their victims to some lodging house, where they were made welcome as long as they had money. It often happened that an immigrant bound for some inland town and provided with n railway ticket would be detained In New York as long as he had money and then loaded on a train to go hungry to his destination. Those who go back to the “old country" in the fall on a visit are not so easy. Agents of the lodging houses, however, meet western trains, sometimes riding several hours out from New York, in search of customers. Persons thus obtained as patrons for a lodging house were furnished every opportunity to see New York while waiting for the Bteamer and a good many of them were out of money when sailing time came. Under the hew laws the runners are no longer allotted to board boats or swarm around the docks soliciting patronage Mid every lodging house keeper has to furnish a bond for the fair treatment of his patrons.