Evening Republican, Volume 20, Number 178, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 26 July 1916 — WAR CAUSES NEW IMMIGRATION PROBLEM [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

WAR CAUSES NEW IMMIGRATION PROBLEM

(she government is doing much to help those detained at the Ellis Island Station during conflict-Commissioner Howe’s-efforts, bearing fruit

4 \ a M [STER COMMISH, ’scuse me. When) ML you t’ink? Dr. Frederick C. Howe, n m commissioner of immigration, was BWIn greeted in this manner at least a gV dozen times while showing a visitor /■Y fwk through the detention ward at Ellis island. The commissioner listened /g patiently tirst to one and then anfyw other, giving each a kindly answer, says a writer in the New York Heraid. Among those who addressed him vvere an elderly Italian woman, who talked with a gesture expressive of the hopelessness with which she regarded her ease; a yqung French woman, petite and earnest looking, who, when asked if she could cook, answered, “Tres bien,” and a young Russian Jew, who during a previous stay in this country served in Sing Sing and is a member of the Welfare league. “They all want to get away," said Mr. Howe. “We are doing everything possible to make It more comfortable and homelike around here. We have removed many restrictions which heretofore existed, on the theory that the"more freedom they have the more orderly they are inclined to conduct themselves. “But with all this there Is bound to be a feeling among .those who are detained, for one reason or another, against their will that they are imprisoned. In later years, however, some of tifein, lam sure, whether they are admitted to the country or are sent back to their native land, will look back on their stay at Ellis island as an incident in their lives that was not altogether unpleasant.” Most of the aliens now detained on the island have been there since the European war broke out. In all there were some 500 Germans, Hungarians, Poles, Russians and others being detained when Doctor Howe first took up his duties as commissioner of immigration, the majority of whom had been ordered deported because of-the violation of the immigration statutes. They were men, women and children —peasants for the most part—from small towns and villages of Europe. Before the order of deportation could be carried out the steamship companies which had brought most of these people over were forced to withdraw their vessels from service on account of

the war, and consequently those to whom admission to the country had been denied were forced to remain on Ellis island. Some of them have since been admitted to the country, either conditionally or unconditionally. The problem of making life a little more pleasant for those who remain Is one which Doctor Howe has tried in a practical way to solve. He has cotue to know most of the Unfortunate persons under his Jurisdiction personally, and

when he visits the detention ward, which he frequently does, there are always many questions to answer and heartaches to soothe. Late one afternoon last October Doctor Howe, while going around the station on one of these tours of Investigation, noticed a middle-aged woman, of neat, motherly appearance, with two pretty little girls cuddling up to her, sitting in the detention room. As the hour jvas late and he thought they were visitors Doctor Howe Inquired what they were waiting for and if he could do anything for them. The woman explained that she was British and with her children had been ordered deported. They had arrived from Great Britain about a month before, but had no friends In this country and no money and, therefore, had ,not been allowed to enter. The healthy appearance of the two children, their pretty faces and their evident good breeding won over the commissioner on the spot, and he immediately Interested himself In their case. The woman’s name was Mrs. Rita Horner, and her story was this: “When the war broke out she

was living with her family, which, besides her husband, consisted of two sons and three daughters, - on a dairy farm some miles out of Capetown, South Africa. The country about them was rugged and wild and the girls, despite their young years, were forced to walk many miles every day to attend school. The sons, who were older, helped to work the farm. “The husband and the two boys, along with most of the able-bodied men in that section, enlisted In the British army soon after war was declared and were sent to the front. They took part in the fighting In Belgium and northern France. One son was killed and the father seriously wounded. All trace of the other son had been lost. Mrs. Horner was unable to work the farm by herself, so she raised what money she could and went to England with her three daughters—Una, fifteen years ; Plri, ten years old, and Rita, nine years old. They had not been In England long when Mrs. Horner decided to come to America." On hearing Mrs. Horner’s story Doctor Howe communicated with the authorities at Washington. He explained that these people were all strong and healthy, that the children were beautiful and that there was no danger of them becoming a public charge. Furthermore, he announced his willingness to be responsible for them, and a few days after the machinery had been set in motion word came back from Washington that Mrs. Horner and her children would be released In his custody. ' Meantime the family had made friends with nearly everybody on the Island. The watchman and guards petted the children and gave them many little presents. The attendants did all they could to them comfortable. ' 4 \ D •spite these attentions the children sometimes

would act as if lonesome. Noticing this Doctor Howe one day asked the reason. “We are not lonely for people, but lonely for animals,” they answered. In South Africa one of their principal pastimes had been to trek through the woods with their dogs. The Horners remained at Ellis island for several weeks after they had been admitted to the country; then Doctor Howe took them up to a summer home he has In the woods in Westchester county. There they have lived all winter, enjoying life in the open country, especially when snow was on the ground and the deer tracks could be followed through the woods. The two younger girls possess a knowledge of woodcraft which Doctor Howe says is really amazing, and they have no fear of getting lost in the woods. They walk for miles in whichever direction their fancy takes them, always finding their way 'back home by the same sort of instinct as that by which an Indian is guided. The interest shown by Doctor Howe in this particular case was in keeping with his general policy of so administering the affairs of Ellis island that those who come to this country from other lands with the intention of making a new home for themselves will be treated with as much kindness and consideration as the enforcement of the exclusion laws permits. The enforcement of these laws is bound to cause many hardships and disappointments, but Ellis island Is no longer a place to be dreaded. It Is clean, wholesome and comfortable. The walls of the registry room, where the incoming aliens receive their first impressions of America, are no longer bare and forbidding. They have been draped with American flags and hung with portraits of the presidents and pictures of Important events in American history. Palms and other growing plants have been placed around the room. Photographs illustrative of the natural beauties and resources of America, procured from the various government departments at Washington, have been placed in the detention room and around the corridors. Every Sunday afternoon a concert is given In the registry room, the music being furnished by some one of the organizations of foreign-born persons in and about New York city which have volunteered to furnish such entertainment. A moving picture outfit has also been provided by another group of interested persons, and receptions are given every Thursday night These entertainments have done much to brighten the lives of those who have been detained on the Island for months. Last summer to relieve the situation playgrounds were opened on the island, and mothers and children were permitted tp on, the lawns. The first day they were released from the station they rolled upon the earth and wept with Joy from contact with the green grass. During the winter months handball and other indoor games have been provided. Classes in gymnastics have been organised for the men. The

women have been given instruction in sewing and provided with material to make clothes for themselves and children. A school has been temporarily opened to teach the children, and the New York city public library authorities have donated a number of books printed in German and other foreign languages for the use of those who have a desire to read. The men and women are permitted to mingle more freely in the various detention wards, and as a result of these innovations the feeling which prevails among those who have been long detained at the station is more cheerful than it was during the first few months of the war. Attempts to escape, which were frequent at one time, have come to an end. “Ellis Island is the greatest portal in the world,” said Doctor Howe. “There never has been any portal like it for human beings. In normal times nearly a million persons enter the country through it each year, They come largely from countries where the government means only militarism and taxes; they come to escape the feudal landlord, from industrial and social conditions which have become Intolerable. They come with hopes of a fresh life, of a fresh chance, of opportunities for themselves and their children. They carry with them the visions of America which have been indelibly printed upon their minds from the letters which have gone back to Europe from friends and relatives already in this Country. “And the immigration laws of America have, in effect, If not in so many words, said that America welcomed those who did not fall excluded classes, those afflicted by disease or who are likely to become a charge upon the community. It held Out an invitation to the strong and ablebodied to come and share in the making of a new nation, free from abuses and oppressions of the old world. “And of those who come gver 98 per cent are admitted. The rest are rejected because they fall within the Inhibited classes. And it seemed to me when I became commissioner of immigration that

the first contact of the alien with America should be one that would impress upon his mind the thing for which America stands; that the treatment they should receive, the experiences they should pass through and the contact they had with officials wearing the uniform of the United States should be those of kindness, assistance and courtesy. They come for the most part with fear in their hearts; they fear government rather than love, It. And their instinct is to expect something very like what they received at home. “First impressions are lasting, and it has been our effort at Ellis island to make these Impressions as democratic as possible, and to aid in as many ways as we could in protecting the immigrant and assisting him to his final destination. For the immigrant is Imposed on; he is exploited. To prevent this as much as possible offices have been opened in New York city, one at the Barge office, at South Ferry, and the other at 240 East Seventy-ninth street, to which the immigrant can go and procure aid, assistance and advice about matters that concern him. Through these offices he is directed to schools and to the naturalization offices. The offices co-operate with the police department and with all the many agencies in New York which have been created to aid the immigrant At these offices there are employment agencies which find work for men and vi'omen, and which attn to distribute them to farming positions to relieve the congestion in the cities. “Similar protection has been accorded the alien in transit to the-West, in securing the best transportation facilities and otherwise relieving the immigrant from the dangers which beset him while reaching his nltimate destination. “War conditions brought probably 500 men, women and children to Ellis island who for some reason or other had to go back to their native land ; they'were not admissible to the country. Each of these cases has been investigated personally, their frjends and relatives have been looked up, and In the great majority of cases they have been admitted on bond to some person willing to be responsible for them. Positions have been found for hundreds, from whom periodic reports are required as to how they are getting along. Only in very rare cases have they failed to make good. In many instances they have risen rapidly and are now earning very substantial salaries. “Similar efforts are being made to promote educational advantages for the adult Immigrant—to encourage night schools. For the last year the names of all children of school age have been copied and sent to the superintendents of education all over the country, in order that they might immediately place children in school upon their arrival at their destination. By these means the government comes In Immediate contact with the second generation of immigrants and begins its assimilation process as soon as they reach this country.”