The Wellington enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 1867-188?, 1880-06-17
SCENES IN CASTLE GARDEN.

SCENES IN CASTLE GARDEN.
A. Anerneo. Behl.a the De.k or the ,xo..x
Changer.
Most of the emigrants coming to our
shores are uafitted for even the mild
hustle and sTbdued excitement of Euro
pean city life. What anxiefies, sur
prises, doubts and cares then must as
sail them In their long journeys hither.
Out from quiet German valleys, from
the stiffness of Holland 8 meadows. from
the stern and silent fiords of Norway,
and the solemn. lonely mountain peaks
OF Switzerland, they come forth into a
new state of being, are engulfed by new
Conditions of existence, foreign even to
their imsginings in the past. One has
only to move among them for a little
while to read Alright the expression of
curious apprehension on their faces and
20 understand that it is not simply stu
pidity that makes them sv slow of COM
prehension. It must be somewhat de-
moralizing to anybody to be treated
persistent1y like an expressed package
and to be hurried across the world with
out the exercise of any personal volition,
and with only vague consciousness of
being forwarded through strange places
and by feebly comprchended ways ac-
cording to shippers contract.
The place where the emiyrant is
most likely to come out of his package
existence. If only for n brief time, is in
front of the money changers desks in
Castle Garden. If our American money
was half as dgly as what he brings to
exchange for it, he might Justly view It
with suspicion, but even its beauty he
appea1s to regard as dangerous. Some
of the Norwegian bank notes are as
gaody as a circus poster, but they are
not pretty, and the only nice coins are
from France. So when the Immigrant
gets his hand full of American money
he goes off and, sitting down cncircled
by friends, sets to work to study out
the gorgeous pictures on the bills and
the eagles on the gold coins, and the
surprising bird on the legal dollar. The
piece of paper that troubles him most,
as rule, Is the memorandum of ex-
change that the broker gives to him.
he may be seen gravely consulting his
fellows as to how much they think 1t
may be worth, and looking back at the
man who gave it with an expression of
mingled admiration for the person who
can make money SO easily and suspi-
cion of the legitimacy of the proceed
ing. BY and by an Interpreter comes
along, explains what it is, and then the
immigrants face brightens; his mind is
once more easy. The memorandum is
the safeguard he holds. He is guaran-
teed here the very highest rates of ex-
change, and this bit of paper must
show that he has so been paid, whatever
the ruling figures may be at the day
and hour of the exchange. 1t is by no
means an uncommon thing for the
smarter and more suspicious immi-
grants to 60 out of the Garden and try
to sell their coin at brokers' offices in
Wall street, but almost Invariably they
s go back to trade, finding that they can
not get so good a price elsewhere
Some of them get their money changed
at Bremen, but not so many as former
ly. Two years ago shrewd counterfeit
ers foisted upon honest Bremen bank
ers a large quantity of counterfeit
American greenbacks. which were in
nocently passed to emigrants. The
trick was speedily discovered, and the
further issue of the spurious money
stopped, but the memory of the affair
Is still held in Germany, and the ex-
change business of Bremen has suffered.
TO guard against a repetition of the
fraud, Immigrants who bring American
money are always asked to show it to
some of the officials of the Garden.
Considerable amounts are brought in
the form of drafts on banking houses.
An active, keen-eyed money changer,
in lull in his business at the Garden,
said to the visiting reporter: "a great
majority Of the foreigners, not Irish OF
English, now bring the bulk of their
money in drafts, but even those who do
so frequently come to us to change the
small sums they have left from wha,
they kept in cash for contingencies.
Here they generally recognize the full
value of their foreign money ends. Oc.
casionally, however. we have had in.
Stances of their going through here to
the West carrying their foreign money
with them, sometimes in pretty con-
siderable sums; and, finding that they
could not get there what it was worth
they have reshipped it to us by express
for exchange. The Irish and English
often come with exceedingly small
amounts 10 be changed, from n six.
pence up. The Scandinavians all come
with pretty well established idea oi
keeping their business to themselves,
often carry large drafts and not infre-
quently have a good deal of money
changed by us, but whether we change
one dollar or a hundred for Scandi.
navian, neither the amount nor his
manner gives the slightest Indication OF
how much more he may have in store.
The Hungarians and Bohemians are the
most destitute, often coming absolutely
penniless and requiring to be fed, even
while they are here, SO that it is a sor,
of surprise party for us if one of them
comes up to get a coin changed. They
are even poorer than the Irish. The
Hollanders are well fixed, have draft.
generally and are calmly independent.
The Germans coming now are mostly
poor people looking for work, not Sc
many with money to buy homesteads oil
start small businesses as formerly.
They seem to have had to pay their full
share for keeping up the backing oi
Bismarck's blood and-iro policy. II
is curious how they will run by ship
loads, in streaks, as one might say
One ship load will come in, every indie.
pendent individual or family head in
which will seem TO want to have money
changed. In the very next load not one
in 100 will want rs much as change fol
n shilling. The women are the one:
who seem to come with the least, from
all countries, and it would make yor
sad to see sometimes how little the poor
things have, and how wistfully ant
anxiously they count the small bits Of
silver or copper with which we give
them change for their last COIN"
As the immigrants enter the garden
from the landing stage they all have tc
pass through narrow gangways, which
bring them in single file below two Off
cials successfully at the side of eacf
gangway. The first registers the name
of each individual arriving. what vesse
they come by, where they are from. ths
number in family, their destination BY
States and their several occupations