Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1881-04-01
GERMAN
Not Enough Steamships 10 Sup
ply the Demand for Passage.

since the board Of emigration was es.
tablished in 1947. Last year the fig
ures were l04,265, which were greater
than for seven years previous. The
tables have not been made out so as to
give the result in actual figures, but
Secretary Jackson says that he has
no doubt that the total immigra
ton to this port this year will
be 1901 600. The largest number OF
any previous year was 327 ,307-that OF
1880.
What sort OF emigrants are com
ing2" the secretary was asked.
Mostly families of farmers. AT
least IS per cent of them go directly to
the western states"
Then they know their destination
in this country?'
"Yes; most of them come on tickets
that are forwarded to them by their
friends in this country. They have
their railroad tickets and they know
exactly what route to take. Very few
come prospecting, and they stay in the
cities"
us there any preference for any
particular region?'
mo; they are scattered all over the
west. There are 407 who came in the
Donan the other day, who went d.
rectly to Texas. The Weser brought
1862 passengers, and we are told hat
many are delayed on the other side
who cannot be accommodated by the
ships"
"Have you any idea Of the cause Of
the unprecedented immigration"
Yes. Cheap fares have much to
do with it. The steamship fare that
has been up to $50 has been as low as
$50 owing to competition. To-day the
fare has been raised to $24, but even
at that rate is low. Then the rail-
roads reduced their fare so hat an
emigrant could go to Chicago for 81,
This led to the purchase of many
tickets by Germans here to bring over
their relatives and friends. The num-
Der of this kind of tickets is unprece-
dented."
At the North German Lloyds steam
shir company's Office, the manager,
Gustav II. Schwab, said: we
brought over 5000 Germans last year
to the port Of New York alone. We
have also steamships running to Bal
timore and New Orleans. We now
bring two steamship loads q week and
will soon have three steamship loads
arriving each week. They come from
Prussia and the other states of the
German confederation; from Sweden
and Norway, Bavaria and Denmark.
We have brought 1000 this week in
two steamships"
What do you think is the cause of
this increased emigration2'
Good times here opportunity for
employment here, as testified to by
other immigrants who have settled;
a desire to avoid military service at
home, and cheap fares. The number
Of tickets bought here and sent to
Germans abroad was never 50 great.
We have six regular passage steam.
ships, and we have engaged eight extra
steamships, to meet the great rush.
We are building a new steamship, to
be called the Elbe, something like the
Arizona"
The Hamburg American steamship
company brought over this month 10
the Gillert 1874 German immigrants (;
the Westphalia, 725; the Cimbria, 723;
the Herder, .ll45, and the Lessing,
1923. The number of passages pre-
paid in this line by friends or relatives
of the immigrants is at least nine times
as great as in 1879, and three times a.
great rs last year, which was an ex-
ceptional year. 1t has been remarked
that the immigrants have been OF the
thriving class, who come with some
little capital and intend to take adyan.
tage Of the cheap land of the west
and to acquire their own homesteads.
The Undergraduates company
have now ten steamships employed in
bringing passengers from Germany to
this port and cannot keep pace with
the demand for passage. That was
the reason for raising the fare.
At the Office OF the German society.
ofwhich Commissioner of Emigration
Charles Hauselt is president, it was
said that there is undoubtedly a more
Teil-to-do class OF immigrants COM
ing here from Germany than for some
time past. Fewer of them apply for
aid in proportion to their number than
in former years. The impetus to i'm
migration is ascribed mainly to the
prosperous state of business in this
country, which enables the Germans
here to send for their relatives and
friands