Daily Republican., 1881-05-13
Crowded E,nis rant ships.


of the bad treatment to which eml
grants coming to this country are sub
jected on emigrant ships, hence every
Derson whose bosom is capable OF being
stirred by. the feelings of humanity
should rejoice that legal measures are
being taken to compel the officers OF
these ships to observe the rules OF hui
manity. The greed of the ocean steam
ship companies is such that not foot
of available space is wasted, but men,
women and children, the married and
the single, are all crowded together
promiscuously in the steerage, III VIOLA
ton of rules and of shame and de-
cency. An indignant pubic utterS Il
loud expression of dissatisfaction, Dut
this unfortunately soon dies out anu
there the matter ends for that time at
least. Just now distinguished lrlHh
lady, Miss OBrien, voices public sentl-
ment, directs attention to this wrong
and asks that it be righted. There Is
abundant room for reform in this par
ticular, and the ocean steamship lines
should be compelled to make such
changes as the case seems to require,
and we are glad that the legal authors
ties have taken tie matter in hand ana
we hope they will not cease until some
attention is paid to the demands OF de
cency and morals as well As pocketlrS
the fare, however low il is which these
poor emigrants pay. Miss o Brien may
possibly in giving way to her outraged
feelings have drawn the picture OF sui
tering, crowding and indecency on emf
grant ships little TOO strong, but no
doubt there is some solid foundation i'll
facts Oh the subject which she has SO
ably handled. AT the best passage in
the steerage Of an emigrant ship cannot
be pleasant, and when il is undertaken
in company with thousand emigrants,
whose lifelong poverty has induced
degradation, and with most OF whom
personal cleanliness has become work
altogether of supererogation, 1t must
need be attended with very serious dis
comforts There are some things which
a steamship company, by accepting "A
fare no matter how low that fare may
be, binds itself to furnish and which
the poorest passenger in the strerage Is
entitled to demand. There must be an
adequate supply Of proper food there
must be facilities for the preservation |
of health and personal cleanliness, ANA
the arrangements of the sleeping quar- i
ters must be consistent with dcCenCy |
and self-respect. Stringent laws for the |
enforcement of those requirements have
been enacted on both sides of the At
Iantic, and if these laws are strictly |
carried ont the existence Of such Il state
of things Oh any of the Atlantic steam
ers as Miss O'I}rien pictures i'll the Pail
Mall Gazette could not occur. 1t would |
be better far that steamship companies
should charge the lowest practicable
rates and give the best accommodations
they can for these rates, than that the
fare should be raised so high that thou
sands would be excluded who would like
to emigrate and improve their condi-
ton in life, but no matter whether the
fare is high or low there can be no eX-
cuse for inhuman treatment of paSsen-
gers We do not wish to see move |
ment inaugurated which would embar-
rass the steamships, but now that sut-
fering humanity has caused proSecu-
tion to be entered against the owners OF
these steamships, let the investigation
be thorough,