Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1885-09-10


money over with him, and it was an
hour before he could be persuaded to
get it changed into American money,
and then not until he had been taken
inside of the exchange bureau and the
whole thing explained to him about
nine separate times. Put the same
suspicious man ia the hands of q
shrewd rascal outside conversant with
Swedish and that money would
change ownership in very short order.
It is common saying at the Garden
that an immigrant knows more when
he arrives there than he ever does
afterward. You can not teach him
anything. If he is in the tolls of 8
swindler and you try to warn him IN
time to save himself, he will refuse to
believe you. The most successful
swIndlers who operate among the I'M
work with letters and circulars sent
across the ocean.
| What are the immigrants, first i'm
pressions cf this country? Must Of
tbem are very matter-o fact. The
pleasing fiction that they come here
expecting to pick up money IN the
streets is a wild romance. They 90
expect to make money, and they have
lingering hope that it will come
without much work They walk out
and view the butt end of the city and
go back much disappointed. It isn't
half SO fine as they thought it would
be, they say, and they compare it ug>
favorable with London or Paris or
Berlin or whatever city they are fam
liar with. Those who stay at the
Garden long enough to get acquainted
with the sharpers who are constantly
on the watch there Or thereabout for
victims come to believe that, New Yory
is quiet lively town after all The
Labor Bureau bum. is well known
character. A ticket from the Labor
bureau gives him entry there every
night, and he houses himself there as
long as he can scrape up money to
buy food. Then he wants to be sent
back to Europe, He is sort of local
tramp, with the ramp's aversion Of
real work.
There are some rare old characters
among tke staff of employees in Castle
Garden Policeman George Miller,
| who weeps to think he is going on the
retired list after twenty-five years Of
| work in the bureau, IS racy old soul,
full of gruffness and good humor.
h can swear fierceIy in nineteen
different languages, and not child
Gill trenble in his presence, though
his voice is as gruff as polar bears
The veteran ticket taker with The
wooden leg is another jolly old boy,
full of his yarns when IN the humor
to tell them. His story Of how dude
IN a street-car assaulted his wooden
leg with a play cane because he did
not double it up and get it out of the
way is splitting enough to split rails
with Commissioner Starr gives the
boys much amusement when he goes
on q fishing excursicn on the Castle
Garden pier. Lasbing an umbrella
to Spite he sits him down contented
for 3 day at time and catches salmon
and sturgeon by the gill. He is the
best kind Of fishermen they make, for
he can get plenty Of sport and never
catch fish.
Castle Garden is supposed to protect
immigrants from sharpers and from
the impositions OF boarding house
keepers and railroad runners land
SIGN" It does it more or less. It
never can do it thoroughly so long as
it permits a horde of runners to come
in and grab immigrants landing too
late to take the evening trains. II
Castle Garden we're situated on an
island IN the harbor, and immigrants
having no business in New York were
restrained from coming here, it would
be much more efficient restraint than
it is at present.