New Ulm weekly review. [volume] (New Ulm, Minn.) 1878-1892, 1886-11-03
Castle. GARDENS S4GE-

CASTLE, GARDENS Scot
"a Man who Has Received I1amt-
grants Tor rForty Years Gasts.nn
Eye 0Her the Past OF the
Bureau.
Persons wboWisit Castle Garden are
|sEkely to EaaMe.dheir attention attracted
,by the appearance and demeaaor sef a
venerable nanswhose history is ,ooeral
with that of the board of emf grafton
Itself. The other clerks in the bureau
for informafionys1ook clipper and natty
:ln sheir blue uniforms, but the old man
dresses in soelhre broadcloth and wears
tile that was popular in Robert E1n-
NETS time aHd suggests strongly the
|. 18th of March.
James o. CailagAan has advanced far
into the last auarasr of century Of
existence and he has been in the SER
vice of the commissioners of emigra-
tion-since the board svas organized in
|,1847. He claims to have held Office
continuously for a longer period than
any. clerk NOW in the public service, and
he says that during these forty years he
has never had a vacatioa, he has never
been: a witness in acouutof justice. and
has neva- been called upon to substan-
tiatc his allegations by affidavit He is
Clean shayen, has bright, clear-cut
features, and looks as young as a man
twenty years his junior. His memory
is clear, although he is little uncer-
tain as to dates.
1sYou have seen a good deal of the
dark side eof life in your tilne9' sug-
gested the reporter as the octogenarian
took a seat inc pensive mood.
Eyes, and a good deal that was
bright and cheerful, too,' he respond
ed. s'Wonders have been done for the
ter in hand"
"You are conversant with the bust
ness of the board since t was organ
ized?"
Il have served steadily under every
board that has held office since the or
ganization. on May 5, l847. ALI the
original commissioners, with their
clerks and attendants, have passed
away, and am now the last rose of
/ summer left blooming alone. can re-
n1ember distinctly the enthusiasm with
which Mayor Havemeyer, who was the
first president, entered on the duties of
his office. The immigrants in those
days were looked upon as the lawful
prey Of shipping agents. clearinghouse
runners. and miscreants who grew rich
on the dishonor of unprotected females.
The board had to fight an organized
horde Of land-sharks, well skilled in
their trade, amply provided with
money. The breaking up of the pow
erful ring that existed forty years ago
is due mainly to the labors of such men
as Havemeyer, Gulian G. Verplanck,
Charles H. Marshall, Gregory Dillon,
Robert B. Minturn, Cyrus Curtiss,
George w. Blunt, Ambrose C. Kings
land, Capt. McArdle, John A. Kennedy,
Andrew Carrigan, and Elijah F. Purdy,
who was known as the old War Horse
The board was established not day too
soon, for just at that time several
causes combined to swell the tide of
immigration to these shores to enor-
nous proportions.
''What were these causes?"
''The first Irish famine of 1916; the
, discomfort and signs of revolution in
Germany about the. same time; the stir
made in the cast by the Mexican war,
! and finally the gold fever, which broke
out in California Immediately after
ward. Prior to 1916 immigration was
! comparatively small, but during the
years from 1916 to 1854 Ireland sent
here over /, 100000 of people, and Ger
many nearly 100000. For the first
seven OF eight years after the boards
existence Ireland sent more immigrants
than any other country. Then Ger
many took the ascendant and main
tanned it up to the breaking out of the
war. when Ireland came to the front
once more. Since the war the Ger
mans have been coming more numer-
ously than ever before, and official
figures indicate that the total immigra-
ton from Germany exceeds that from
Ireland considerably over half a mil
lion, the arrivals from the two countries
since the board was organized being,
in round numbers, 6,OOO,0OO.'
How does ocean emigrant travel
compare now from sanitary point of
view with what it formerly wasp
Since the great steamship lines
have been established travel across the
ocean has lost nearly all its terrors. 1t
was different when the unfortunate
emigrant engaged bunk in the hold
of a packet ship. Now the voyage is
made in eight or ten days then it took
six or eight weeks. The steamship
!; lines feed their passengers, while the
packets supplied only water, and
wretches who happened to be unpro-
yided with sufficient food or cooking
utensils were committed to a watery
grave after perishing from starvation.
Ship fever, cholera, and small pox were
to be found aboard almost every ship
During the first year of the existence
of the board twenty thousand persons
persisted in the hospitals on Staten
island and Wards island from diseases
contracted at sea. For some years
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