New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1888-08-09
GIRLS DRIVEY OUT or WORK.
PLACES TAKEN BY POLES AND HEBREWS
IMPORTANT TESTIMONY BEFORE THE Committee
on IMMIGRATION.

PLACES TAKEN BY POLES AND HhbltE"o'
,ypoprANr TESTIMONY BEFORE THE COMMITTEE
on IMMIGRATION.
The Committee on Immigration began Work
nromrtly at 10 a. m. yesterday with Mary Berg OH
Tho stand She stated that she had been employed
for six years by Herman Stein, shrtmaker on rory
erst-st At the time she began work theie 2oO girls
were employed IN the sane establishment earpne
fror, 81 20 80 a week 10 men employed, but
o, of $50 sbirmalers in the factory fifty are men,
rrincinaly Polish and Russian jews. This NUMBER
~ foreign laborors was constantly increasing so hat
today girls could earn not moro than - or 70
These men worried for ~ or 50 week Inc girls
yero gradually being turned out to make room Tor iS
cbeaper labor They were forced TO work In the Same
room and at the same table with these men, WIN
were a filthy class IN The extreme
Marion Preston oal-maker employed by Oilen-
be,mer & Adler IN Broadway, testified to the Same
effect She said that American girls could not com
pec with foreign labor for the reason thai these fosn
and Russian Jews could subsist on almost nothing
They never eat than piece Of bread Tor their
lunch and lived in miserable quarters.
Mrs Helen Aukucr, who IS engaged in literary
work. stated that while Investigating tho subject Of
immigrant labor she had sought employment In vari-
o,,s occupations. An expert In what Is known as
white goodsn could not earn SO week Ihh
state OF affairs was due TO the system of contract
work. where the manufacturer sent out Work 10 fosh
and Russian jews, VINO uQ IL ~ uleU hONcs bJ 1'h'
means suucrinteDdents wages, high rents and other
heavy expenses were saved. The Poles and jews
co,ld contract at lower rates than American girls,
nc ten or twelve of them would live I'm couple OF
rooms cooking, living and doing their contract work
all in tho same she thought She CONDITION OF
the working gfls of New-York being degraded
to the tpvel Of this foreign class
MONEY GIVEN FOR HIS PASSAGE
Matthias wolfcnsperk, a silk dyer, when examined
stated that he had arrived IN Ncw-fork on TUESDAY
He had asked a Mrs. Simon, for whom no worked IN
Germany 70 secure him employment in this country
she ravo him money for his passage, and SAID thaI
some one would meet HIN at Castle Garden on MS
arrival there. Nothing was said about paying ms
passage back He did not know whether it woph %
deducted from his wages or not He was gong 10
work for August Simon, of tho Mrs. Simon who
had paid his passage. Mrs Simon had boon authorized
10 promise him employment. He had only four
francs.
The most important testimony taken was that oil
Paul Francois Glonton.
How did you happen to como to America" MI
Ford asked.
"The manager u the mill whore I was employed
made me an offer from Maccallum, Constable e Co.,
manufacturers Of knitted goods, at Hoyoho' Mass
Was there any contract made 7"
"There was"
HWas It written or vcrballn
at was written have \ copy Of II with nc.
Tie original IS In the hands of my lawyer through
whom / brought suit against Maccalum, Constable
Co., for breaking tho contract" DIR. Ford then read
the following: -
We. the unacrsignel. Naccalum. Constable & Co..
engage the person named bnaE left for 'hs
insertion Of the name Of Houton) kni'er living IN
Troyes Aube, France the following con1ltohs' We
Will give him twelve francs day, his salary TO olte
from the day Of his sailing, and agree to pay this loF
one year. II he consents aerwari to remain IN our
works we VIII pay him fourteen francs day during the
second year agree besides 10 pay his passage ooh
WAYS and that Of his wife and children 7seouoc'@sS'
,Iads at uoyoke Mass. U. s., october 90 loo5
MACCALLUM. CONSTABLE co.
TvADING THE TERMS OF THE CONTRACT
at says passage both ways said Dir. Ford.
al did not intend to stay here after the end OF tho
second year. and they wero to paw passage bach'
| when you went to work for them. were you p~lo
| accorlng to tho terms of the contractF'
at WAS during the first year. but at the beginning or
! nv second year they refused to pay mo il francs
day. They said tho contract was void. as 1t was ne
gal Insisted that these wages ought TO DC PAID anu
they finally said they would fix 1t all rGht WIN me-
bat they discharged mo"
Mr. Ford here read the decision of the Judge who
heard tho suit calling attention TO the fact that tho
law I'm regard contract labor went into eiiect on
February % 1852 while the contract had been signed
IN October Of the semc year The lpdge d'cgel 'Aa'
The witness testified that Macarthur OonsaDIe d
CO. had recently ro9ght an tnEla S en- i nat t;ae
whether there had becn any written contract III was
wei known among his fellow wOrkmen that the lIHl
| ADVERTISED IN English papers. 49, 49,,
The examination OF Dr. UOYt. secretary OF me bpafl
of Charities OF New York. followed There wcro io1r
and half times rs many fOre gn-bOrn pauper5 as ra-
Hyc-5orn paupcrs exceptionally. in Institutions
| of charity Tho law TO restrict paupcr Immigration
evaded By sending paupers and criminals 10 IAN
ada. whonce thOy came Immediately TO MS cotn,fy
! OF A. 900 mn grants who bad landed In Canada dur
! ing Tie last six months. 10000 had already found
their wnv Into the United states. Paupeflsm amOnl
our native born population vas ON The decrease Wih
among those " foreign extraction IL was greatly IN
| creasing- $500
INSPECTING THE IMMIGRANTS.
The Committee then went 10 Castle Garden to In
vestgato the OF forty Aimenians and Assyr
ians who had boon held there Henry George and Com
m,ss!oners stephenson and Starr accompanied thom
Shortly after the arrival Of these immigrants, mar
was caught slipping purse through one OF the eate'
into the hands Of a Child. The purse contained an
English sovereign some shllngs and money of smaller
denomination This, Of course was TO enable th
newlyarryed immiy grants TO show that they were no
raurcrs An Intelligent girl from syria found
WHO acted Interpreter but about all that could
be gotten out Of The swarihy. thickset man who wa
examined was that cod know lie certainly seeme'
10 know nothing himself CCmTnisf Toner stephenson
explained that Il next 10 impossible 10 get MtOr
nation ont Of who did not vaut 10 1--WE any
Thcy were rchearsed and drilled IN what tley wcro e
say. and would not answer any question To Which
: their llftlc parts did not apply.
After watching several hundred immigrants landed
examined ami pcnned up FOR the night, the cOmmltic
left Castle Garden. The investigation VIII DO con
tinued to-day.