St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1888-08-07
IMMIGRATION.

IMMIGRATION.
Further Testimony Adduced Be
fore the Congressional Commit
tee.
NEW YORK, Aug. 6.-The congress
slonal emigration committee resumed
Its sessions to-day at the Westminster
Motel. The first witness was Henry A.
Oedye, agent for the Compagnie Ma
tlonale de Navigation. He said they
had vessels that piled between New
York and Marseilles. In 1886 his YES
sells brought 1,27S passengers to this
country; in 1887, Z, 1923, and on the six
month OF the present year 6,100. His
. company had agents in Southern Eu-
rope, sold prepaid tickets and carried
many Italians. He was not able
TO say whether the line car
J RED paupers or contract laborers.
5 An Italian who could not talk word of
English was the next witness. He said
establishment. Within few days he
was engaged in furnishing laborers to
contractors. A week ago man asked
him to furnish certain laborerS to be paid
Sl.2o. Witness thought they were to
i work for some company, and their rail-
e road fare was to be paid. Witness was
TO be renumerated after the men were
secured.
Chairman Ford read the agreement
that was signed between witness and
the man, who was named Philip Smith.
The witness signed the contract with
hls-name, Luiz Trogi. According to this
agreement witness was to board these
men and allow Philip Smith per cent
on all hoard hills Tho roay, xuora tn ba
furnished by Oct. 1. next.
Joseph Sica, the next witness. said
his business was to furnish laborers to
large employers. He never imported
men. He boards laborers and furnishes
them with provisions. When pay day
comes the paymaster allows witness the
amount of his bills and lets the laborer
have the balance. He does not allow
paymasters percentage. Knew Trogi,
the last witness, who introduced wit
ness to Philip Smith. Witness was to
board Smiths labOrers. The men were
TO be procured in New York. Witness
furnished 400 men to Brown, Howard &
20. ON the new acQueduct. The men
furnished them were to receive $3.50 a
day. The profits of witness accrued
from supplies furnished the men. Wit
ness has furnished as many as 1,5OO
men to the West Shore road. Of these
witness furnished board for about 800.
The rest made him present. They
chlpped in Is cents apiece and pre-
sented the sum to him in bulk. The
West Shore road paid witness fixed
salary of So day.
George III. Simmons was next sworn.
He is a special agent of the treasury de-
partment under the direction of Mr..
Holahan. He went under assumed
names at times. Lately he took the
name of Philip Smith. He did this for
a purpose. He went into Little Italy"
to look for 400 men to work in an iron
ore mine in Pennsylvania. This he said
was all imaginary. He had several in
terviews with Trogi and Sica, and they
agreed to furnish the men for s1.2O a
day. They were to import the men
from Italy, and have them here in two
months. They were to allow witness
per cent of the gross receipts. Sica and
Trogi told him that they had frequently
furnished laborers to large concerns.
Further testimony of the witness
proved cOnclusively that Sica and Trogi
had been engaged for some time in i'm
porting their fellow countrymen under
contract.
FRANCISCO IRoNI
was the first witness called after re-
He is employed as clerk in the office of
the Italian Emigration society. at "a
States street. He said he was very well
acquainted with the affairs of the
Italians in this city and elsewhere.
Among other thing he said that he was
aware that some of his countrymen
were compelled to pay 81 in order to
procure job on the docks here. Re
was sure that men in this city imported
, Italian laborerS. The committee has
employed this witness to hunt up evil
denee III the matter they are investi-
eating. The witness said that Sico,
who testified in the forenoon, did not
state what was true. 10 Mr.. Ford the
witness said that the present system
was a
~ 5 CLEAR CASE OF BI.ACKMAIL. -
Every month when pay day comes the
men are expected to chip in and present
the boss with substantial purse. Those
who refuse to contribute to the purse
are generally without employment
shortly after their refusal. His testi-
mOny went to show that very many of
his cOuntrymen are cons family the vic
tins of sbarpers and middlemen. The
witness said that about half of the Ital-
ians arriving here come here penniless.
A man with dollar in his pocket in
UlelT InluSC WOulu Do COIlSlu6fGU all arlS-
tocrat-suggested Mr.. Ford. The wit
ness said that dollar is good deal o
money
TO ONE ITALIAN IMMIGRANT.
The next witness was a good looking
young Englishman named Albert Bed
ford. He caused the agents of the
treasury considerable trouble. His en-
ployer, John S. Lees. of Bridgeport,
Pa, accompanied him to the Westmin-
ster hotel. He is twenty-five years of
age, and speaks with decided English
accent. Mr.. Ford at once popped Ques-
lions to him. He said he was cone
drawer by trade, that is, preparing
worsted. He worked at the trade in
Worcestershire, and received 80 shillings
a week salary. Continuing, the witness
said that man named Greatridge, who
worked in a worsted mill at Kidder-
minister, told him that
A VACANCY EXISTED IN
a worsted mill in the firm of Lees &
Son, Bridgeport. He landed here on
last Thursday. On Saturday he went
to the works and did some fixing I'D of
machinery. He came here as an inter-