Waterbury evening Democrat., 1888-07-26
Traffic in Immigrants. g
How This Country Is OveTrun
 with Pauper Labor.


sional Committee - Startling Revela-
 tions-Compet Italian Ticket Brokers
 NEW YORK, July 26.-An investigation of importance was opened by congressional committee at the Westminster hotel, ill Irv- ing place. The committees business is to find out how the foreign contract labor law is broken and who breaks it; to investigate the padrone system of labor, and the cor relative questions of immigration and Chi nese coolie labor
 The committee is made up us follows: Mel bourne H. Ford, chairman, of Michigan; William C. Oates, of Alabama; Gen. F. B. Spinola, William w. Morrow, of California
 Chairman Ford's briet statement of the purpose of the purrose of the committee was the only preliminary. That over, Manager E. l.. Boos, of the Hamburg American Steamship company, took the stand. The company, he said, twenty-nine vessels, employed ,000 agents, and had brought over 200 900 emigrants to the United states from Jan l, 1883, to Dec, 31, 1887. William Coverfy, ol the Anchor line, was 8 rather interesting witness He is member of the firm of Henderson Brothers, who are interested ill the traffic of forty vessels be- | longing to the Anchor line and several others. | They carried many Italians. He explained how the Italian 'bankers" and passenger 
 male money They sent orders for passage tickets to their agents the Mediterranean l Often when they numbered 800 the agents l chartered n tramp steamer and sent the eml- | grants to this country themselves. lis hrm did not honor brokers orders.
 The next witness was John N. Kirk of the | Inman line That line, he said, carried no Italians. From Jan. l. 1883, to December last ll6, 0JO immigrants were brought to New l>y,r rl,.AT h ECn af1fr not more than ton Were laupcrS. One vessel brought thirty 'asSsteI emigrants" from | Ireland
 The witness was nresSad to tel if his com pauy u,d sel, .5OJ tic.iets in one batch, and after con>iderabir leuciag he reluctantly said: We couyl not use." 1 The passenger agent of the Red Star line, | Arthur Led -rer was then put on the griddle. | His ships ply between this port and Antwerp and they have carred l25, 900 immigrants to | the United States since Jan. l, 1883.
 The courtly Louis De Beb.an, of the French Transatantique line, was sworn next. The immigrants who the | French steamers were mainly Swedes. ltal- ians rarely patronized the line it was too high prlced.
 ''We issue blank tickets," he said: "agents must pay Us for them We sell very few prepaid tickets and do not sell tickets in biocks.'
 The lext witness was Alexander NJ Un- derhil agent for the Guion line.
 Since January, 1885, the company has brought 100000 immigrants to the United States. Mir. Underhill said he gave blank tickets only in limited quauIies to agents.
 ''N Ould you give moreP
 I've wtuld give 1,OuO, GOO tickets if we got the money for them," replied the witness "Once we sent back several young women who had no husbands and who were likely to become public burdens, They came right back by another line'
 Manager F. J. W. Hurst, of the National line, followed That hne has brought 6O,OO0 immigrants to this port since 1883 Very few were Italians. Assisted immigrants had
 been carried from Ireland by tue company s
 steamships.
 Recently two persons had bought twenty
 five tickets each in a batch. Congressman
 Gueuthcr instructed Mr. Hurst to furnish
 their names.
 Theodore O. l.. Schroeder, of the North German Lloyd line, which has brought $50, OU0 immigrants to the United States since 1885, testified also. He unwillingly admitted that most of the } 900 Huns who came here
 recently OH the company>s ships went to the
 Pennsylvania coal regions, and most of them
 came on prepaid tickets. The laws of Ger t many against persuading people to migrate : were very strict He said: 8 "We bring very few Italians The ratio of V persons traveiing boats on prepaid
 tickets is between 80 and 40 per cent Since n Jan. l 6,S90 persons have come on pre- |, paid tickets"
 J. Ter kuile, of the Fabre line, which
 plies between New York and Italian ports
 now faced the music. His testimony w.s in- :. teres1ing, and it had a rather ludicrous d feature. He admitted that the financial J Napoleons of Mulberry Bend actually con- IS trolled passenger rates OH the line. The }, number "t ia ia,s carried by the line since IS 1883 aS follows:
 }. ll 1855, 4,569; 1884, 2,695; 1885, 3,6sO If 1SS6, 9, ,29S; 1887, 9,97l. He could not tel
 how many came since Jan. 1, this year. He
 continued:
 We sell ten ckets at time. A man like l. Barsntti could get 1OO Very often our agents e give their commission to their patrons" s "Well do they transact business for rec d reation's sakes" asked Mir. Ford }: "I meant it when 1 said they gavs away Il their commission. They have done 30 fol l, years. Whys Because competition is S,
 fierce in Mulberry street, replied Mir. Te
 nuile.
 The latter admitted that one-third of tn, T. T. company's passengers came on prepait |. ticke,s lie said:
 'A 'Nearly all the Italians who come try t. - get out to the country to Work on the rail ie , roads Some have money; others are penni A less. Once we id 100 prepaid sickets to MT
 Farro 1 have restricted the sale of prepait
 tickets to eu per week to each agent. Why il To prevent speculation. If an agent gav h. me the names of the passengers I would sel iii him ,OOO tickets. Competition between tn in Mulberry street agents has been so fierc 10 that they are glad to uiak, S1 or even lift, m cents on u ticket. So far as know the com
 pany offers no inducements to Italians t
 come heren
 Mir. Ter Kuile sad the Italians came be k, cause it was intlmated by friends that the H. could get W fl:. Ills company required pass IT, ports iron hnm before they left Italy. I h. contractors wanted to hire Italians abroad d, they would go to the compapy's sub-agents as He As aware that they had done so, but tn
 custom had diminished. Signor Tucci, a
 Italian New York banker, was the only ma
 pyh m oatn tha,,