The evening world., 1889-01-21

There is nothing small about Mr.. George
Storm, Of the tobacco manufacturing finn OF
Straiton d Storm. of this city. When he
starts in to do anything he does it mp in first
class style, an evidence Of which is his whole
sale importation of laborers for his tobacco
plantation in Tallahassee. Fla.
MIR. Storm is a phi~lanthropist also; for ac-
cording to bis own words, he intended to give
each one of these immigrants a house and
some land, rent free for five years while they
work for him.
The truth is, Mr.. Storm has an incipient
bonanza under way at Tallahassee. Florida
tobacco is equal to that raised in Cuba, and
sold for as much before tho war. MIR.
Storm went down there two years
ago and imported seed from Cuba
and Sumatra and put up curing
houses. But this cost money and cheap labor
was n necessity. The result was tina! thirty
five immigrants arrived at Tallahassee from
Strasburg about n year ago.
The tobacco plantation thrived. AS Mr..
Storm says:
1.-The result has been that while the whole
tobacco product of the State two years auo
could have been bought for Il, 900, last year
it was worth sac. OCO. and this year bids fair
to amount to 81. QUO, 600"
Mr.. Storm WAS not satisfied with this com
paratively slow increase in profits, and found
that his greatest obstacle was in obtaining
skilled tobacco growers. Nine Alsatians
were needed and nine were sent for.
They arrived at Castle Garden yesterday.
via the French steamship La Champagne.
They crowded into the Garden. and the
clerks commenced registering their names.
They hnd got about half through when
they suddenly tumbled. The fact
that about one hundred Alsatians were bound
for Tallahassee in a lump was decidedly sus-
picious. and it was decided to hold them
until one of the Commissioners arrived.
The wanted official came in the person of
MIR. Stephenson.
Hold every mothers son of them"
empllaticallv said that Commissioner. mo
one shall be allowed to land except by order
of Collector M~agone."
Just then Mr.. Storm came i'll to look at his
protegcs. Hearing OF the action of the Com
Receiving ReSs,'fut; IL it. lSA'i he " said A hat his
action was purely philanthropic. He was
m Alsacian himself, and rs his people were
oppressed and we're skilful tobacco-srowers,
lie thought he would bring them here. They
were good and thrifty laborers.
How is it, " asked the Commissioner.
1" that you deem it wise to go to Germany for
your thrifty laborersI"
Mr.. Storm replied that his reasons were
personal.
He had built fifty cottages aud furnished
them completely. He would allow the Alsa-
clans to live i'll them. giving each a horse,
wagon and mule and seed to raise tobacco.
At the end of the season, he would purchase
the tobacco they had raised, and at the end of
the five years they were expected to move.
MIR. storm denied that he paid the passage
of the immigrants. but it was subsequently
ascertained that their passages had been paid
by q George Strum. of Alsace.
They are a very clean and intelligent-look-
ing set of immigrants and as smart as steel
traps.
An EVENING WORLD reporter saw Emigra-
ton Inspector Groat at Castle Garden this
morning.
Are they contract laborers % asked the
reporter.
- think we have evidence enough, by the
admission of about twenty of them, to prove
that they are. They are very. cute, and
from the talk | have had with
them ii is evident that they are well posted.
They admit that they are going TO Tallahas.
see, but give a diversity of occupations"
The Inspector was crosS-eXamining the
AlSacian! through the medium of an inter
prefer. The latter was wrestling with an in
telligent-looklng man when Mr.. Groat sud-
denly exclaimed That man speaks Eng
lISh."
The immigrant colored GUILTY. and adj
mitted that lie had been in this country be-
fore.
Some of the immigrants paid their own
passage.
The reporter saw Collector Magone at the
Custom House this morning, but he had
heard nothing from the Castle Garden people
MS vet. The Clyde steamship people deny
that they have made any arrangements for
the AlSacians' transportation.
1t is not likely that any decision in the case