The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1892-06-22

with light by wide windows. "That's
what we wanted" said he; slight and
plenty of it; for after q week or two of
steerage life these people are none too
sweet. We are doing everything we can
for them in that respect. We have sup
piled them with BARRIERS and are erecting
lighthouses"
There are only about 112 Government
employees, each Of whom speaks two or
more languages. and, in addition, the
trunk railroads have about seventy-6ve
men employed here.
The Bureau was transferred from the
the Barge Office to Ellis Island the first
of this year, and Colonel Weber is ex-
ceedingly pleased with the increased
accommodation and the improved system
it has enabled him to make. "We can
now handle 10000 people day." he
said. 1--WE handled 500 people in
one day o couple of weeks since, and
everything worked nicely, and there was
no relax of efficiency of service. We
could not have done this at the Barge
Office or Castle Garden"
BY the time we got upon the huge
floor again some hundreds of the lmmi-
grants were hustling on the trunk line
railway companies boat and being con-
veyed with their baggage to the various
railroad depots. Others had just passed
the doctors and were registering, 30 that
we could see the whole system. The
women sat in groups, with their bundles
and babies, while the men were getting
their money changed, sending kilograms,
buying tickets or laying in provisions at
the lunch counter. In this large new
building there seems to be every possible
comfort and convenience for the new
comers, and as no one is allowed among
them except officials or persons we'll
known to the Commissioner they are en-
tirely protected FROM sharpers and trick
sters. The rates Of exchange are sent
from Wall street every day and posted
up in several different languages; rail-
road rates are also made clearly known,
and the food served at the restaurant Is
good and cheap.
The women, too, and the children, al
though shabbily dressed and bearing the
marks of q passage in the steerage, were,
as Colonel Weber remarked, of a good
class. There was one large Portuguese
group that, having washed and eaten a
frugal lunch, seemed fairly content to
wait. They had not the fresh COM
plcxions of some newly arrived groups
f.em Northern Europe, but their eyes
were bright with eager hopes of the fu-
turc in their lew land. There were any
number of babies, and it seemed that
even the poorest of them had some bit
Of jewclry or bright ribbon-probahly
saved up BY the fond parents for this
auspicious day. Some expected to meet
friends or relatives. For these there is
q platform with tiers of benches at
the far end, where they can wait aud
watch for friends. For the same purpose
there is a gallery running all around the
building. These friends give the names
of those they seek to the registrars, if
tley QTC lucIc caiiy ouA WV" WAN ~
migrant comes up to register The name
,s called out. Those friends coming a.
ter the registration give the names to
officials, who bawl them out all over the
floor and take pains to find the proper
parties.
There are number of girls who come
in couples or alone, for the purpose OF be-
inc domestic servants. There are two
matrons who attend to these. They are
detained and their friends here, if they
have any, are at once telegraphed to. II
they have none they are turned over to
the religious missions-of which there
are several doing excellent wofk-and
there they are cared for and have su't-
able situations obtained for them.
Fo. those detained who have come IN
violation of the law of 1891 and who
have to be returned, there is separate
building, filled up with double-decked
berths on which is u wire mattress and
couple OF blankets. They always make