Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-01-30
CALLED TO ACCOUNT.
Steamship Agents Indicted for
Allowing Debarred Immigrants
TO ESCAPE FROM THEIR VESSELS.
Uncle Sam Determined the Law Shall Be
Respected and 0beyed.
A LAX SYSTEM THAT MUST BE CHECKED
,spEc1AI rrIrGRAM 10 THE pIspArcH.1

ESPECIAL TELEGRAM TO THE DIsPArcH.I
NEW. YORK, Jan. %. Uncle Sam is about
to test the question of steamship cons
pany's responsibility for the escape Of
Objectionable persons who are brought to
these shores by its vessels. r. j. Curtis,
agent of the Hamburg Steam
ship Line, whose pier is at Hoboken, has
been indicted by the United States Grand
Jury at Trenton, N. j. -Four true bills
have been brought against him. He is
charged with allowing four Russians to es-'
cape from the steamer Normannia, who had
been debarred from landing, on the ground
that they were contract laborers.
The evidence upon which the indictments
were based was secured by Judge c. d. Up
church, of the contract labor bureau. The
four Russians were examined by him Sep
tember II, last year, and debarred from.
landing They were taken to Hoboken and
placed in the Humburg-American steamer
Normannia, to be taken back to Russia
The vessel was to sail September 10. On
the 18th the four debarred Russians escaped
from the steamer. The agent of the steam
ship company, it is alleged, made no effort
to find the fugitives, nor did he make any
official report, it is said, of the escape.
Escaped Immigrants Found in Mines.
Information was received by the contract
labor department that the four men were
working in the st. Thomas coal mines, West
Virginia. These mines are located between
the towns of Piedmont and Elkins. Judge
Upchurch was sent to West Virginia to
identify the men, if possible. The mission
was neither an easy nor safe one.
Judge Upchurch remained in the camp at
st. Thomas for IS days disguised as a coal
miner. He took this course after exhaust
ing every other means. He finally inter-
ested a young American miner, Henry Rex
trow, in the matter. One rainy night the
pair made an inspection of the mine, and
during this journey Judge Upchurch recog-
nized the four Russians who had few
months before been examined by him at the
Barge Office.
Judge Upchureh recently returned from
West Virginia and went before the United
States grand jury at Trenton, with his re-
port and testimony.
Peter Wright, OF Peter Wright & Sons,
until January agents of the Red Star
Steamship Line, has also been indicted by
the United States grand jury of Trenton,
for allowing two paupers, who had been de-
barred, to escape from the steamer upon
wheh they had been placed to be returned
to their homes.
The true bills were found on two cases
which occurred in September of last year.
Unfortunately for the wisdom of the Jurors
at Trenton, Peter Wright has been dead for
years, and some living member of the firm
will have to be indicted. The penalty is
$500 for each of the ofenses. 1t is believed
that other offending agents may be indicted.
Fifteen Slovacks, who arrived Monday at
Ellis Island from the steamship Aller, were
detained and will be returned. 1t was
found the men came to this country under
contract to work in two mines in Pennsyl4d
vania.
Eight hundred Hungarisns from the
steamship Amsterdam, which arrived OH
Monday, have also been detained. They
will be sent back by the same steamer. The
men admitted they were under contract
to work in box manufactory in Minne|
apolis.
r. J. Cortes said to reporter this after
noon: F'You are the bearer of the first news
of my indictment, but it does not disturb
me bit / know absolutely nothing about
the case. The Normannia has not been in
thhfs- port in three months, and if the alleged
offense occurred in September it is strange
that an indictment was not found before.
Not the First Complaint.
ewe have had several complaints of con-
tract and pauper laborers landing. recall!
the case of an innocent German who was
sent back. He was anxious to go home. He
away from the man who was
him and went to the Barge Office.
There was big time over it, and when we
got him back to the Columbia we locked
him in.
''The law under which this indictment is
found is most absurd. 1t was passed at the
bidding of labor agitators, and to judge
from what they say one would imagine that
the steamship companies were conspiring
against the peace and prosperity of the
We have absolutely no means of
whether our passengers are
contract laborers. If they are they are cer-
tainly going to keep the fact to themselves.
: have neyer undertaken to evade the law,
snd have never tried to land detained immi-
giants"
The firm of Peter Wright & Sons is COM
posed of several partners, all Philadel-
phians Peter Wright died many years
ago. and James Wright, now in the con-
cerns is a son of Peter. Up to January l
Peter Wright & Sons were the agents of
The Red Star Line. At present the Red
Star and the Inman lines are operated by
The International Navigation Company.
The Office is at No. 6 Bowling Green. There
his afternoon a reporter was told that they
mad heard pofhinu of the actiou of the