The Portland daily press., 1893-09-23
ELLIS ISLAND.

II
ELLIS ISLAND.
his men. paid visit to this little spot
of land today to see how the tens of
thousands who come knocking at Uncle
Sans door every. month are received
and how those who are not thought de-
sirable are prevented from entering, and
a most interesting visit it was.
Only those who come to this side in
the cheapest part of the ship, the steer
age, pass through this gateway, for it is
assumed that those who have money
enough to pay their way in either the
first or second cabin are likely to be de-
sirable, the only questions raised by the
gatekeeper being as to the ability of the
immigrant to be self supporting, whether
or not he comes in fulfllment of con-
tract regarding employment, and as to
their record as law abiding citizens in
the lands from which they come. The
chief gatekeeper's establishment iscalled
the bureau of immigration.
DIR. sSenner, an energetic, earnest,
scholarly man, is commissioner at pres
emit, and he has the assistance of about
80 persons, including heads of depart
ments, clerks, matrons, doctors, labor
ers. etc. About as many more persons
who are employed by the railroads, the
various societies, ETC., also find occupa-
ton on the island, SO that its regular
day population, exclusive Of immigrants
and visitors, is about $50.
Immigration is light at present, but it
would not be possible to pass one-half
of the number received even now with
out an almost perfect executive system.
Accordingly DIR. Senner's staff is thor
oughly organized and includes inspect
ors, interpreters, matrons, doctors,
clerks and miscellaneous employees, to
each Of whom is assigned some particu-
lar work, and all Of whom perform their
duties with the utmost harmony day
after day.
According to the present law, steam
ship companies are required to furnish
the commissioner of immigration with a
manifest containing the names of all
steerage passengers with each shipload
of immigrants. This manifest must
state in addition to the names the age,
sex, nativity, occupation and destination
of each person, besides lot of other de-
tails for the commissioners guidance.
For convenience the Storage passengers
are divided into blocks Of 30, each pas
senger being numbered, and his number
being set opposite his name upon the
manifest. n
Commissioner Senner's advance guard,
the boarding officers, are the first United
States officials with whom the immi-
grants come in contact. They go on
board the ship at quarantine and there
begin the work of investigation, remoy-
ing from the ship such passengers as are
suffering from malignant diseases, and
sometimes working in conjunction with
the New York health officer, DR.. Jen-
kins, causing the detention of the ship
upon which the disease exists with it's
entire quota of immigrants.
Once quarantine is safely passed, the
ship proceeds to its dock, the cabin pas
sengers and citizens who are steerage
passengers disembark and go their ways
unimpeded by any restrictions other
than those imposed by Uncle Sans Gus
tom house officers, but alien steerage
passengers must all enter through DR..
Senner's gate and are conveyed thither
upon United States barges. Before leav-
ing the ship, a card bearing a number
and letter, the latter to show the di-
vision to which the passenger belongs,
is pinned upon the breast of each indi-
vidual. Ten minutes before barge
load of immigrants arrives at the island
the loud sound Of gong echoes through
the immense main building of the bu-
reau. When the barge has been made
fast to the dock, the gong lis again
sounded, and by this time every official
Is at his post.
AS soon as the gangplank had been
put in place, the passengers string
ashore, and more motley crowd was
never seen under the sky of heaven than
that made by the steerage passengers of
a ship from Rotterdam or from one Of
the Mediterranean ports. The shipload
which arrived this morning during my
presence was from Rotterdam, and it's
passengers included Germans and Poles
and Hungarians and Slovaks and Bohe-
mians and Russian Jews.
tulCeo by Gno proper oIlcldlS, IAey
climbed the stairs to the second story
end through what must have been to
them most devious passages to the great
hall where the inspection was performed.
They first entered space about 80 feet
square, separated from the rest of the
floor by wire gratings in such a way as
to form an immense cage. There each
division was passed. single file between
gas pipe ratings in front of the inspect
ors' desks, and there each individual
was questioned and cross questioned I'M
til the inspectors were satisfied either
that he or she should be allowed to pro-
coed without further examination or that
the case needed such other investigation
as could be obtained only by detention.