The great West. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1889-18??, 1893-03-17


The earliest steps for "a investiga-
ton by congressional committee Of &
the dreadful haunts in New York.
wherein the cheap immigrants from
many European countries are herded,
have been taken Application has
been made at the police headquarters
for active assistance in the investigar
tion, the labor bureau at Washingto
being in supervision Of the work
which it is meant to make thorough.
The New York Herald, referring to
the necessity for congress and for the
country at large to really compre-
bend the dreadful condition of the
slum districts Of New York, where
these -padrone- brought foreigners are
herled. we'll says:
volumes have been written Of
>our boundless, untitled prairies,'
where there is room for millions OF
newcomers to live in comfort and
comparative ease. The literature OF
our growing manufactures, which
will afford employment for other
millions, would fill whole libraries,
and the statistician does not even
have to refer to the farms, the rail
roads and the mining interests to
prove to you that it is foolish, if not
even criminal, to think of restricting
immigration, az least for many years
to come, and he refers to all such
propositions rs mere political lodges
for securing votes at q fall election.
The theory is fine. very fine, but in
practice it is shown that whole
masses of the incoming population
turn not to the farm or factory, the
railroad or the mine, but prefer to
crowd into the haunts of vice, ignOr-
ance and degradation that are the
sores on the fair face of metropolis.
The worst examples of the results Of
immigration are to be found within
the confines of Manhattan island,
and the representative Of the Feder-
al government have shown wise
discernment in making their initial
investigation here"
The story Of the Russian and Polish
Jews in the slavery of the sweater"
shop, of the Bohemian cigarmaker, of
the Italian set at his daily task by
the padrOne-agent of the steamship
company or the banker" who brought
him over, and Of the manner in which
twenty or thirty families are herded
into dwellings,, down in Mulberry
Bend and in the region round Ludlow
street, where these houses were orig
inally built for only one family-all
this story Of misery and filth and
disease has been limited at. sometimes
actually told in sections, by New
York newspapers and by Jacob Riis
in his books upon the conditions of
the poor in New York. And yet there
are multitudes Of people who still
harp on the siniustice" of shutting
out the criminals and paupers of all
nations and continue to talk of ..our
boundless prairies, etc. where these
miserable foreigners never get. The
present investigation will draw pub
lie attention and set its seal on the
immediate necessity for restricting
immigration as nothing else can pos
sibly dO.--Scranton Truth.
-------------------
An Expensive Strike.
The attOrney-general has decided
that Erie county must foot the bill
for the railroad strike of last summer.
This is a tax item Of over 1892, 900 for
the county. We are glad that the
cost of that monumental wrong is
centered upon single county. We
only wish it might have been saddled
upon the city Of Buffalo. We wish
the burden of that wrong might be
impressed upon the taxpayers SUI
ticiently hard to teach lesson. We
do not know of another case Just like
that strike-not but that other str kes
have been equally bad-but we do not
recall case where the militia of a
whole state was placed at the dispos-
al OF single corporation to enable it
to successfully violate a state law.
Such, in fact, was the case. The
Reading not only underpaid the men,
but openly and defantly violated the
ten-hour law passed year ago. The
men demanded compliance with the
law. and an increase in wages to put
them on an equal footing with men
on parallel roads. They asked simply
what other lines conceded of their
own accord. The company abusively
refused to consider the demands.
The men struck.
At the demand OF the attorneys for
two railroads, o sheriff, mayor and
railroad governor called out 1000
armed men. placed the general north
ern freight agent Of the Reading road
in command, and then proceeded to
overawe about 800 workingmen who
were demanding that the Reading
road should obey the law Of the state.
The law was successfully violated. and
now Erie county must pay $192,VOO
for the benefit of the Reading system
Does it pay?- Peoples Advocate
a statement of Debt.
AS an American business man; as a
banker who has studied the financial
problem for twenty years from a
broader standpoint than personal
greed | think that the present law
hould stand until return to the
coinage Of the constitution takes it's
place. do not see that the constitu-
ton gives gold mine owners monop-
oily of furnishing and holding the
only thing that will pay debt The
county in which / live has large
debt. When it was made All the GOLD