Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1899-09-18
THE IMMIGRANTS LOT.
FEW FOLLOW THEIR olD.WoRLD
CALLlNCS IN THIS COUNTRY,

Take Up Whatever Industry is in Vogue
Among the Colonies of Their Country
nen--Huns Select the Mines-Sorne
Dangerous Diseases Are Imported.
Officials OF the Immigration Bureau
fn New York Harbor believe them
selves able to forecast the further en-
ployment of an i'm migrant with almost
unerring accuracy. 1.-The rough and
ready way OF making this forecast, "
said prominent official to o Post re.
porter, "has been by learning the oc.
cupation of the immigrant in his own
country, and then assuming that he
would follow the same in this country.
Prolonged and careful observation,
however, has shown that this method
is fallacious. The immigrant does
not pursue the calling he followed in
the old land, but whatever calling he
finds in vogue among the colonies OF
his countrymen, and it is often quite
different from his old employment.
That immigrants OF the same race
should drift together in the large
cities and should then fall into few
lines of work is easily explained.
When an immigrant arrives, knowing
only his own language and the ways
only of his own people, he has really
nowhere to go except to that quarter
of the city or section of the country in
which for similar reasons, those OF
his own blood and religion have grad
ually congregated. Living thus close
together, they naturally learn the
trade or two which already flourish in
the quarter.
'The great majority of the Italians
who come in the steerage become mere
laborers, for which they are fitted by
physical strength and endurance, and
are not untitled by skill, knowledge,
or dexterity in any Of the branches OF
skilled labor. The heavy work OF
construction in this country-in the
North, at least-is done mainly by
them. Jewish immigrants have be.
come the clothing operatives of the
country; many of them are also fur
riers and feather curriers', and some
OF them soon set up as small mer-
chants. There are 10000 Jewish op-
eratives of these classes in Now York
City. The German immigrants almost
invariablyrecrui the skilled vocations.
The Poles share with the Italians the
heavy labor of the country, doing o
large part of the mining, and also
much of the work in manufactures
where heavy unskilled labor is re-
quired.
"Nine-tenths of the Greek immi-
grants go into the flower business, and
they have now almost monopolized it.
The Scandinavians have for long
time gone regularly to swell the farm
ing population of the Northwest, but
during late years there has been quite
a diversion of them to the shoe indus
try in New England. To the same
region go most of the Portuguese,
large numbers becoming mill workers
at New Bedford and Fall River. The
Armenians also have a decided drift
towards the shoe factories of New
England, and into the wire mills where
the machines do most of the work, but
the operatives must exercise some
skill. The Hungarian additions to
the population are doomed in large
bodies to the mines.
'Tbe most undesirable immigrants
are the Greeks, Armenians, Arabs,
Hindus, Italians and Poles. Con.
spicuously good immigrants are the
Swiss and Swedes. An interesting
fact in connection with the Irish i'm
migration is that for several years O
very large proportion has been COM
posed of girls, the male immigration
having dwindled to almost nothing.
'"There are two diseases which it is
not generally known have entered
through our open door. One is
favus, a parasitic scalp disease, which
was entirely unknown in this country
until few years ago, and is now oc-
casionally epidemic in certain quar-
ters. 1t is brought over by Russians
and Italians. The other disease is
trachoma, otherwise known as the
Egyptian eyedisease, an Inflammation
OF the inner surface of the eye-lids,
which frequently spreads and involves
the whole organ. The Ophthalmolo-
gical Society studied the disease and
announced that but for the fresh ac-
cretions of affected immigrants, it
would die out in this country. Both
diseases were for many years freely
admitted, but both are now barred.
This action in the case of trachoma
was largely due to the efforts OF
oculists, who found the new disease
increasing. There is an exception to
the rule Of exclusion, inasmuch as the
diseased children of naturalized fathers
are allowed to come i'm