The Savannah morning news., 1903-02-08

uIeuS cured Dy IL nave so advertised it
that the little book is merely sent to
give each patient a clearer view of
his or her particular case and the
proper treatment for it.
themselves. Firms are proverbially
fond of clubs of one sort and another
and they get together as often as they
can. Besides, there are their churches
and temperance societies, whose meet
ings outnumber all others, and their
amateur dramatic societies. In the Dor
| ough of Brooklyn, where the Firms
| are of the best grade of immigrants,
there are several largely attended
meetings every week. At each of
| these the latest letters from "home"
| are read, and. as a result, the Brook
Ign Firms are in a constant state of
ferment about the goings on in the
Grand Duchy they all love so well.
1t is curious, but true, that while the
Firms are very numerous in Brooklyn
they cut very little fiure in any other
borough of this big town. This prob
ably came about through the chance
settlement in Brooklyn of the earliest
Finnish immigrants hereabouts. Ma
urally, later Corners settle near their
compatriots, and this has continued to
the present day.
In some respects the Firms are about
the best immigrants now coming to
these shores. They are of large ply
sique. tough and full of endurance and
as industrious as you would suppose
them to be from their far northern or
igin. They are frugal, too, and tenn
perate as a mass, and these Characters
tics are making them so prosperous that
their comparatively heavy contributions
to the ocean voyage expenses of their
friends and relatives who wish also to
come to America, do not seriously draw
upon their resources.
The money sent back to Finland for
this purpose every year, by the way, is
very large when the total number of
Firms in this country is taken into con-
sideration. 1t is an interesting circum-
stance that the Swedes whose native
land adjoins Finland on the northeast,
often contribute literally to the same
good cause. Firms coming here some
times take ship boldly, but that course
is so risky (the Russians having for
hidden Finnish immigration that a
large proportion steal across the border
from Finland to Sweden on foot and
then take ship later from the nearest
Scandinavian seaport.
This course is one of great hardship
in the winter, though not at all I'M
pleasant in the summer. This winter the
overland trip is worse than usual, IL
anything, not only because of the fam
inc, but also because of the rather
more than usually cold weather.
There is danger of starving to death
on the northern overland trip this year
even if one has the money to buy food
since the inhabitants of the region ira
verSed have no food to SELL And of
course SpantU ia ra Y10akoa oyaY-xropa xAyI,o
courageously tries this overland trip
just so much more in danger of suffer-
ing unduly from the intense cold. In
Brooklyn they have received many cru
ell stories of the suffering and OCCASION
al death of these hardy would-be immi-
grants.
That the percentage of Firms de-
string to come to America is larger
than of almost any nationality just
now is pathetically true. For the
Firms do not deceive themselves.
They would like to believe that the
days of famine are of short duration
and that when these are over they
could go back if they felt so inclined
as Italians do often, for example,
and pass their declining years in peace
and quietude in the home of their
childhood.
This, however, they know cannot
take place, for Russia will not stop
her persecution unless something very
like a mircle comes along, and most
Firms believe the days of miracles to
be past and gone. Only a few years
ago, in spite of it's relatively poor
soil and its far northern situation
Finland was the most prosperous, the
most progressive of all the provinces
in the Russian empire. Its people
were much better read than the Rus
slams, railroad and canal communica-
ton in Finland was general and in
creasing rapidly, and the immigration
from the little country, never very
large, was decreasing, while many
who came hither came only to earn
enough Yankee money in a few years
to enable them to live there on their
income.
To-day about one in ten of the pop
ulation decade ago has come to the
United States to live. In other words,
at it's best, Finland supported two
and a half millions-abodt half as
many as dwell in Greater New York
and it's suburbs-and there are now in
this country at least $4,000 people of
Finnish birth who mean to make the
United States a permanent home for
themselves and their families.
There is undoubtedly somewhat of
truth in the Finnish belief that they
and their doings and sayings are
watched closely by the Russian au-
thorities here.
Every foreign government maintains
a detective and spy system in
America, and a large portion of its
duties is to closely look after the sub
jects of it's government who have set
tied on Uncle Sans big farm. The
Germans and most other immigrants
are too numerous to receive much in
dividual attention, and the same is
true of some large classes of people
born in Russia, but pretty close tab
is Enthusiastically kept on newly-ar-
rived Firms by the spies of the Rus
sian Bear.
The headquarters here of these spies
is at the consul generals Office, of
course, and visit to this office shows
it to be the most punctillious in
America. Whoever steps inside it's doors
find himself in front of large portraits
of the Car and Czarina. Should he
take off his hat and bow, his course in
the office will be smooth and agree
able. Should he fail he will be re-
uuested politely to do so. Compliance
restores good humor all round. but re-
fusaI is invariably followed by the
Ermest decllnation to have anything TO
do with the visitor. while persistence
in discourtesy to the pictured repre-
sentatlon Of the great white Car has
been followed more than once by forci-
BILE election Duane.