The Savannah morning news., 1903-02-14
SHIPPING SERVAN rs
EMPLOYMENT AGENCIES WILL
HAVE TO PUT UP $500
OR GO OUT OF BUSINESS.
II SERVANTS SENT NORTH BY ONE
AGENCY SINCE AUGUST.

Police Keeping Close Watch on In
teIIigence Bureaus-Nev York City
Authorities Say the Negroes Be-
come Public Charges when They
Reach There-Tax Will Be En-
forced on All Agencies Sending
Servants Away.
1t has been learned by the superin-
tendent of police that at least seventy
two negro domestics have been ship
ped from Savannah to a New York in
telligence bureau since Aug. l. The
police have every reason to believe that
a far greater number have been sent
away, and the figures given were OBJ
tanned from a single agent in Savan-
nah.
Acting under orders from Mayor My
ers the superintendent several days
ago began an investigation, with a
view to determining just who was en-
gagged in the business of sending SER
want girls to New York The Mayor
had received information from the au-
thorities there that in the majority of
cases the negroes sent North finally
became public charges. The Mayor
was asked to direct his attention to the
matter and, if possible, stop the send
ing of these servants to New York.
The laws of Georgia require that every
emigration agent shall pay $500 for
each county in which he operates, and,
acting under this section of the statute,
the chief of police began his investi-
cation.
Mrs. Rosa Donnelly, representing one
of the New York agencies, was found
at No. 220 West Broad street and fur
nished the police with the figures given
above. She said that when she dis
covered, several days ago, that she
would be required to take out Ii
cense as an emigration agent she
stopped looking for servants for the
bureau in the North and wrote the
agency that she would be required to
pay $500 for a license, and expressed
a willingness to continue securing help
provided the agency furnished the
money required by the tax collector.
She has not yet received a reply to
her letter.
The police say that there have been
others besides Mrs. Donnelly in the
business, and that they are now watch
ing parties who have been doing work
of this sort without having taken out
the licenses required by the state. Inc
majority have operated quietly, through
the want columns of the papers. and
for this reason the first information of
what was happening came to Savannah
by way of New York The superintend-
ent of police said he had learned, in his
investigation, that only the better class
of servants are accepted by these agen-
cies in the North.
"If they would take some of the ne
groes that we have here away it would
be a good thing for the city," said the
police chief in discussing the situation,
but they don't do that. They only
take the better class of help, with the
result that the riff-raff is left here. We
propose to put a stop to this thing, and
those who continue in the emigration
business can rest assured that we will
force them to pay the required tax. L
have learned that every applicant is re-
quired to furnish references, and that
these references are, in most cases, for
warded to the agencies in New York.
From that point an investigation as to
the ability and worth of each applicant
is made, and if satisfactory money is
sent to the agent here for a ticket for
the domestic that has been accepted. In
this manner the best help that we have
has been going out of the city and the
worthless servants have been kept here
to supply our housewives. They have
troubles enough with the better help
and we intend to stop this shipping
away of domestics from the city, unless,
of course, the agents pay the tax re-
quired of them"