The Savannah morning news., 1903-08-02

can tourist stopped TO take a drink
and have a chat with the natives.
School was just being dismissed, and
the boys, who are always eager TO
see and speak with a stranger from
over the seas, crowded around him.
The man asked a few of them what
they were going to do when they
grew up. and without an exception
they replied:
Going TO America, sir, as soon as
ever l can get enough money for the
passage. That's the place where West
indians get on, for there's no room
for them TO go ahead here"
The tourist made further inquiries
among all classes of people, white and
black, and found the same story dsery-
where. Every family had g. s=n or
daughter in the States. or one zaving
I'D money with the idea of goioy there
and making fortune.
The Northern LOdestOne.
America is the magnet for all en-
terprising spirits throughout the West
Indies There are large British West
indian colonies in Boston, New York,
Philadelphia, New Orleans. Newport
News, Baltimore, and other cities
along the Atlantic seaboard. These
colonies never attract any attention,
because they are composed of people
who speak English properly, and do
not differ, outwardly, from Americans,
as most of the other immigrants do.
But they are immigrant colonies none
the less, with their own peculiarities
and their own clannish sentiments.
They cling together, and make a
point of hunting up new arrivals from
the West Indies and helping them to
find their footing among a strange
people in a strange land. They re-
tain a feeling of loyalty and affection
toward their native country and the
flag under which they were born.
Rarely does a British, Danish, Dutch,
or French West Indian take out his
naturalization papers and become an
American citizen, however long he
may dwell in this country. In that
respect, they differ most markedly
from other immigrants. And when
they gather together, IL is to cele-
brate one of their own national holt
days and pay honor to their own flag
and their own monarch. But, though
they thus decline to be assimilated,
they esteem American institutions
and form an excellent element IN any
community in which they settle.
How They Make Good"
Usually they come TO this country
poor in everything save youth and
spirit They have no money, no
knowledge of American business
methods, no acquaintance with the
ways of a big city. Many a young
man arrives at Boston or New York
from Jamaica--where there is the
largest exodes-with five or six dol.
lars in his pocket and not the slightest
notion of what he is going to do, OF
where he is going to look for a lob
West Indian immigrants seldom
have the thirty dollars required by
law, but as they are always first-class
passengers on the steamers the immi-
grafton inspectors do not trouble
them. They are incredibly reckless.
They will throw up a good job in
Barbados, Jamaica, or Antigua, spend
almost their last cent buying first-class
steamship tickets, and land in Ameri-
ca with a wife and family, but neither
money nor prospects.
Yet, somehow or other. they always
make good, and often win positions
of wealth and Importance in the COM
munity.
When arrived here" said q ia
maican, who now holds a leading
place in financial circles in Boston, II
was a youngster of eighteen, who had
never seen a big town or city. l had
just two dollars in my pockets, and
my chum. who came with me, had
four.
Boston scared US at frst-lt was
so large and so full of people-but
some West Indian friends took nus in
hand, and we both got places as clerks
hINGtnaEC ha Rrcf ID,
looked for work. 1t was hard for the
two of us to live on those six dollars
until our first payday came around,
but we managed It.: and ever since
then we have both gone ahead
steadily.
American business houses. as a
rule, are glad TO employ British West
Indians. They are we'll educated
trained to responsibility from earliest
youth, intent on making their way
and familiar, of course, with West
Indian products and requirements. II
is true, they don't know many of the
things that every American clerl
knows: but then they know MANI
things that no American clerk knows
ana that more than compensates
from the employers point of view.
The "Remittance Man."
81 have followed the careers of hun.
dreds of West Indians who have com,
over here" continued the Boston mer
chant, land have known very few
of them to fail and go back home again
These few have made the big mistak,
of getting remittances from home.
II have known young West Indians
who tramped the streets, voorhees, ant
penniless and nearly starving, Will,
their fathers owned big plantation!
and employed hundreds of negro anC
coolie laborers. A letter would hav,
brought them all the money they
wanted, but they We're too proud t
ask for help. They wrote home cher
fully, and never said a word abou
their struggles until they had mad,
good Such fellows as those are bound
to make good in any American city,
Boston contains the largest Yves
Indian colony in America. There ar,
nearly four thousand West Indian!
there, mostly Jamaicans. Many o
them are engaged In the banana trade
of which Boston is the American head
quarters and Jamaica the tropica
center.
In New York there are probably
three thousand West Indians, and one
street turning off the lower part o.
Ninth avenue is almost entirely in
habited by Jamaican negroes, whC
swarm together in one community by
a natural instinct.
In Philadelphia, according to a prom
lnent Barbadian who lives there
the West Indians number nearly
twenty-five hundred, and occupy many
leading positions in the world of COM
merce and industry.
The Exodus IL Growing.
From all accounts" said the Bar
badian, who is IN a big way of bust