Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-08-20

do for the others. who have not the slight
est idea whittier they are going.
They tell such helpless creatures how TO
comm unicate with their relatives In the
country, how to get food, how to buy their
railroad tickets. how best 70 get to their
destinations without losing time or money.
In short, they do for them, In President
Norton's words. what travellers IN
strange country have always wanted ione
tor them since the beginning of the world
and Italian immigrants. il must be re-
membered. are the most ignorant and timld
kind of travellers
Former Frauds.
Great abuses were formerly practicei
upon immigrants in New York city by
boarding house runners" said President
Norton. These runners would take an
immigrant to a destination to which he did
rot want to go. where. on one pretext or
another. he would be made to pay various
sums of money.
LAS a preliminary fee for taking him to
his destination they would extort 81 or s..
and sometimes even go so far as to
force him by compulsion Of one kind or
another to pay a so-called immigration tax
of dollar. Then they would force a fur
Their payment of from 80 cents TO a dollar
for finally taking the immigrant whefe Nc
wanted to go.
These frauds used to be of daily occur
renee. and they We're not confined ID t!e
immigrants who landed in New York. ltal-
ians We're landed at Boston by the Domin-
ior line every week or so. and sent on 10
New York by rail, arriving at the Grand
Central station usually early in the morn
ing. There they were bounced upon by the
same body of runners who infested the
New York barge office and were robbed or
their money in the manner already de-
scribed."
The society has changed all this by es-
tabliShing escort service, whlch
takes the immigrants in hand and guides
n tneir destination for
nominal fee. During the nrst two years
and a half of the working of this escort
service nearly 5000 friendless immigrants
have been provided for at an average
cost of 81 cents apiece, as against at least
81 which immigrants were formerly fore
ed to pay by sharpers.
When Trouble Comes.
Immigrants bound for places in remote
sections of the country frequently land in
New York with little or no money, ex-
pecting to find at some bank or post Of
fee RENTED by their friends, the sum
necessary to take them where they want
to go. Sometimes they have forgotten the
name of the bank; sometimes the money
is not there, connections having been miss
ed. To such persons as these the immi-
grafton relief societies are invaluable.
The loan of a few dollars, the giving of a
few words of advice at such a critical
time, may make all the difference to
mans success or failure in life. Without
little help he is likely to drift about the
city until he becomes hopelessly desti-
tute.
New York has become the central mar
ket of the country for Italian labor. I'm
migrants who land at Boston and other
ports usually come on to New York at
once, while those who go to distant parts
of the country in search of work and fail
to find it promptly return to the metropo-
us The newcomers seldom have moro
than about $40 by the time they have set
tied down in New York and unless thav
find work at once they are pretty sure to
need the aid of the Italian Benevolent In
stltute or of one or other of the hundred
and hfty Italian societies in the metropo-
lis.
Italians of the lower class are the most
provincial people in the world. They are
wonderfully generous to their townspeople.
A Napoletano will help NapoetanO, but
feels no special call to assist a Veneziano
or a Siciliano. Thus there are societies In
America representing every nook and cor
ner of Italy, and a man from any part or
the old peninsula can obtain relief at the
hands of men from his own town or DIS
trict.
Lacks the Instinct.
THE italian does not lack the instinct or
charity mutual helpfulness. but at pres
ent he lacks the instinct in a broad sense
said Antonio Mangano, who is an author
ity on the life of the Italians in America.
He would take the bread from his own
men; there is nothing he would not do for
his 'paesano, but it must not BE- expected
| that he Will manifest such an attitude to-
ward all Italians. But were ii not for TINS
strong feeling, even though limited to small
groups. should have many more calls
upon public charity on the part of the ltaI-
ians than we now do
This is generally true of all classes or
immigrants. The Italians have been dealt
with particularly because at the present
time they contribute most to the volume OF
f,,o,,, terra IN nj a "a
are saving large sums of money 10 Ameri-
cans-money which would otherwise be
paid out in the form of public or private
charity That, however, Is not the most
important feature of their work. They
take the raw material, the immigrant just
out of the steerage, and begin to transform
him into a good American cluzen from INC
moment he sets foot on the soil of the
United States.
A Typical Case.
Take, for example. the case of Angelo
Mamma, brght-eyed Italian youngster.
ten years old, who arrived in this country
a year or two ago. He came alone In the
steerage to join his big brother. whose adj
dress he did not know. Search for him
being apparently unavailng, Angelo was
to be deported but one of the Italian so.
ciety's employees got him an extension OF
time Next day letter containing SO ar
rived from the brother, who followed 1T IN
person, and carried Angelo off in triumph
to grow up little American.
While he was at Ellis Island the agents
of the society told him about the greatness
of the United States and gave him some
elementary lessons in citizenship.
Angelo had the clearest possible idea as
To WHY he came here One day they took
his photograph at Ellis Island. and the
photographer suggested that he had better
remove two huge chunks of bread from his
coat pockets.
Let 1t be-" said Angelo. Il came to
America for bread
That is the case with all immigrants,
and their fellow-countrymen take care that
they have a fair chance of getting it.