The Savannah morning news., 1904-07-10

explained to him he agreed to find the
girls employer, and he led her away,
but not before she had looked trust
ingly up into the face of the god
father" and delivered herself of about
the only English words she knew:
Thank you"
The elder woman was then quizZed.
Hers turned out TO be a pitiful case.
She had come over to America at the
solicitation of her four sons, who had
preceded her by several years. For
three months they had contributed to
her support, but two days before she
had been put out of Tony's house, and
when she went around to Michaers his
wife closed the door in her face, and
neither Angelo nor Pietro would pro-
vide for her any longer. She did not
know why all her children had refused
to look after her; she had been a good
mother to them, and tried not to in
terfere with the ways of their house
holds. But she had been turned out
in the street, and she was disgraced
and did not want to stop in America
any longer. Would she be sent back to
Italy right away-the sooner the bet
ter?
mo, We'll not send her back to the
old country until we've tried to make
those boys of hers contribute to her
support" said the godfather" Tell
her that. and put it strong"
I'VE have a great many similar
cases." he continued. quite frequent
ly we bring such pressure to bear that
the mother or the crippled-up old ia
Their is assured of decent care for the
rest of life by sons or daughters.
Sometimes, however, even threats, de-
livered in the name of the United
States government, are not sufficient
to move stony hearts, and there is then
only one thing for us to do with the
him or her back to the old country. If
we didn't send the unfortunate back,
we would either have to keep him here
on the island, or he would be placed in
some charitable institution and thus
become a burden to the state. So the
easiest and cheapest way out of it is
for the government to pay the cost of
passage to Europe"
Hundreds of immigrants are sent
back yearly at federal expense, but,
happily, not all of them are parents
whose children have refused to support
them in their old age. Many are men
who have become discouraged in their
attempts to get along in the new
worlds metropolis and gradually drift
ed into a state bordering on pauperism.
They either turn up at the island vol
unfairly, OF are ldhen lItICG ny llle
police, and # they are past having the
fires of ambition rekindled in their
breasts by the godfather" their faces
are turned seward. Sometimes a
whole family is thus sent back, the
government arguing, logically. that
there will be just so many less mouths
to feed in some poorhouse.
A frequent visitor to the goliath
er's" office is the immigrant who comes
after a loan Of money. He usually tells
a tale after this fashion:
when 1 landed 1 had $50. l have
nothing now-not a cent It has all
gone for bread-bread costs so much
here. And have no steady work yet,
and I will starve if I don't get some
money, so / came here for money,
which will pay back when / get rich"
When he is informed that Uncle Sam
is not in the money-lending business,
he laments always after the shock,
superinduced by his establishment, is
over, and sometimes he gives up then
and there and says he won't leave the
island except on a steamer bound for
Europe. The stronger-willed appli-
cants, however, face the music and re-
turn. wiser. to the mainland, and as
the majority are not seen again, it is
assumed that they eventually sur
mount their financial troubles and be-
come prosperous pdHdHd peuulSlS VI
peanut vendors
Even after they have made good in
America and become inoculated in
large part with its ways. many immi-
grants persist in dropping in on their
godfather" A case in point is that of
an italian who owns and runs a COM
Portable business in Jersey City.
Every time anything out of the or
binary happens to him we're sure TO
see him" said the godfather" Let
new baby arrive and we hear about II.
He has one named Antonio Ellis
Island Business picks up. and we see
his smiling face peeping in at the
door. Sorrow comes. and he seeks US
to console him.
IT dare say he keeps US posted about
himself because he's grateful. He
first came IN here some two months aft
er he was landed: that was several
years ago. He had been robbed Of
what little money he had. he had lost
his Job on the street. and he was thor
oughly downcast and longed for a
sight Of his little farm on the noun
tainside in the old country. Well. ]
talked 20 him-tried 10 cheer him up,
az we do in such cases-and succeed
ed sufficiently TO get him started back
TO the city.