Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-04-16

their people returned to Asia to tell of the
land Of promise rediscovered four centuries
after Columbus had done his work. We see
them now everywhere. with their packs and
baskets or knick-knacks. I'm character
they have changed little since they were
described in the Old Testament" says one
OF the critics of this element. '"They have
all the vices Of the oriental races but ara
without many of the virtues They are the
toughest problem that official and private
charity has to meet in the communities in
which they live
More Women Arriving.
A fact that our sisters may not relish
Is that foreign women, formerly a small
minority Of our immigrants, show an In /
creasing tendency to come here in search
OF husbands. Last year there was an in
crease of 2000O women and girls
In the early days few immigrants could
pay their passage to America; so, on ar
rival, they were sold into temporary seryi-
tude by the shipping companies and form
ed class of 'indentured servants" OLD peo-
pie would bring only a small figure; hence !
their children had TO serve longer term 20 /
compensate Whenever a ship arrived at
New York or Philadelphia there were sure {
to be immigrants put up for public sale.
Husband and wife, mother and child wers
OFTEN separated forever. and a master not i
wishing to keep his temporary slave could
transfer him TO another owner. Parents
often sold their children for terms of years
in order to become free themselves A
law providing certain reforms was passed
In 1879 and the "manifesting'' of immi-
grants was commenced the next year, from
which all of statistics date.
But even after this immigrants bound
for America were robbed and plundered
from the day of their departure until long
after their arrival on our shores Those
dying from brutal treatment which they re.
ceIved en- voyage were thrown into the
ocean like cattle. "If crosses and tomb
stones could be erected on the water as
the western deserts the routes of the
EurOpe IN
would long since have assumed the APP
pearance of crowded cemeteries" writes
one authority.
The Main Gateway.
In 1857 the famous Castle Garden was
opened our first immigrant landing sta
ton. Previous to that time these aliens
were unloaded at the ordinary docks. In
1890 the entire immigration service passed
from state into federal control. and of late I
years has been directed by an ex-labor
leader. F. p. Sargent the present commits
Soner general was chief of the Brother
hood of Locomotive Firemen when ap-
pointed to succeed Terrence v. Powderly. :
three years ago. He Is the right man in Z
the right place. After the service was
brought under federal control immigrants
were landed at the barge Office. New York,
until wooden station was occupied on Eli
lis Island, New York harbor, in 1892. In
1897 this was burned down, necessitating
the building of model station, best de- 7,
scribed by the accompanying photographs. F
The arriving immigrants are passed through
labyrinth within this building and therein
receive all stages of the most rigid in
spection. Those who prove satisfactory
are carried to the barge Office a special
ferryboat. and when the gates of the barge
office open they are at liberty to go where
soever they choose, far laws
concerned. Three-fourths of all of the I'M
migrants to this country land at Ellis Is .
land, one-tenth as many at Boston, a trifie
less at Baltimore, and much less at Phtla. Z
delphia and San Francisco. 3
= III