The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1906-05-06
THE WEEKS TALK
IN NEW YORK CITY
Tide of immigration Turning TO
the South
SEEK FARMING SECTIONS
An Experts Advice to the States That
Desire the ew-comers-Raine's
Law Hotels Out of
Business.
BY sEWELL HAeeARp.

New York, May 5.A(Special. THAT
most of the immigrants of the next few
years will settle in the agricultural states
of the south and southwest is the opinion
of Frederick Won Pills, a director of the
North German Lloyd Steamship company,
and an expert on immigration. Mr. Won
Piles says that Europe has at last dis
covered that America includes something
besides New York and three or four other
large cities. For years the immigrant
has pictured America as New York,a ten
acre field, then Philadelphia, Boston and
Chicago He never realized the country S
vast farming resources. The result, the
congestion of the large cities, is too well
known for discussion.
Mr.. Won Pills throws out a suggestion
that all states desiring immigrants should
establish bureau in New York at once.
He is now in the south looking over the
situation and in a week or ten days he
will return to Germany to take up his
efforts to turn the alien horde to this
country away from the cities and toward
the agricultural sections. Mr.. Won Pills
talks entertainingly on immigration.
America may always expect to receive
a big army of immigrants from Europe
he said, but not a million a year. The
high water mark has been reached. Last
year established what probably always
will be the record, although 1906 will see
but slight falling off. There were plen-
ty of causes for the remarkable exodus
from Europe last year and for the con-
tinued outpouring of the first few months
of 1906 In the first place, the failure of
the crop in Hungary in 1904 caused a
great many Hungarians to migrate to
America, and the lack of settled govern
ment aided. The chief cause, however,
was the political disturbance in Russia.
But conditions have righted themselves in
a large measure now, and henceforth
there will be but a steady, healthy flow
of Europeans to American shores.
New York need not worry about the
immigration of the future. The Euro
peanS who come to America in the steer
age are beginning to learn that there
is an America that is not New York,
and to realize that in the great stretches
of country to the south and west there
are limitless opportunities for the man
of thrift who wishes to establish home
of his own and is willing to toll and thrive
to do it. The great part of the army
which will swarm into America ia the
next few years will check its baggage
straight through the port of entry, be
it New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore or
Boston. and will pass on to the rich states
which lie back of them.
Two years ago | made my first trip
to America in the interest of our Storage
service and then found that New York,
Chicago, Boston, ST. Louis, Kansas City
and dozen other cities were overcrowded
with foreigners and that the tides of i'm
migration should be directed to the rural
sections of the country. The whole ques-
ton was taken up by the management of
the North German Lloyd Steamship COM
pany, and as result we established line
direct from Bremen to Galveston Texas
Our first boat to that port carried fifteen
immigrants; our last one, which landed
only a few days ago, carried 1100. To en-
able the immigrants to get to the interior
of the country without trouble we arrange
their transportation direct from Bremen
to any inland destination.
So successful has the service to Texas
proved that | shall recommend on my re-
turn the establishment of a new line to
New Orleans. this being the gateway to
the great agricultural states of Louis
lana, Georgia, Mississippi and Alabama.
Nowhere so much as in the southern
states should there be a desire to turn
the streams of immigration into the south.
Those states need good farmers and hun
dreds of thousands of them will arrive in
America in the next few years We have
educated the prospective immigrants as
well as we could and shall make every eff
fort to direct them to the regions where
they are needed and where they can reside
with most profit to themselves, and
would suggest that the various states es-
tablish bureaus in New York and other
ports of entry to aid In the work. Much
could be accomplished in this way"