Omaha daily bee., 1907-03-03
OVER INNICRANTS
Miss MstthswS Nineteen YsarSOf Constant
Vigil at New York
FRIENDS SHE MAKES AMONG FOREIGNERS
In that Time she Has Met Every
Steamer with ImmiErnnts-More
Safeguards Than Formerly,
but Plenty sf Pitfalls.

in a strange land" 10 the name given to
the Immigrant Girls home by the thou
Islands of young women 1t has shattered and
Get on their feet their first arrival in
america. It is in an old-fashioned house
on State street, with a beautiful view of
the bay and of the great steamers they
pass in and out
Miss Alma Matthews il the missionary
connected with the home and for nineteen
years she has met every immiErsnt-bearing
steamer that has landed in New York
1.-THE missionary work among the immi-
grants as they landed in New York was
begun by my brother and his Wife" said
Miss Matthews. "Once they were arrested
out there in what is now Battery park for
preaching to immigrants in the street.
People we're not as friendly to street
preachers then as they are now.
when 1 first began all the immigrants
were landed at Castle Garden And such
a time as there was whenever an immi-
grant-bear1ng ship came inl All the run
ners would line up ana the moment the
great iron gates were open they would
rush In and pounoe on those poor defense
less immigrants like pack of ravenous
wolves on a flock Of helpless sheep.
THE boarding houses they represented
were all around this part of the city. Per-
feet dives, the majority Of them. 80 have
understood Easier prey than the freshly
landed immigrant for such human vultures
can hardly be imagined.
Government Helps Now.
For q time thsre was q rule forcing mis-
sionaries to go In with the runners, and
at no other time. You may be sure that
rule didn't last long. But II just shows
how unpopular missionaries were in those
days. Now the government officers, the
police, do everything to help us, to en-
courage the work. Nineteen years ago 1t
was uphill work, I can tell you.
Large and complete as the present i'm
migration buildings may seem to an out
slider, to us who have seen the vast horde
that has poured in during the last two
years there are many things to be de-
sired. oh. yes. they are immeasurably
better than anything we ever had before;
but think Of the myrdads Of immigrants
that land there each yeari Something will
have TO be done.
mo. I can't say that think the gov
eminent should enlarge the building, for IL
the increase keeps up in a few years they
would have TO enlarge the island, but it
does seem to me that the time has come
when some check should be put on immi-
grafton. Why, sometimes the crowd during
the last summer was 80 great that 1t really
seemed as IL the old world must be empty.
II the officers were not as competent as
they are. IL their system of handling the
immigrants was not as perfect, there would
have been--chaos.
"Of course there are instances in which
mistakes are made People sometimes get
to the island who have no business there,
and sometimes they get away when they
should have been kept
Many Mistakes Are Made.
~ Now. not long ago a young woman, a
HBinn, evidently a recent arrival made her
a appearance on the island. asking for her
sister She had the name of the girl and
the ship on which she was 10 come over
written on slip OF paper. and apparently
everything seemed all right
when the Ellis island official hunted the
girl up he asked he IL she had sister in
this country. The girl said only cousin,
anu she was out west. The girl was given
I'm charge of a missionary, who communi-
Gated with the cousin, who later came on
TO receive her.
What became of the impostor? Oh 1
don't know. We are too busy to track
them down. She didn't get the girl, thanks
to the alertness of the government officials
"In all probability she had been to the
steamship office and on reading over the
list of passengers singled this young fellow
country woman out as easy prey. No, we
had no proof that her intentions toward
the girl were not of the best. except that
she began with lie. That was sufficient.
Safeguards Not Always Security.
'In spite Of all the safeguards thrown
around them. sometimes even after they
reach New York they fall into the wrong
hands Not long ago l noticed young
fellow standing alone near the barge
office and looking around in a puzzled,
mystifed way. Then he walked over TO a
group of young men near the elevated sta
ton and, showing a long ticket. asked
some question.
II saw at once that the men addressed
die not understand him But one OF them
took the ticket and after studying over
Il Tor a little time made some motions to
the young immigrant and led him away.
having put the ticket In his own pocket.
Thinks l TO myself III follow YOU, young
man. and see what you are going TO do
with that BOY.
'.Well, he led him about the street for a
short time and l was convinced that he
was looking for some one. Finally he found
the man he was looking for. 1t was a
negro.
rho ticket was taken out again and
the two had a whispered conference. More
motions and signals we're made to the
trusting Immigrant ana ne was turned
around and led back to the elevated sta
ton. At the foot of the stairs they stopped
to whisper again, and knew my time had
come
az Just walked up behind them and
touching the man on the shoulder, says
Young man, what are you doing with
that boys ticket in your pocketY Give II
10 me-
Yes. he gave II up, and without word
Then you should have seen him running
up those elevated stairs three steps at a
time and the negro disappear in the sub
way.
THE immigrant was one of Peter
McDonalds passengers. and by some over
sight had been allowed to stray away from
the party to which he belonged. Peter Nc
Donald is the man 20 whom most of the
SNmmigrants leaving New York by the rail-
, roads are turned over.
They usually have green badges pinned
across their chest In this case. however,
the boy was without the badge I gave
him over to a policeman, who took him
and his ticket TO McDonalds ONCE.