Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-11-27
Exodus of Aliens.


The exodus of aliens from New York
just now is extraordinary. Every
steamer leaving for Europe is carrying
it's limit of steerage passengers-most
of them recent immigrants. who have
already made enough money to pay
their expenses back to their oil homes
and to enable them to live there in
comfort for awhile. There was never
anything like the departures from this
country during this month, and the
total for December will exceed the
total, for the last fiscal year.
The movement began about three
weeks, ago, and is attributed to two
eauses-first, to the steamship rate war,
in which passenger fares have been
reduced to unprecedented figures.
Tickets to London, Hamburg. Antwerp
and the Mediterranean ports have been
selling. as low as SIS. and thousands
of Italiana HuDgarians and Poles have
taken advantage Of these rates to go
back to their old homes The steam
ship companies have suddenly raised
the fare to $33 and $s6 for the pass
age. which does not seem to make the
slightest impression, however, upon the
demand for tickets. Mr.. Emil Boas,
manager of the Hamburg American
line, tells me that its steamers will
carry at least $4,000 European aliens
IL
the movement keeps up they will carry
twice as many in December Usually
the Storage Is empty in eastbound
steamers. but nowadays it Is more
crowded than on the westbound voy-
ages, and thousands of applicants have
been left on the docks because they
Gould not be accommodated.
Laborers Going Home.
Passengers are coming in special trains
# ten and twelve cars from Pennsylvania,
ohio and the mining regions in Indiana,
illinois and Tennessee. Most of the pas
sengers are men. There are very few
women among them. and nearly all of
them are laborers who have been brought
to this country during the unprecedented
construction work that has been going on
~ the railways and in the cities and
which Is now letting up because of the
tight money market. No new enterprises
ire being commenced; railway contra ctors
and other large employers of unskiled
labor are discharging the men who werr
brought to this country to engage on
such works. and. as there is no immed: ate
prospect of their securing other employ
nent, they are going back to their wives
and children and are carrying with them
their savings. Most OF them have money.
Some of them have 5000 and $500, and a
amount of money that they will take out
of the country will therefore be very large
and is estimated as high as $5,OOG,OGO.
Many of the men come from the iron
mines on the Mesaba range in Minnesota
md other mines in the Lake Superior
country. where operations are shut down
FOR the winter because of the cod weather
and the snow. Underground mining can
be carried on twelve months in the year,
but surface mining in Minnesota has to
stop in November.
The PENNSYLVANIA railroad has been en-
ploying 10000 or 10000 laborers leveling
it's grades and Strengthening it's curves
and abolishing grade crossings. That
work is practically complete, and the con-
tractors are discharging the Italians and
Huns who came over to help. Other
railroads have been engaged in improve
ments of a similar kind. which are ap-
preaching completion. During the last
two or three years there has been an I'M
precedented demand for labor in the steel
mills. coal mines. coke ovens and in build
ing construction in the cities which is be-
ing suspended. This releases the labor
ers and there is nothing for them to do.
Ing once learned the advantages of this
country. these men will come back again
and bring their wives and families with
them, especially the Italians and Hun
garians.
To give you an idea of the way the tide
is running, 1t is only necessary to say that
the steamer Gen. Grant carried away 8, 200
steerage passengers last week, the Pre-
toria 800. the Batavia $500. the Republic
$780, the Venezia 1880. and other steam
ers a corresponding number.