davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Grenada sentinel. [volume] (Grenada, Miss.) 1868-1955, 1908-12-26

w ITH the retirement of President
w Roosevelt from office many peo-
pie suppose that the German Re
formed church on Fifteenth street will
NJ longer be the center of interest
which it o is on Sunday mornings.
Interest may be lessened, but it is
expected that DR.. Schick will still
have a distinguished official to preach
to in the person of Vice-President-
elect James Schoolcraft Sherman.
Like President Roosevelt, Mr.. Sher-
man is a member of the Dutch Re-
formed church, an organization that
has no place of worship in this city.
He is a leading member of the Dutch
Reformed church in his home town
of Utica, N. Y, but he has affil-
lated himself with any church of the
capital city. 1t is thought that when
he assumes the dignity of vice-presi-
dent of the United States he will give
his attention to religious matters to
The Grenada sentinel. [volume] (Grenada, Miss.) 1868-1955, 1908-12-26

G Nd. NORTH. director of the cen
-. sus, has written a letter to Sec
retary Straus, his immediate superior,
asking for an appropriation Of not
less than $14, 0UO, 900 with which to
take %the thirteenth census in 1910.
The cost Of the last census, in 1900,
exclusive of the four annual investiga-
tionsgand two biennial reports due the
same year, was s~s12,52O.000. The .di-
rector estimates that the cost of the
next census, due to the fact that he
now has a regularly organized office,
will be only $410,O00, more than the
census of 1900.
If the work can be accomplished
for this sum it will be the first time
in the history Of the nation that a
census has been taken and compiled
at practically the same cost as the
priorg eppmeratiens formerly. the in
crease in the cost of the census from
decade to decade has been about so
The Grenada sentinel. [volume] (Grenada, Miss.) 1868-1955, 1908-12-26

ground and proceeds to celebrate. For fear that
he may be lonesome two or three others follow
him and pretty soon most of them are sliding back
to Mother Earth and alleged happiness. Occa-
sionally a man or two is found who keeps a reso-
luton or two and then there is a place reserved
for him in the hall of fame, but there are lots
of empty inches there.
New Years parties, attended by young people,
are the breeding places for resolutions. Invent
ors of games who profit thereby, have gone so far
as to concoct resolution games for parties of that
sort and in some of the contests the loser is com
PEELED to keep his promise to swear of" this or
that, if he would adhere to his or her affidavit.
A story is told of a young lady and a young man,
engaged to each other, who attended a New Years
party. The couple were extremely fond OF each
other and the brideto-be had only one objection
to her intended spouse, viz, that he drank lntoxl-
cants. He was not aware that she knew it. Con-
sequently before the little social function she
fixed" the. resolution contest, so he would lose.
She ~playfully told him that he must keep his
resolution and he, rather f~earfully promised, little
suspecting the plot.
Well, he lost and said he would keep the prom
Use, though he lied and said he never touched a
drop in his life" II H# $z.kff $EaEktfE
81 know you don't drink" she breathed into
his ear from the depths of a cozy corner, but I
want to be sure that you never will"
Thus the young mans habit met it's Waterloo
in the New Years trick of a stacked deck" pro-
NOTED by his fancee, and now, five years following
their marriage, his taste for spirits was declared
positively extinct by the wife in a recent ~coroner's
inquest at the ladies' sewing circle.
= That was one resolution which held. and prob
ably will for the rest of the young married mans
life, providing he doesn't get into politics. But
that was one of a few. When a man or. woman
makes a resolution, with a string attached to it,
such as awarding a watching friend a few simo
Icons in case the promise to abstain from some
habit is broken, then the vaccination takes" but
otherwise, it seldom holds good for more than q
week. A week is really a long stretch for the
life of a set of promises, most of them expiring
with dawn OF January /, although having been
made only the previous night. This new year will
see the breaking of approximately 100000 we'll
founded resolutions, but who cares? There arc
lots more New Years coming. say the philoso-
pherss
The Grenada sentinel. [volume] (Grenada, Miss.) 1868-1955, 1908-12-26

THIN "a few days our ears will
be filled with the deafen-
ing crash of people breaking
their New Years resolutions.
Three million sets of iron-clad
non-combustible American "nev-,
er-agains" crushed to earth will
remain there until dug up again
the night of December 81, 1909.
What has the New Year in
store for you,. joy or sorrow?
Few to-day realize what or where
they will be before the end OF
1910 and attpmntc To q
The Grenada sentinel. [volume] (Grenada, Miss.) 1868-1955, 1908-12-26

luton. Then the press lets us know about it and
as a rule the alleged New Years resolution which
was kept may be laid at the door of the bright
young reporter who covered the death and who
was anxious to inoculate a feature into his story.
There are thousands of ways of applying the
never again" Here are a few of the more or less
popular ways:
I promise never again, after January ] to-
The Grenada sentinel. [volume] (Grenada, Miss.) 1868-1955, 1908-12-26

Other purely local faults are subjects Of New
Years resolutions and usually the signed and
sworn document is tucked AVA in a corner.
neglected and its contents forgotten. Then the
party to the swearing Off" who, for three, days
has been telling his friends or her friends how
invigorating It feels to be once more spiritually
pure, drops down, a step or two and when resolu-
tons are mentioned has a merry laugh and tells
about how last New Years he or she had sworn
off this and that and had had more fun with the
folks over IT, = 80 ~ ssasiEI st9se9 81
t1oads upothe water wagon with thousands of ex-
whoInowiare firm believers In the health
giving pr0perties9to f llaqna pura. About 1901
a. m, January 1, the one who is less able to stand
the gaf of total abstinence slides off to the
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-02-16

his thoughts-people from his own part
of the world.
The immigrant can go to the nearest
immigration agent-true, but does he?
Well, he is getting the habit. and it will
that the agent will do it in the most prac-
teal way. and not rob him. be comes more
swidely known. Mr.. Powderly lays con-
siderable stress on the value of agents
on the steamers in which the immigrants
travel. Such agents circulating freely
among the second cabin and steerage pas
sengers on the steamers could save Il lot
of time and trouble. They could discover
violations of the alien contract labor law
which are continually taking place. and
point out to wOrkmen that such contract
is unlawful and. therefore. not binding.
and help him to a better job where he
is bound to one. They could do a
good deal toward eliminating the period
of bewildered heartsick uncertainty and
idleness in a strange land which most
immigrants have TO go through and in
many instances make it possible for the
newly arrived to go at once to the work
for which he is best fitted. They could
make him understand that Uncle Sam ran
be counted on to help him If his friends
from the old country fail him. In fact.
Mr. Powderly wants his division not
merely to furnish information when asked.
but to force 1T on the newcomer who
doesn't know enough to ask for il.
Where does he get his information? From
hundreds. aye. thousands. of sources. He
has always been in touch with the labor
organizations. AS commissioner general
of Immigration he got to know the local
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-02-16
The GATE Of THE NATIONS.

problem that has changed so materially
with the change in the character and
sources of the immigration. In faith
ers day the ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS of
him. anyway-WaS north country man.
! from the British Isles Or from Germany
or the north of Europe. adventurous in
spirit pioneer by instinct. He distrib-
uted himself The immigrant of tOday-the
bulk of him-comes from southern Europe
or from Russia. He is handicapped by ig-
norance of the language and comes
merely because friends who have preceded
him seem to be better off than in the
old country. but without any very definite
idea as to how he is going to achieve that
| better offness on his own account.
In a week or two or a month or two
his money is exhausted. He has worn
out his welcome. Through not knowing
where to seek it he has found no work.
He feels cheated America is not what
| iii is cracked up to be. He drifts-beoause
| the worker has no time for him-into the
company of the idle. the discOntented,
| perhaps even the anarchistic or the GRIM
| inal. He absorbs their point of view.
and though he came over here well-in-
tentioned and Industrious perhaps. he
| becomes a menace to the community
| chiefly because he does not know the
ropes.
| That is where the division of informa-
| ton comes in. The immigrant can go to
! the nearest immigrant station and con-
suit the agent. 1t is the agents business
| to help him to help himself. to find out
what he can do and tell him where ms
| particular sort of work is needed and OF
the several places where it may be need
| ed. to help him to pick out the one where
| he is most likely to be content, leaSt likely
| to feel homesick. where there are other
| people who speak his language and think
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-02-16

ling fact. 1t can be stated in single
sentence:
The nihilists of st. Petersburg had de-
termined to assassinate the car on Sun
day. March H. 1887.
One of the functionaries attached to
the palace heard rumors of the plot and
rushed to Gen. Trepof.
1T is unsafe for his majesty to venture
out. Shall we countermand the order
for the procession
The chief of the secret service answered
with an expression of annoyance:
The program is to be carried out as ar
ranged-down TO the smallest detail.
Trepor interrupted the speaker by
banging his heavy fist on the desk before
him.
Il take all of the responsibility. II
it is necessary to make any change l
shall inform the car in person.
BY Saturday. March -. the general had
regiment of men at work. The mltdesr
hammered person in ST. Petersburg was
considered fit subject for suspicion. In
Vulnerable arrests were made. and some
of these were upon such flimsy basis that
even the rigor OF Russian pohcedom
could not justify their detention. Hourly
reports were handed in to Gen. TrepoT-
He devoured these with eager interest:
thinking all the while. Presently one or
his officers brought in a printed circular
a sort of northumberland this bat OF
paper was given more attention than any
OF the regular reports.
1t was the eve OF Sunday, March IL.
One OF the personal attendants OF the
car called on Gen. Trepof.
Don't you think it would be wise TO
postpone the procession tomorrow?
Trepoff raised those eloquent eyebrows
in surprise.
! What he cried. and confess to the
world that the Emperor of Russia fears
| to appear in the streets of his capital:
! Yes" protested the other. but the dan
ger
The danger is for me to consider he
| said each word carefully measured.
| The messenger bit his lips in perpleXity
| The chief of the secret service looked UP
suddenly.
| Does the car know of the plot?
NO; not word: but he is timid
"Reassure him. Tell him that Trepoff
says there is no danger-that >he Will guar
antee the safety OF his majesty.
"An right" replied the attache. bowling
! himself from the room
Late on the night preceding the process
sion an inoffensive- looking young woman
was arrested and lodged in Jail Early on
the morning OF the historic day several
| compositors and editors-apparehtiy IN
nocent of any wrong-were taken INTO Gus
| tody. Still those VINO SURROUNDED tHe cAai
were apprehensive. An hour before the
! time they appealed to Trepon. He gavc
/ them a curt but comprehensive answer:
Let the procession proceed
| The route over which the car Travelled
was lined with police. They stood alone
| In nairs and in SQUADS They were con-
| spicuous and vet not unduly SO. for hun
/ dreds of them in plain clothes mingled
| freely with the people
| Just before the parade started Trepon
! arrested four students. They were young
men waiting TO see the royal show. This
| people protested against the arrest as an
! outrage. but the grizzled head of the st
Petersburg police grlnned-and said moth
ing Indeed the calm fdemeanor OF the
f.! prisoners seemed to justify the protest OF
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-02-16

there-up on the stop floor of the Com
merce and Labor building in 14th street
Ito promote the beneficial distribution of
aliens admitted and to gather from all
available sources such information as will
aid the beneficial distribution and to pub
lish it among all aliens admitted, if they
ask for it-''and to such other persons as
may desire it,
That is the saving clause. by virtue of
which the division of information is at
the service of every man. woman and
child in these United States. That is the
answer to some of the sarcastic letters re-
ceived from people who don't understand
and who want to know why benevolent
government goes $50 far out of it's way to
help the unintelligent and frequently I'M
desirable foreigner and is not ready to
hold out the same helping hand to the
unfortunate native-born American who is
often bitterly in need of IT, OF course
hospitality is virtue. and one would wish
to make the newcomer welcome: but after
all shouldn't charity begin at home. etc.
ETC.?
1t should. and it does. though. by the
way. this is not charity; it is business: ii
is self-defense; it is the necessary pro-
lection of our "unguarded gate urged in
the poem poem already quoted against the mot
These bringing with them unknown gods and
rites
Those tiger passions here tostretch their claws
In street and alley what strange tongues are
Accents of menace alien to our air
Voices that once the Tower of Babel knew
IT Is hoped that this division of infor-
nation is going a long way toward the
solution of the immigration probem-the
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-02-16
USSIAN:

bring his NJ to the highest practical
standard.
In the oni report that the division
has as yet paished it shows that places
can be provad for 2J6. 400 aliens
women and cfdren. They will command
wages rangintfrom 50 week To $50
a day. This.s only a beginning. lis
efficiency shouf increase with the length
o. time il has cen established. Reports
arc after all nae or less misleading. be-
cause condition change so rapidly that
by the time stistics are compiled and
the figures pubahed and circulated the
derand has shied both as 10 locality
and character. ad the report goes mere
ly to show in ageneral way what the
division is doing.
*
Mr.. Powderly w<,es IL TO be in a condi-
ton to say not oni that a certain county
needs five hundrednen. or fifty. or five:
. but to tell the ma who is looking for
work. You are waited in such and SUCH
place: they wifipay you SO and 50
much. Take a ira here. and get OF
there. Ask for Jo& Smith or George
Robinson. Tell him,ou have been sent
to work for him hmust not send mon
to a part of the coufy where in gen
eral way their sorts work is needed.
without telling them nst how to make
| connection with that teed.
1t will be seen that X Powderly inter-
prets the law liberallyand has cut out
| for himself about as mel work along his
chosen line as IL Is often ken a man TO do
His entire career has seen A prepare
ton for Just this sort OH Job His life
long energies have beendevoted 10 the
one object OF helping theaborer and the
employer to get togethe' to their mu-
\, i tn
terest in the benefit TO abor tban to
! capital.
! The job is probably one utter his own
! heart: for Powderly is the an OF a work.
ingman, an immigrant ofibout eighty
years back. He was one q twelve chill
dren, born in a laborers tage in the
! coal region of Pennsylvania He went TO
work when he was thirteel years old.
and has worked through ev.y grade OF
labor, organized and unorgaled Four
teen years. from 1879 to 49, he was
grand master of the knightso Labor.
and during those years labe became
a business and political force. though he
was roundly abused for fomelng labor
troubles in his day, Mr.. Poverty has
never been given to rushing mdly into
strikes 1t is his boast that he reverted
more strikes than he ever let getby him.
/ He says frankly that they do pt pay;
that nine-tenths Of them are unnecessary
/ and entail great suffering: that ID inter-
/ ests of the employer are the intefsts ot
J the men, and that employers ad en-
! ployes can nearly always settle thar diff
! ferences between themselves.
After leaving the Leadership O. the
Knights of Labor Mr.. Powderly studied
! law. and in 1901 was admitted to tie bar
in Pennsylvania and in the United Setes
| Sunreme Court From 1897 tt 1902. nader
Mckinley. he served as commissioner gen
eral of immigration. Then he retired 70
/ private life and the practice Of Law until
he was once more called ntopublici sefv-
| ice as the director of Uncle Sam 81 big
emnloyment agency, known rs the dfvi.
| sion of information of the bureau OF Inn
| migration.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-02-16

Not So At this stage of the narrative
there enters upon the scene Nj. Trepof. a
general in the army, the chief OF the Sc
c-et police OF ST Petersburg. and one
Of fhe favorites Of the czar. he was
hurry man. brusque i'm manner ana not
over nice i'm his methods. Hated by the
people he treated their attitude Win SUI
an,o indjffe-ence Whatever his dispo-
si,ion he possessed the unerring Instincts
az the real detective. His investigation
Of toe little cadets suicide was charac-
,e,,sfically prompt. IL developed q start
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-02-16
RNH1ANlAN
Written for The Star.

Written for The Star.
OR little over six months Uncle
Sam has been running en-
ployment agency: and since its
Uncle Sans. il is, of course, the
greatest thing on earth in it's own
line. This employment agency was Great
ed by the new immigration LAY which went
into effect last July: and since Uncle Sam
cannot attend to everything himself he has
appointed T.. V. Powderly. labor leader.
lawyer and one-time commissioner general
of immigration. his.sdeputy in charge of
the bureau. Its purposes are perhaps best
explained in section 40 of the immigra
1on act of February 20. 1907, which
reads:
Authority is hereby given The commits
sioner general of immigration to estab-
lish under the direction and control of the
Secretary OF Commerce and Labor d.
vision of information in the bureau or
immigration and naturalization; and the
Secretary of Commerce and Labor shall
provide such clerical assistance as shall
he necessary 1t shall be the duty of said
division to promote a beneficial distr1bu-
ton of aliens admitted to the United
States among the several states ana terri-
tories desiring immigration. Correspon-
donc6 snail De Hdu Will tIlS PiopSA oiii
Gals of the states and territories, and
SAID division shall gather from all avail
able sources useful information regarding
the resources. products and physical char-
acterisfics of each state and territory,
and shall publish such information In dli-
ferent languages, and distribute the pub
LEGATION among all admitted aliens VINO
may ask for such information at the I'M
migrant stations of the United States. and
TO such other persons sas may desire the
same.
Technically. it is the division of in
formatioIf-in the bureau of immigration OF
the Depart ment of Commerce and Labor
that MI. Powderly, is running. Practi-
cally it is the biggest employment bureau
on earth. If YOU do not believe IT. just
consider its annual clentele-"all admit
ted aliens and such other persons as may
DESIRE its services and these, be II Oh
without, money and without price. 1t is
not a Case even of mo Job. no fee 1t Is
Mr. Pawderlys business to find out where
there are Jobs wanting men and connect
them with the men wanting jobs
- X
Have another look at that clientele
an annual clientele of, well-say, mil
lion, which IS really a most conservative
estimate "a admitted aliens"-not this
years. nor last years, but ALI" Last
year there were 1,2S5.349 aliens admitted
to these United States Perhaps 10 per
cent of these are mere visitors. tourists.
At least a million came to find work and
to stay. AS Aldrfch has it:
"A wild and motley throng-
Men from the VolgaN and the Tartar
steppes,
Featureless figures Of the Hoang-Ho,
Malayan. Scythiari. Teuton, Celt and Slav.
Flying the Old worlds poverty and seorn-
Million probable patrons of Uncle Sam S
employment agency each year,
For the figures this year are not likely
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-02-16

the people One of the men carried "A
book under his arm. evidently. from the
gilt lettering on the outside. Al devotional
volume: another had green bag contain
ing legal documents: the third appar-
emily with IL desire to get good look at
the car, carried a pair of opera glasses,
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-02-16
ROT1Al0AN

! to show any decrease. nor next year. MOI
! the year after The immigration bureaus
! year runs from July to July. but month
! by month it publishes bulletins. There
! has been whole lot of talk this year
about the falling off of immigration be-
cause of the hard times. and Whole lot
more about the backward tide, the out
going army of the disappointed Well. the
| tide always flows out in winter. For
many years the bulk of our immigration
has been from southern Europe. and the
newcomers do not like our winters. par
ticularly as their sort of work. out-of-
door work mostly. is always slack in
winter. So they go home to spend a
probably idle period in a climate to which
they are accustomed, and in a land where
| living is infinitely cheaper than 1t is here.
There may be more of them going home
this season. certainly the fact OF their
going has attracted more attention. but
that is accounted for by it's being the
first season that the immigration bureau
has kept any official record of them. the
first time that it has had any figures
on the subject
The immigration for the year will prob
ably show the normal increase for the
year Times are hard and that always
checks Immigration: also it is presi-
Dental year. and for some inScrutabe
reason the immigration is always light
in presidential years. In spite of these
two facts. however. the figures do not
migration is falling off. though it may
be question as to whether or not that
would be calamity. For the last six
months they show not so great an in
crease over the same months in 1906 as
1906 did over 1905 but still substantial
increase. The latest bulletin of the bu-
reau of Immigration. under the head of
Immigrants From All Cities. reads:
Six months ended December 81. 1905. -. assess
Six months ended December 81 1907 80. :,14
1907 shows an increase OF IS per cent over
1905 and per cent over 1906.
Add to this million of newly arrived
aliens each year. as many of the eighty
odd millions of our existing population as
may desire to avail themselves of it and
it is easy to see that this is in very truth
the greatest employment bureau in the
world.
X
And think of the makeup of this Glen
tele; consider how it includes all sorts and
conditions of men. of every imaginable de-
gree of efficiency and ineff1ciency, speaking
every known language and every un-
known dialect thereunto appertaining.
and realize that Uncle Sam at least is
running an Intelligence" Office worthy of
the name.
And the running thereof is no .sinecure-
would not be even If the wording of the
act creating the division had not added
considerably to its chiefs troubles. They
call it division of information and
the public. in SO far as it takes any inter-
est in the matter at all, assumes that Mr..
Powderly is there TO answer questions
any old questions. That is what he is paid
for and the dear public takes tender in
terest in seeing that he earns his salary.
There is no branch Of human knowledge
in which ne has not been called upon for
information and generally it has been
forthcoming.
Really, however. he and his bureau are