New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1909-08-11
UNDER WILL[AMSS BAN
BARS THO SOCIETIES FROM
ELLIS ISLAND.
Immigration Commissioner Roundly
Condemns Their Methods - IN
other Mag BE Ruled Ont TO-DAY.

| OtRPF MdN BP hUtPd CUt O-udY.
/ Commissioner Williams revoked the privileges
of representation on Ellis Island to two "imni-
grant societies yesterday. at the same time Sc
| verely CriticiSing them. The societies which
| have come under the ban with the others that
| the Commissioner has barred from the island are
| ST. Joscph's Home for the Protection Of Polish
| Immigrants. AT No III Broad street and the
! Swedish Lutheran Immigrants Home. at No. :
| Water street. Another society will be barred
| to-day.
! The Polish institution has been under the dis
| pleasure Of the immigration authorities before
| and its agents have been barred from Ellis ISL
and In the present instance the Commissioner
| makes charges of coercion Of immigrants coll
/ lecting employment fees Illegally. retention OF
| funds deposited by immigrants. cruelty to inn
/ migrants, and intoxication of employees.
| Taken altogether" the Commissioner wrote.
| they Tthe charges show that yours is merely
an institution conducted lard badly conducted.
at thaD for private gaiE at the expense of poor.
| ignorant immigrants. whom your e.1pieyes lose
| no opportunity To explicit and naltreat"
In his letter tc the trustees of the Swedish
Home telling them of his action. the Commits
| siOner wrote:
| is now represented at Ellis Island. has been
grossly mismanaged i'm the past. With few
called upon me for informatonl became familiar
| In my office this morning. Furthermore. the
addresses TO which you have stated to the i'm
migration authorities that girls turned over 10
you had been sent have in at least 30 per cent
of number OF cases investigated proved TO be
absolutely false. and the government has infor-
nation showing that for some time past the
handing in of fictitious addresses has been a
practice. There a number OF other matters
might refer to in this connection.
OF the conditions in regard to certain treat
Commissioner says IN his letter to the trustees;
learn that il is a common practice for you
20 demand Of immigrants brought to the Home
the sum of 81 cents forthwith on arrival II
| they decline to pay they are coerced into pay
| ing. Sometimes they receive Tor this single
| meal and sometimes not. Sometimes also. they
| are conducted tn the places where they wish 70
| go, but not always
| In regard 70 the treatment Of immigrants de-
| posting money with the society, Mr.. Williams
wrote that an immigrant named Anthoni Jan
| kovski deposited SEQ A few days ago he sought
| 70 draw il out but put OF with the excuse
| that the society could rot return it for month,
| and then without interest An immigrant in
| spector finally got the Poles money for him
| after some trouble Mr.. Williams said further:
| am crediblv informed that within two years
/ there has heen kept in the Home rubber hose
| filled with some heavy substance. and with THIS
1 hose blows have been inflicted upon Immigrants,
| also that liquors were kept on the premises Tor
I consumption by employees who have been seen
| in an intoxicated condition; also that immi-
| grants have been compelled 10 exchange their
| foreign money at wholly improper rates; also
/ that upon application of immigrants who desire
| 10 return 20 Europe YOU furnish them at y
| each with Identification slips tupon which 70 OBJ
| tain consular passpOTts}. although in many IN
| stances YOU have no knowledge as 70 Who sucn
| immigrants ara
| The swedish Home probably will he allowed to
have a representative at the island again as
| soon as il finds one acceptable TO the commls-
| sioner The acts of it's agent. Andrew Dahlberg
are said TO be largely responsible for the tenn
porary suspension of it's privileges. Dahlberg Is
| alleged To have returned fictitious addresses
| when reporting the places TO which girls
were sent supposed To be in the care of the
/ Home woman detailed by the department. TO
| visit the places supposed to care for immigrant
| girls had an experience with Dahlberg which
| caused the Rev. MIR Lila. the clergyman in
! charge to discharge him yesterday when the
| incident was repeated 10 him. The pastor said
| that DahIberg had reported to him that he had
| sent many girls to the swedish Home for Imni-
grant Girls. in Brooklyn. when they never
| reached that place. and no record of where they
/ did go can be found.
| SistT Hulda, deacOness appointed last De-
ceraber by the Augustana Synod of the Lutheran
| Church in Chicago. is also excluded from the
/ island under the Commissioners order. She
| saws that she had nothing to do with the girls.
| as Dahlberg handled all their cases. 1t is said
/ at Ellis Island that more than two hundred I'M
| migrant Swedish girls concerned in the In
| vestigation which resulted in the Commissioners
| action a conference of the trustees will be held
| to-day To consider the situation, the meeting
| having been called by the Rev. Gustav Nil
senfus president of the Home and pastor of the
Emmanuel Swedish Lutheran Church. OF Brook
/ lyu.
Several other societies have been excluded
| from the island since the Commissioner re-
turned He has determined. after his investi-
cations into the way immigrants have been
treated by the agents the island. and often
after they have reached the so-caIled homes to
| make clean sweep of all undesirable represen-
tatives at the island. In many cases it appeared
that the immigrant would have been no worse
off if he had fallen into the hands of the old
runners who used To wait at the landing for
them. y report will be made public by the Com
missioner TO-DAY ON the representative OF
other immigrant home. winch is anything but
favorable to the representative.
Fraud and misrepresentation by persons
supposed To he engaged in philanthropic work
among the immigrants" the Commissioner de-
clared last night, lis 20 be stopped. Such con-
ditions irtolerable. and efforts viii De
spared to stamp them out