The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1909-08-26
OFFICIALS ARE DISCOURTEOUS
Kenosha Man Who Has Travelled Wide
ly Compares Reception of Immigrants
at Ellis Island With Treatment Of
Foreigners in Other Countries.
(By Louis H. Limper)

80 much has been said and written
about the manner in which immigrants
are treated at Ellis Island that | re-
Gently decided to pass through the
island and experience this treatment
myself. Arriving at New York ON an
English steamer | placed myself among
the immigrants Of the third class and
went through the mill, or, as it has
been called, the stock yard with them.
had travelled through thirteen coun-
tries Of Europe at the frontiers of each
OF which the hand baggage had to be
inspected, but there seemed to be less
red tape about it at New York than in
many other places 1t is a we'll known
fact that the younger officials are much
more rigid in their inspection than the
older officials are, often much to the
annoyance Of travellers, and in New
York most of the inspectors seemed to
be young men. The way i'll which the
trunks were handled, being made to
slide down a gang plank at IN angle
of forty-fve degrees and to strike
against other trunks fifteen feet below
was certainly testimony to the honest
work of many European trunk firms.
After all the baggage had been in
spected we were put on ferry boat
to be conveyed to Ellis Island. 1t
was now about 1880 a. m, and the
officials at the island per3eiving our
approach quickly went to dinner
which meant that we had to lay at
the dock about an hour before we could
land. There was much complaint at
the time among the passengers for hav-
ing to wait so long, but after all to
most of the passengers it made no diff
ference where they waited for the I'M
migrant trains do not Iailve till even
ing. / heard later that we might have
checked our hand baggage on the fer
ry boat and thus not be bothered with
it on the island but even I, an Ameri-
can citizen who felt myself at home
under the circumstances and could
understand the language, heard nothing
to that effect while on the ferry boat.
/ even walked about looking for man
20 take charge of the baggage, but
could find none. The result was that
everybody marched up to the second
floor of the immigrant office building
both arms loaded down with baggage.
Then came the order "Hats OFF, and
shortly after "Hold your inspection
cards in your hands," These orders
given in sharp tones presented the i'm
migrants with problem in mechanics
and mathematics which l dare say even
the chief commissioner of immigration
could not solve.
The first "high official ''whom we
had to pass was u young man who sat
upon high chair and stamped our in
spection cards as we passed before him
The responsibility of his position as
well as the degree of education and
experience necessary to stamp these
pieces Of paper must have invested this
young man with feeling of superior
ity and authority, to which he gave
vent in alternate outbursts of "Come
along, come along!" and Gone at a
time there! Don't be in too much of
a hurry!" 1t did not seen to make
any difference which of these eiacu-
lations escaped his mandatory lips ex-
cept that occasionally it occurred that
tender young mother with babe
in her arms and her hands full of lug
gage, placed the latter on the floor so
as to be able to present her card, and
was accosted with a gruff Here you!
Move along there!"
Passing further on we came to the
examining physician. Not caring to
have him turn up my eyellds with the
same unwashed hands with which he
had touched scores of other faces l
told him | was United States citizen.
He asked me for my papers, but took
my word for it when l fumbled in my
pocket for my passport. Those who
on first inspection appeared to have
any debility were marked with chalk
and detained for further examination,
Hereupon we were assigned to various
stalls set off with woven steel wire
where we waited until our number was
called to appear before the men who
took down the various data pertaining
to immigrants. The man who called
out the numbers for this move was
another one of these 'fhurry-up' gen
tlemen and he was greatly surprised
when upon accosting me thus | re-
sponded in genuine American English
Well | guess | II take my time about
1t. y After all was over heard many
immigrants, some of whom were intel
llgent gentlemen say that the only
thing that restrained them from resent
ing such ungentlemanly, sometimes ev-
en- lnhuman treatment was the fear
that on some technicality or other they