The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1911-02-10
Z6y 8EHRSOH 8xL9 ca.

women draw water He was friend" in
the homes of the respondent and to the
poverty-stricken; he proffered sympathy
to those who were heavily taxed; he
listened to the various events in their
lives and awakened the dormant impulse
to migrate which is born in every human
heart. Thus he created demand for his
Storage tickets by spreading discomfort
with home surroundings and by arousing
hope and enthusiasm for America, always
promising that there everything will be
all right"
Hardly any commercial enterprise In
Europe is more remunerative than that
of encouraging emigration. From the
sale of a single ticket several fees accrue
which, fully computed, range from five
to twenty-five dollars per emigrant There
is a commission upon the sale of the
steerage ticket, another for the railroad
ticket and the agent charges a third to
the emigrant If he can; extra fees are
added for procuring various official pa
pers which the emigrant is told he needs;
large fees are taxed for placing jetty
mortgages and making loans of money
secured by the promises Of friends in
the community, for which interest runs
as high as 80 or 80 per cent; while
helpers" who escort the emigrants to
embarking points and march them to the
pier-likewise emigrant-house keepers.
money exchanges, ship interpreters
must be paid. On this side of the water
at Ellis Island, there are other specula-
tors, various persons interested in the
welfare of Aliens" that insist upon send
ing kilograms for them, selling them
food, changing their money, handling
their baggage; and, frequently, on a plea
of escorting them to their place Of desti-
nation, runners will "guide" immigrants
into the hands of some labor agent by
which they are paid, thus drawing
double fees.
One may think the agent conscience
less in his greed for gain, but, on the
other hand, he Is cleaning profits greater
than his own for men far above him in
the business world. The machine" de-
ponds upon him for passenger fares; con-
tractors depend upon him for gangs of
"greeners' to dominate and exploit;
American employers beckon to the cheap
labor which he alone can provide; even
his own government may be tempted to
withhold interference with all his ma
neuvers, for Is he not an instrument
through which wealth and benefit to his
nation Is accumulated? Bank deposits
certainly are augmented through his ef
forts; economic and industrial condi
lions are improved; the large head tax
also which is cleaned through his efforts
brings a substantial increase to his ma
TONS revenue; while the relief from
supporting too many poor, from educat
ing too many illiterates, perhaps also
the temptation to quietly scatter crimi
nals-(who knows)-all are surely
brought about through the efforts OF the
steamship agent. The respect accorded
to him by all seems only to increase his
zeal.
Mastering the situation from all sides
he sytematizes his work and makes Il
efficient through painstaking, persist
emit study of the lower classes of Eu
rope-their weaknesses and their wants
and with a provident eye on the future
he trains his son from early manhood In
all the intricacies of his subtle trade. Ii
time he becomes all things to all men
he is never discouraged, and is able tt
wheedle almost every person within his
reach into the belief that America is the
great and only goal.
We have seen that our government
officials are hoodwinked daily by thou
sands of foreigners, deposited at oul
ports by these allied interests, carefully
coached in deceit by their agents. Fraud
starts the immigrant upon his journey
fraud lands him in America. Fraud Il
merged into the very name "yAmerica!'
The immigrant does not fully realizt
what he is doing, his trust is In his owl
countrymen and not in the people Of
strange land.