New-York tribune., 1911-02-04

ONE WAY OUT: MIDDLE CLASS
NEW ENGLANDER EMlGRAI ES ~
AMERICA BY William Carleton. l2mc,
~. SIC. Boston: Small, Maynard & co.
This book offers enough internal evil
dence of its veracity TO be accepted for
what il claims 10 be. the record OF an
actual experience and not bit OF In
genious autobiographical fiction. Briefly
stated. IL tells how man Of thirty
seven faced life anew and succeeded
when the corporation in whose employ
he had held a clerical position since MS
youth discharged him for that most IA
miliar of all business reasons. a 'reduc-
tion Of Office expenses" His chances or
further promotion and an accompanying
increase Of salary had long since ceased
20 he. except I'm the uncertain case OF
the death OF his immediate superior but
he had married early in life. after the
usual somewhat improvident fashion,
which relies on the continuance Of pres
ent conditions at least, and, when IL
takes heed of the future at all. pictures
g. only IN the rosiest OF colors. lie mao
taken his bride 10 live In hired supur-
ban house. which they had furnished on
tie instalment plan, and there they had
struggled successfully with the problems
Of making both ends meet, for the Wile'
like her husband. was OF New England
stock. and had all the skill Of thrifty
management Of her race. OF saving Tor
a rainy day there never had been any
question at all with their slender means
least OF all after their only child hao
grown 10 boyhood with growing needs
of his own. And so the man out or en-
ployment. the courageous wife ana the
child dependent upon them faced the
world practically pcnniless.
Then began what the author calls the
middle class hell" the vain. heartbreak~
ing search for employment, the reallza-
tion that he was already growing ola
from the business point Of view, the
realization. also. that the one thing ne
could do was offered in unlimited guam
titics in the labor market-clerklng. 10
This agony. growing worse with each
succeeding day of fruitless search ior
work. was added the pressure at nome
or creditors-the butcher. the baker 'he
grocer. the landlord. and finally the SUD-
urban man of all work.
He was an Irishman. an owner Of real
estate and ii was the sight Of him ana
The thought Of what he had achieved
that set the New Englander to thinking
and showed him the way:
We vii oricrate 20 America. he SAID 10
yis wife No. not 30 the West m no.
.-oiue ten miles from home. 10. y,
tssn tho his ships come In along the water
-,ort They arc bringing over huhui ituS
of enierants every wear ana IdldIu9 49,. .1
rleht on those docks. lneN' 49, ,ojnt
6ad 20 cross the ocean 10 Iedch lhdk ppIn.,
bVt o,I~ ancestors made the voyage 1oI you
ana me two hundred yearS ago ,n Wn Nc
within ten miles OF the wharf INV, ~ -
reed IN do as 70 pack MP. 20 Gown 10 w
~ "a etart from there. We must Join
,rA enicrants and follow them into the
dty. Thesr are tho only people, WnI ,aTe ~" nm
endinc America to-day. We must tahe ny
-,onc tfeu work aS they work. i've
~ 80, live feel the tnele OF
coming down The .aucpauk with our iorJ-
,irne vet 10 make in this lanG ol ,"PI,u'.
,,,ri,v Paecuale has done II: MurpnN mas
6ore il, Don't Won think J can 90 IL.
And 60 tho now departure was made.
The carleton familv-the name IS an
assumed onc-moved to the city anu
took mo its quarters in tenement III
,,c foreign section. The husband
man of gigantic physique fortunately
etortrd i'm with tho Italian and south
eastcrn European immigrants as an uIl-
,Lilled lahorcr on subway. with shoNel
and crovbar His rise was slow nut
steady. his superior intelligence an"
education tho advantages Of his race
nnding opportunity after opportuhl'E'
,ntil ne was known to all contractors III
Tho CITY as the foreman to be put on
'.hurrv Jobs" tho man who could OF
ganizc his gang better than any other
and Get more work out Of it without
driving the men unduly. And finally ne
emerged as = contractor on his own ac-
count. his own master dependent on
mono but himself for his livelihood.
MIR. Carleton is not a social philoso-
rher II js his own case that he tells;
the general conclusions he draws from 1t
are but few. IN fact. the case is so eX-
oeptional that congratulations based
upon II can only be Of the vaguest still
he occasionally makes an observation OF
wider import rs where he speaks OF
ward politics i'm our large cities and the
native Americans wilful ignorance Of
them. or observes elsewhere that what
impressed him most in the immigrants
was that they all SHE'D away from the
sslaried Jobs" especially the Hebrews
and the Italians.