Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-11-26
Special Correspondence of The Star.

NEW YORK, November %, 1911.
"YHERE are times when one Won
ders if that lair of liberty we
breathe" isn't too rarefied, by
considerably more than half,
'or a good many of the people whom this
nation tries to "assimilate" "Assimilate"
S the good old word that falls TRIPPING
v. in this connection, from the tongues
IF spellbinders and stump speakers. The
TACT that the nation isn't ''assimilating"
he arriving hordes with any conspicuous
success never stops that flow of multifer-
ous gush.
Notice for example, the carefully re-
pressed and decorous conduct of the i'm
migrants arriving at Ellis Island Their
energies are bent on the one thing-to get
IN. Therefore they behave Cockiness is
wholly absent from their demeanor. They
illustrate the before taking principle.
they haven't absorbed our liberty, nor
ret our license; they haven't infiltrated
hat I'm as good as You, If not whole
ct better theory, which becomes so lop
sided part of the creed of immigrants
after they've been Tin our midst for
about six months. The officials at Ellis
island are ''noblemen,'' so addressed, to
he immigrants: the greasy caps come off
when the "noblemen' address them. The
square American fellows handling these
lordes at Ellis Island don't want that
sort of thing; hate it in fact and try to
discourage it. But so it is, and | set it
iown here solely for the purpose of
building up a contrast between the con-
duct of the arriving punches and their
conduct few months later.
The same Immigrants who address these
Ellis Island officials as ''noblemen,' and
who pull their spitlocks and put on the
mask of humility while awaiting word
that they're passed into the land of the
free and the nome Of the brave-these
same immigrants, the males among them
are few months later the fellows who
so braZenly insult women on the streets
Of New York.
I don't remember having seen anything
written on this subject. Ii is time some
thing were written on the subject. The
thing is happening in most large Amer
lean cities. 1t is happening in Wash
ngton, for instance. Last summer 1 saw
and heard a gang of Italian street la
borers insult a lady emerging from a
house in street northwest. 1t is hap
pening in New York constantly, and the
women of this town are justifiably
wrought up over IL.
/ am not referring 10 the second gen.
GRAFTON pups and cubs who make the
lives of decent folk riding on the cars
Of this town a misery. l refer 10 the
immigrants who, virtually soon as
they debark from their ships, set to work
with the gangs of street laborers These
fellows fairly clutter the streets of New
York, where the streets are torn up most
Of the time. AS soon they come into
contact with their fellows who have been
over here for a few months they shuck
their mask of humility as snake sheds
his skin. They promptly begin to con-
fuse liberty for license, and their first
manifestations OF this spirit are visited
upon women walking upon the streets.
They take the European view. mayhap,
that women shouldn't walk without male
escorts on the streets. But whatever
view they take, they are sending women
through the streets of this town with
eyes blazing and cheeks infamed with
indignation, and there appears TO be no
redress Tor this sort OF thing
Women now have got into the habit OF
making long and inconvenient detours in
this town TO avoid passing by gangs OF
laborers. They know why they do this
They know that If they pass by such a
gang every nan jack of the gang will
knock off his work for the moment To look
up and harl some kind of an insult at
them. When this game first began the
immigrant laborers took ii out in ex-
changing vo4uDle comments among Them
selves as 40 the appearance of the PASS
ing woman or women. Now they've grown
holder. They address the woman or WON
en- outright Not only that. but they've
taken to translating their remarks into a
semblance, and a recogniZa BILE semhIance
of the English language. If a woraar
stung into wrath by these vile y haas
turns upon such a gang of imm; rant la.
borers with an angry countenance she
only makes the case worse. they redoublt
the dose and use their tongues with more
disgusting effect than ever.
Fifth avenue is at the present time q
sight for gods and men. l suppose tina,
never in the history of any great city
since the beginning of time has grea1
thoroughfare been made into such an un
speakable torn-up mess as 9TH avenue, IL
New York, al the present time. From
Odd street up to point in the eighties
therefore, is one long line of these chat
tering, suddenly ''libertyized' iTmigran
Iaborers. And 7 am not one-thousandtl