El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1912-12-12

! grants come from countries WneIe
| public education is unheard of, where
| popular participation in the affairs of
! the government is undreamed of, where
! dire poverty is the rule, it is apparent
| that the immigration problem is a
| grave one. And then, when we con-
slider that two-thi9ds of this new"
immigration comes from the rural vii
| lage and is dumped out upon our big
! centers of population, where vice sur
/ rounds 1t and fattenS upon it, where
/ 1t feels all Of the worst effects Of
! our civilization and none Of its better
/ effects, the wonder grows that the
! problem is not more serious than it
/ is
Economic Distress.
The economic distress that led the
/ pioneers Of the southern and eastern
/ European countries to migrate was
4 pressing. The average earning of
! Slovak, for instance, during the har-
vest season, was Is cents a day and
I IN other seasons he was fortunate TO
get half that much, for work was as
scarce as wages were low If a load
of wood were brought to own dozens
would apply for the job of saving it
A strong muscular servant girl who
could scrub and wash, attend to the
garden, and look after the cattle and
sheep, besides helping with the harvest
might get SO a year, with a big cake
IL
rye bread and an onion constituted
the daily diet.
Edward STEINER, himself an immigrant
and now one of the greatest OF our
authorities on immigration, tells Of
seeing pig die Of disease and being
buried According to law it was COW
cred with quicklime and coal oil
Hardly had the burial been completed
when the carcass mysteriOusly disap-
peared-for the peasants were hungry
and meat was scarce.
Rise of New Immigration.
The rise of the new" immigration
Is as remarkable as the decline of the
old. Thirty years ago there were
less than 600 Austria Hungarians
coming to America annually; today the
annual arrivals total about 100000 a
year Thirty years ago 126 Greeks
came to America as immigrants; last
year $4,000 came. Italy's contribution
to our population was six times as
great in' 1911 as in 1882, Russia's ten
times as great, while Turkey sent US
$4,000 in 1911 as compared with So in
The attitude of the governments af-
fected by the new" immigration de-
ponds largely upon the degree of its
permanence in America. Italy, for in
stance, is very glad to see its people
come over, because they have demon
Strated that they not only can come
back, but do come back. An Italian
government report indicates that the
In Italy about as much as an agricul-
tural school graduate helps the farm
ers Of his community in America.
And so it is proving throughout
southern and eastern Europe. The re-
turning immigrant is carrying back
American money, and along with il
American thought and American Gus
toms. Scarcely a village there is now
without its returned immigrants. They
Drlng American phonOgra DhS, Ameri-
can collars and ties, American taste for
modern clothes. 1t is no novelty even
In the remote mountain villages TO
hear an American talking machine
screeching American rag time.
In every country the returning i'm
migrant is somebody in his little COM
munity- He has made as much in
America IN week as he made at home
IN several months, and his savings Of /
a thousand dollars make him a nabob.
The people believe his stories OF
American genius and achievement IN
til he gets to telling about 20 story (
building, and then their faith breaks ]
down
Pitfalls for the Unvary.
The pitiful thing about the new |
immigrant is the fact that he usually /
halls from rural village, where he |
worked on the farms and in the vine /
yards or herded sheep. Landing in /
big city he is Immediately beset by
those who would exploit him off he /
goes to some industrial center where /
human hebitation, crowded with a /
dozen others in a shack scarce big !
enough for two. The work he finds !
IS either filthy or dangerous. He goes \
into the bituminous coal mine, into the 1
FERTILIZER factory, into the woodwork ]
ing plant into the Strengthening house /
everywhere that there is work too /
disagreeable or dangerous for the ma
tive American Workingman-
The toll that is taken from these [
Immigrants is fearful With
women among them to cast a refin-
ing influence over them, they spend /
their time between working and drink
ing, as a rule, and saving what they
can, with the day in view when they /
can return to their native land. If /
they lived according to American /
standards their wages would barely /
suffice to keep them going. But they
VIII half Starve themselves and live in
the worst Of surroundings for the
sake Of going home some day
Little Consideration for Wives.
Where the women come along they
usually keep boarding houses, and
their husbands compel them to do so /
as long as the wives are yet without /
the American spirit. The Slav has
none Of our consideration for his wife.
He has prOverb that he is happy
twice in his life; once when he mar
ries and once when he buries his
Wife His wife sings. Love me true, /
and love me quick, pull my hair and
Use the SUCK Inc MOnLene8rln says
his wife is his mulo. The Greek and
the Italian, the Austrian and the Mag
var treat their wives much better.
More than half the Croatians, Ital-
lans, Slovaks and Magyars return to
their native homes and inquiries show
that perhaps tWo-thirds of all who go /
never return again.
Jews Come Here TO Stay.
Among those who help to cut down ]
the high percentage of returning i'm
migrants are the Jews of eastern
Europe They come over in great num-
Oers and precious few of them ever
go back They correspond to our "old"
immigration in their desire to make
America their home. The immigrant
who returns takes his money with
him; but he has left much more than
value received when he does So The
entire list of Italians who build a tun-
mel under the Hudson river might trek
back to Europe with their savings,
but the benefit of that tunnel will con-
tinue throughout the years without
their labor the mighty works Of which
We Americans boast so pridefuny
could not have been accomplished.
The comforting thought about the
new immigration is that it has not
much to unlearn. It is often easier 10
build a new house han to remodel an
I'D one and likewise it might be easier !
to make a good citizen of an illiterate
vlliager from the lands of the SloVaks,