El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1912-12-16

/ sCarcelJ be accepted did II not find
| Confederation in every unofficial pic
| ture of the steerage that our best word
! artists have painted.
One stands amazed that greed for
| gold could lead men to subject their
fellow beings to such conditions as
! the steeragc passenger endures, accord
| ing to the revelations of the immi
! grant commission
A Chamber Of Horrors.
Three kinds of steerage are now
( recognized-the OLD, the new and the
/ combination of the two. The old
| brings the bulk Of our immigration
! from southern eastern Europe. It is
unSpea kabiy bad The new brings the
| bulk of the immigrants from north
western Europe, and it is all that can
be desired. Between the two classes
of ships are those which are being
transformed from the old to the new.
On these a difference Of $3.50 per ticket
! is the difference between decency and
indecency, between chamber of hor-
rOrs like the Black Hole of Calcutta
and comfortable quarters.
Let US glance at the commissions
typical picture Of the old steerage-
The investigator who painted it was
woman, who made the Il day voyage in
the Storage travelling as single BO-
hemian peasant woman. Before sail
ing all steerage passengers were sup
posed to be vaccinated. The women
and men were Taccinated in separate
rooms and an inspection card stamped
flying that they had been vaccinated
was given them. In her case not one
of the three scratches had punctured
the skin. She found that others had
Jared the same way.
Little Room in Bunks.
The compartment in the Storage for
single women she describes as better
than those for other steerage passen-
gers The hunks were arranged IN
tiers, each having a straw mattress
covered with a slip sheet. A small
blanket was the only covering pro-
vided. There was no pillow; a life
preserver under the head Of the mat
tress was the substitute. It was prac-
tically impossible to undress properly
for retiring, because of lack of pri-
vacy and insufficient covering When
the Storage is full. each passengers
private space is limited to his bunk
alone. There is not a hook upon which
to hang clothes, not a receptacle for
refuse, not a cuspidOr and no con-
Tenience for use in times of seasick-
ness.
There were two wash rooms. used
indiscriminately by men and women.
One of them was seven by nine feet
two Of the walls. The wash basins re-
sembled in size and shape the Oroi-
nary stationary laundry tub. They had
to serve as Washbasins, diShpans, laun-
dry tubs. In the other room the equip
ment was identical. except that there
was a hot water spigot that did not
work and a four foot trough for dish
washing, with sea water, seldom hot,
from one spigOt
ERdeavOr to Keep Clean.
Many Of the passengers made heroic
efforts TO keep clean 1t was forbid
den to bring water into the sleeping
compartments for washing purposes,
but even when the women rose early
and carried in a little water in the
soup pals. as soon as they were dis
covered they we're brutally driven out
by the stewards.
The law requires that each immi-
grant shall be furnished with all the
eating utensils necessary. They are
each furnished with a cheap working
mans tin dinner pail. spoon, and a
FORK Each immigrant must care for
his own pail, and as a rule has nothing
but cold salt water with which to wash
it throughout the entire trip. The pals
are so cheap that usually the salt wa
ter rusts them and makes them unfit
to use before port is reached Again
the law requires that tables shall be
furnished for the passengers TO cat
upon, but these are only long single
board affairs usually in a part Of a
Storage sleeping compartment not
used on that voyage for hunks. All OF
the foul smells from the sleeping COM
partments come unobstructed into
these imprOvised dining rooms and
drive the passengers to the open deck.
No Privacy for Women.
me investigator says that one morn
llB she N4SneQ 10 see II II were pos
SlOle for woman to rise and dress
without she presence OF men onIookers.
She waited her chance, and although
the breakfast bell rang at 6;55 and she
was ready for a meal at 7:15, the stew
ara warned her not to come so late
again and gave her only a piece OF
bread The meals that were served
were bad in quality and preparation,
and more than half of the food was
thrown into the sea. The daily in
spectiOn Of the immigrants was a
farce They were assembled and had
their inspection tickets punched six
times. covering six days.
From the time the women went on
board until they landed they did not
have one moments privacy. Not one
young woman In the Storage escaped /
attack The Investigator herself was
among these, and vet the Storage Of I
ficials made no effort to punish the
offenders. Some resisted for a time
and then weakened; some fought with
all their physical strength. Two re-
fined Polish girls fought with pins
and teeth The atmosphere is described |
as one Of general lawlessness and to- /
tai disrespect for women. which natu-
rally demoralized the women after !
time.
Summing up. the government inves- I
tigator says that her life during those I
Il days was in a disorder and in sur
roundinSs that offended every sense /
Inc vile language of the men. the I
screams Of the women defending them !
selves, the crying of the children 1
Wretched because Of their surround /
ings, and practically every sound that /
reached the ears, irTftated beyond en-
durance- Every Impression was Of 1
fensive- Worse than this was the gen 4
eral air of immortality due almost !
wholly to the improper, indecent,
forced minSling OF men and women /
who were total strangers and often /
did not understand a word of the same /
language.
Tho New Storage.
Contrast this terrible picture Of con- /
ditions with the picture of the new
Storage, where the people are given
staterOOms. the floors kept scrupu- /
lousy clean, ample toilet facilities,
separate for the sexes, are provided.
where clean towels. clean napkins and /
clean bed linen are furnished where
satisfactory food is supplied. where (
the wants Of the sick and of the cbil-
dren are looked after. where women
travelling alone arc safe and not the
prey of both crew and male passen-
gers, and the difference is astonish-
ing-and yet the difference in price On
ships that are only partially converted I
+. ON the old to the new steerage is
only $3.50.
How long the United States will per-
nit the major portion Of its prospect
i've citizens to make their voyage to
America 4lndor such conditions I