Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-12-14
IMMIGRATION.
UI-THE "NEW'' IMMIGRANT.
By Frederic J. Haskin.

migrant is that he usually halls from
rural village. where he worked on the
farms or in the vineyards or herdea
sheep. Landing in big city. he Is inlme-
diately beset with those who would ex-
plot him. on he goes to some INDUSTRIAL
center, where he must live in places
scarcely fit for human habitation, crowded
with dozen others in a shack scarce Dig
enough for two. The work he nndS Is
either filthy or dangerous. He goes into
the bituminous coal mine. into the fertil-
izer factory, into the woodworking plant,
into the slaughtering house-everywhere
that there is work too disagreeaDie or
dangerous for the native American work.
ingman.
The toll that is taken from these i'm
migrants is fearful With few women
m n g
Fearful Toll Taken them to
From New Immigrants. fn;ns ,nfiu-
ence over them, they spend their time be-
tween working and drinking. as a rule.
and saving what they can, with the day
in view when they can return to their
native land. In the vast majority of cases
their condition for the time being is
worse in America than it was in their
selves today in America in order that to-
morrow, at home, they may live in COM
fort If they lived according to American
standards their wages would barely suf-
flee to keep them going. But they will
half starve themselves and live in the
worst of surroundings for the sake of 60
ing back home some day.
Where the women. come. along they
husbands compel them to do so as long
as the wives are yet without the Ameri-
can spirit. But many's the time when
there has been a declaration of inde-
ing houses when the wife concluded no
longer to play slave to her lord. The
Slav has none of our consideration Tor
his wife. He has proverb that he is
happy twice in his life-once when he
marries and once when he buries his
wife. His wife sings, Love me true and
love me quick: pull my hair and use the
stick" The Montenegrin says his wife
is his mule. The Greek and the Italian,
the Austrian and the Magyar treat their
wives much better.
Three-fourths of all the new" immi-
grafton is made up of men and boys
The Balkan
immigration Largely States send
Composed of Males. on ~ Oh" tv Win
five men. and the same ratio exists with
the Greeks. The ones who have women
folk with them usually stay; most Of the
bachelors return. More than half the
Croatians, Italians, Slovaks and Magyars
return to their native homes and inquiries
show that perhaps two-thirds of all who
go never return again.
Among those who help to cut down the
high percentage of returning immigrants
are the Jews of eastern Europs. They
come over in great numbers and precious
few Of them ever go back. They CORE
spond to our old" immigration iii 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
tunnel under the Hudson river might trek
back to Europe with their savings. but
the benefit of that tunnel will continue
throughout the years. Without their Ia
Dor the mighty works Of which We Amer
leans boast SO pridefu!ly could not have
been accomplished.
The comforting thought about the
new" immigration is that it has not
much to unlearn. 1t is often easier to
build new house than to remodel an old
one, and likewise 1t might be easier to
make good citizen of an illiterate vii