Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1914-04-30
STEELTON
AUSTR|ANS HEED
CALL To COLORS
Recent Edict Of Dual Empire Will
Materially Affect Steelton's
Foreign Populace

Steamship men and others familiar
with foreign labor conditions here In
commenting on the recent edict of the
Austrian cabinet checking emigration
have predicted that the new regu-
lations would work many changes in
the big foreign colony in the lower end
of Steelton. The greater part of this
colony are Austrian and Servian SUBJ
jects.
BY recent edict of the Austrian
cabinet the emigration of all subjects
of Austria under the age of "a years is
forbidden. No Austrian will be per-
mitted to cross the frontiers of his
country without a passport and the
authorities have been instructed to
issue such papers only to applicants
who have performed their military
service and have been passed into the
"landstrum," the last line of reserves
for home defense. This really means
twelve years of military service for
the average man.
Will Affect Emigrants
The decree promises to be even more
sweeping in its effects than would at
first appear. 1t applies not only to
bona fide emigrants leaving for the
United States or Canada but 1t will
also prevent many thousands of farm
laborers from going to Germany for
field work and harvest. as has been
the custom every summer. And, fur
ther, since the decree makes no men,
tion of any exceptions, it is supposed
that walters. tailors. mechanics and
other workers who want to go abroad
to complete their trade education will
not longer be able to do so.
The new regulation apparently has
been made because the military au-
thorittes recently discovered when the
recruiting levies were called up that
more and more of the young men en-
tered on the rolls had gone to foreign
parts 1t was this which first led to
the investigation of the steamship
companies emigration activities.
Peasants Can't Leave
While this drastic restriction of emf
grafton will affect to some extent the
whole monarchy. certain provinces
will feel 1t more acutely than others,
notably Galieia, one of the most
densely populated in Europe. The
country being entirely too poor to sup
port this population, thousands Of
peasants go to work on the best farms
of Saxony and the corn lands in Ger
many every year, and thousands of
others go to America or Canada. But
every Fall the laborers return to their
hSiiOS ioiil anu III the
course of few years many also come
back from America to their native
land. All bring money, with which
they buy stock and land. In fact,
there are now districts in GaIicia
where the soil is gradually passing out
OF the hands of the landed proprietors
into the possession of peasants.
To Stop the Exodus
Not only by this decree is the Aus
trian government endeavoring to stop
emigration, but an effort is also being
made to get all it's subjects in foreign
lands back home. Several of the larger
steamship companies have entered into
an agreement with the government to
transport any Austrian who is subject
to military duty back to Austria for
$40. If the subject is unable to pay
this amount it will be paid by the gov
ernment.
Men acquainted with these con-
dltlons believe that it will be only a
few years until the Austrian settle-
ment in the lower end will be entirely
depopulated of all it's young men. AS
there are very few men over 35 years
hired here, this means that the entire
colony will change.