The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1919-05-15
TOPEKA STATE JOURNAL
INF OF M A TION
BUREAU
FREDERIC J. HAsKIN. Director.
Washington. D. C
IMMIGRATION REVERSED.
Washington. D. c.

not seem to be attracting very much
attention, but aliens who have long
been resident IN the United States are
leaving this country for Europe liter
ally as fast as the ships can carry
them, and that is at the rate of about
two thousand a Gay.
A steerage passage to a, European
port costs about twice as much as be-
fore the war. and many of the coun-
| tries for which these aliens are bound
are still so disordered by war that it
is difficult to reach them, but these
obstacles do not seem to deter the
homebound multitude
The moVepent is not altogether UNI
expected, and it is not hard to eX-
plain, but the size of it is rather start
ling.
There was always. before the war,
a steady flow OF returning foreigners
| thru New York, which did not attract
much attention because it was 50
much smaller than the incoming tide.
| About 500, 0Oo aliens went home from
| this country every year. During the
war it. was impossible for most of
| those who wished to return to Europe
to do so. Hence the present rush is
in part at least matter of discharg-
ing accumulated business.
! But that is not all. Aliens who, be-
| fore the war, had no desire to return,
now clamor for passports that they
may go back to the old country to find
their relatives and help them to get
| on their feet again. Others say that
| land has been willed to>them by men
| killed in war, and that they return to
take possession. Still others go be-
cause they see great opportunity in
! reconstruction work and in business
| abroad. They figure that the popula-
| ton of France and Italy is so greatly
| depleted that there will be little COM
l NGfI 10 llrt,-
savings, augmented by war work, and
return to be wealthy and influential
| citizens in the home land.
The savings which the alien takes
with him make up no small amount
| of money when multiplied by the
| number of emigrants. During the war
| they have had no way of sending
money to relatives in war zones, and
so their savings have accumulated in
this country. Each emigrant, it is es-
| timated, carries away from $1,000 to
| $1,000 This means that the $1,000 or
more emigrants who have sailed since
the war ended represent a capital of
about $5O.OOO.OOO.
Most of these funds have been de-
posted in state savings and postal
savings banks, private banks and the
old reliable home banks such as tea
pots and stockings. Over half of the
500, 000 depositors in our postal saw
inSS DankS are foreign ana over
half of the $175,OO0,O0O of deposits
belongs to foreigners. Tho amounts
being drawn from the banks by aliens
are considerable, bankers say that
there is no cause for worry, as $780,
100000 could be withdrawn from our
banks without creating a banking
Situation"
That the emigrants are not leaving
poVerty-stricken is obvious from a
rapid survey of those in New York
! n ct o 1G n
} agencies. They are a cheerful, excited
crowd, neatly dressed, willing to pay
any price and go thru any formality
to get home. 1t is well that the emil
grant starts on his adventure in this
frame of mind, as the cost Of third
class, or steerage, transportation to
\ Scandinavia has gone up from the pre-
war rate of $40 to $50. and the in
crease to ports elsewhere in Europe is
almost as great.
Other expenses are heavier also.
New York, the great port for debarka-
ton for European emigrants, has
found a way profitably to shelter the
thousands who come from other cities
without realizing that they must APP
ply for passage far in advance. These
aliens are so numerous, and the de-
mand for temporary lodgings is so
: great, that -syndicates have made a
business of converting all sorts of
buildings into rooming houses. The
|
ness firms and by regular landladies
in immigrant and wharf sections OF
New York have been increased in
many cases to equal the rates of the
best hotels. Steady dodgers paying
J normal prices are turned out that the
alien may have room at two dollars
or more day.
Where do they all come from, and
: where are they going are the questions
, which arise in the mind of the by
stander in New York's foreign pass
port office. passport official says
5 that they hail from all parts of the
United States, and especially from
Pennsylvania, Illinois. New York, anC
a large number from California. These
passport applicants are of all the
. tribes of Europe, and they want pass
ports to every corner of the old coun-
try. with Italy, Spain and Greece il
the lead, especially Italy.
Those who want passports to Ger
y many and Austria Hungary are doom
e ed to disappointment These coun
q tries, they are told, are not open Il
immigration. Those who wish to 81
2 to the Balkans and Serbia are not en-
S couraged to attempt the journey. a!
= it is almost impossible to enter these
| countries, but many are so anxious t
n Greece and trust to luck for shiI
that will carry them from Greece t.
n Serbia.
>, Whether the $4,000 foreigner!
II who have so eagerly left the United
e States since the war ended, will re
~ turn, is a much discussed question
About $4,000 of them have signifieC
no intention of returning. while tn,
rest are of the temporary class
k Still. Frederick Howe. New York
y immigration commissioner, believes
: that from so to 70 per cent will no
II come back to America. ''TheV haVt
II seen America. and made a small for
q tune here, said Mr. HOWE 9Th @,