Evening star., 1920-10-18
FINDS E|M|GRANTS
W|CKEDLY ABUSED
EN- ROUTE TO j. s.
Y. NJ. C. A. Reports Thou
sands Are Cheated, Starved
and Otherwise MaItreated.
BY PAUL SCOTT MOwRER.

BY Cable to The Star and Chicago Daily News.
Copyright, 1870
PARIS. October 1S.-From the
Young Mems Christian Association,
which. through its numerous Euro
pean bureaus, has undertaken the i'm
portant work of emigrant aid and re-
lief, the writer has obtained a num-
Der of confidential reports showing
exploitation of the herds of emigrants
heading for or returning from
America.
In such frontier towns as Buch.
Dele, Modane and Cherbourg these
reports disclose the emigrants are
made to pay extra fares by corrupt
railway officials, and are charged for
services which shoule be free. On
some trains they are locked in during.
| the transit so that they are unable
even to obtain food. The restaurants,
hotels and street vendors form little
trusts to keep up the prices of food
and lodging, and short-changing in
money with which the emgrant is
unfamiliar is the usual thing.
Shameful Abuses Alleged.
In Modane, on the Franco-1talian
frontier, there is said to be an "emi-
grant king" who owns all the hotels
and restaurants, and who has made
millions from the emigrant business.
In France. under the present laws for
bidding the import or export of gold.
emigrants returning from the United
States are obliged to exchange their
American gold for notes. greatly to
their disadvantage.
Everywhere they meet expensive de-
lays. Their money gives out and, un-
able to obtain shelter, they suffer from
cold and exhaustion. This is particu-
larly true of the women and children.
Not infrequently before they can
reach the port their vises expire, and
they are obliged to sojourn in some
large capital long enough to obtain
extensions.
Together with other abuses there is
said to be considerable white slavery
and exploitation of inexperienced
girls travelling alone to join relatives
obliged to submit to such long exami-
nations that they miss their trains
and have to wait over.
Fort Myer Soldier Caught.
Then they are made to yield under
threats of being turned back. One
vigilant Y, NJ. c. A. agent found A
middle-aged American soldier in rni
form, a mechanic on leave from Fort
Myer. supposedly for the purpose of
bringing his family from Italy. who
was boasting of his control over a
sixteen-year-old Rumanian girl. With
the help of some Italian emiprants
the agent made the soldier relinguish
the girl. who was turned over to the
kind offices of Rumanian family.
Or the emigrants returning from
the United States to Europe two
classes are clearly distinguishable.
namely, those partly assimilated and
those who. although they have been
year in America, still wear the
same kind of clothes, and look just
the same as when they first landed
on Ellis Island. and who evidently
lived continually amid foreigners.
Most of the emigrants are men, but
| there are also many women and chilt
dren. Seven hundred returning from
the United States passed through
Dele in September.
Driven From U. s. by Prices.
Some were already discouraged and
wanted to turn back. Thousa nds
passed through the same town in Au
gust and gave as their reason for
leaving America, not prohibition, but
high prices: especially rents: and most
of them added that If they did not like
conditions in the old country they
intended to return to the United
States.
The railway stations in these from
tier towns are almost continually
crowded with emigrants. Women
! and babies lie asleep on the floor.
or, If not asleep, are changing their
clothes. The men are shaving and
women are even doing laundry work.
When returning emigrants meet those
who are just starting out. as often
happens. the stories told by the for
mer of big pay to be had in the
United States excite the latter and
increase their determination to reach
the happy land beyond the seas as
quickly as possible.
Emigrants arrive in droves. On
August 26 500 Italians and Ru-
manians passed through Modane. On
August 12 there were 200 Rumanians.
who were so dirty that they were
marched to the fumigation station
under a guard Of French soldiers
before tlo4 were allowed to stop in
the t1&n. The emigrants returning
FROM the United States are chiefly
Czecns, Italians and Jugoslavs, while
those going are Czechs, Poles. Ru-
CONTINUED on Page ?, Column %