The Oakley herald. [volume] (Oakley, Idaho) 1908-1961, 1920-12-10

to tie up for days before Gischarging
their steerage passengers, and on the island 1t Is
not unusual for many 5000 immigrants to
be detained for the night In sleeping quarters de-
signed for the accommodation of half as many
Floors, benches and chairs filed with the
overflow from the dormitores and hundreds
sleep their feet.
The melting pot is boiling over and the con-
gestion will increase with each passing month.
Steamship men say their accommodations are
booked for full year ahead Poles and Italians
especially are coming in swarms, and 1t Is certain
that the way is clear for them Ger
will enter America in vast numbers.
That the problem Of assimilation may be
little less difficult to solve, despite Its magnitude,
is indicated by the fact that so many OF the
younger generation are now on the manifests OF
the incoming vessels writes John Walker Harring-
ton In the New York Herald. The death Of so
many fathers In the has caused hundreds
Of thousands of families on the other side to try
a hazard of new fortunes in the Land of Promise.
Many widows, some Of them with two or three
children, are reaching the country by means OF
money sent to them by friends and relatives.
To the children the New World comes with
rush of experiences. To them, until they
passed upon 1t seems one of green sward and OF
blue sea- Of changing skies and Of passing ships.
Under other regimes the detained immigrants
were kept penned like dumb driven cattle, and to
them the United States meant for many hours
wire cages and dark walls. 1t is all different
ton, Frederick A. Wallis has set q new precedent
w using the acres Of unused grass plots Ellis
island as a recreation place for the immigrants.
The children In their element there. The
place rings with happy laughter and echoes the
fall of romping feet. Alert, healthy and strong
are these Americans to be- and some of them, too,
are more than aliens.
Young Are In Majority.
"ye suis American" said Petit Jean, the other
day.
He had come with his brother maker OF bead
bags to see what the country had in store.
At six he has the vision of his adopted land. His
father a cavalryman. was killed in the war and
as his mother had other ties except those on the
western shore OF the Atlantic they had come hith-
err to bring up Jean as citizen of this republic.
At an mpressionable age, the children, who are
temporarily detained on the island our largest
entrepot for the ctizenry, are learning
through concerts and addresses, and through
music many valuable lessons of life. very
large number Of them are at school age or little
less and they are coming here at time when
they are best fitted to absorb the traditions and
the history of the country to which fate has
brought them.
The disruption Of families caused by deaths in
the war abroad has at the same time brought to
| this country immigrants who are mainly younger
| than the average as far may be observed Off
hand detailed study of statistics along this
| line has not been made but the general impress
| sion is given after seeing shIpload after ship
, load of the future Americans, that there is a pre-
| ponderance not only of young women, especially
| Of young mothers. In the newly arrived Of the
| gentler sex. but that the men who landing
| here in quest Of fortune are more youthful and
more alert in appearance than the immigrants Of
previous years Rarely one sees the bent and de-
| crepit who have come over with sons and daugh-
| tiers to begin their lives In the changed
world.
More Permanent Class Arrives.
The presence of many families, although
often bereft of fathers, indicates q more perma-
| nent class than usual. There not many
unattached male NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS., Austrians
and the like-who in former years sought the
United States only to avail themselves Of high
wages and to return with their savings to their
original environment Up to the first of July
there had arrived at American ports PAT 625 men
and boys, and 1926 women and children which
is somewhat In excess the feminine side. In
| January the two genders were about equally
| divided and in the succeeding months the males
| gradually increased In numbers.
OF this grand total. 10000, 1t is noted that
1913 set down as having no occupation. this
classification including women and children. The
| homes of those who looking for cooks and
! parlor maids and experts in all lines of domestic