Richmond daily register. (Richmond, Madison County, Ky.) 1917-1978, 1920-04-21
ALIENS LEAVE
BY WHOLESALE
5000 Are Sailing Weekly for
Europe Where Dollar
Is Potent.
CAUSE OF LABOR SHORTAGE
Difficulties of raveIing in Europe and
Danger of Losing Their Money Has
No Influence on Aliens Eager
to Return.

New YOrk.-Wholesale re-emigration
Of aliens in America began last April
and is continuing in ever growing
numbers. Steamship ticket agents |
| agree that 5000 are leaving for Europe
weekly, although the immigration is
confined to Italians and Belgians.
1 have been in contact with a great |
number of alien labOrers in the United
| States since my return from Europe in
January and / find that a great per-
centage of them are preparing to leave
| the states, writes Joseph Szebenyei in
| the New York Times. Among the Hun
| garians and those coming. from the
| newly formed states in eastern Eu-
! rope, so per cent are about to return
| to the old country.
The resultant labor shortage espe
| cially is being felt already, and en-
! plOyers of alien labor are forced to
! advertise continually in order to re-
place the hands leaving week after
week. They are spending thousands
| of dollars on advertisements in Slovak
and Hungarian papers. Mining COM
panies especially prefer Hungarian
workers because they are steady and
hard workers, doing jobs no others
would do, and earning in most cases
up to $120 week.
! Causes of Re-Emioraton.
The causes of the -holesale re-
emigration may be found in the follow
ing facts:
| 1. Alien labOrers have saved up mon
| ey during the war, when they were
| barred from sending it home and, &C
cording to bankers dealing exclusively
| with them, they have an average of
! $4,000. If we take what dollar is
worth in eastern Europe, it is easy
to comprehend that the worker eX-
changing his dollars into kronen be
comes the richest man in his village
a lure very few could withstand. For
| $4,000 he gets as much as 10000
kronen, enough to buy out the riches:
landlord in his district.
q Prohibition.
S.sThe labOrer has not seen his fam
| lily, many have not even heard from
them for six to ten years. Esq.,.
4. The high cost of living in America
Geza D. Berko, managing editor
the Hungarian Daily, who has his fir
ger on the alien movements in Amer
lea more than any one else, whei
questioned on the subject said:
sest'The re-emigration is slow becaus
l there is not sufficient shipping. Their
are only five steamers weekly ayaii
able for eastern Europe at present
land yetif6000 are leaving by them
Should the sailing facilities improve
and the passport question be- simpli
fed, it will grow by leaps and bounds
Cannot Be Dissuaded.
The manager of Emil Kiss banking
house, the largest ticket agents on the
east side. said that they were discour-
aging re-emigratiOn as much as pos
sible, and explained to applicants the
difficulties of travelling in Europe, the
danger of their losing their kits and
money on the way.
"Yet it is impossible to persuade
them to stay" the clerks assert.
"There are letters from former travel
ers who say that they have been cheat
ed and robbed of their possessions,
arrived home stripped of everything.
" yet you can't induce them, to stay"
"DO you discourage exchange of dol.
lars as well?'' 1 asked
eve do, but the constant fall in the
exchange makes it difficult. By the
time the man arrives home he gets
more for his dollars, so he prefers TAX
ing it in cash, as most of them are
ignorant people who mistrust drafts.
Now, in travelling through Europe the
yictim-for you can't call him by any
! other name-encOunterS laws in ev-
Try country prohibiting the export OF
dollars. If he lands in France his
money is exchanged into francs, IN
!: Germany into marks, in Austria OF
Jugoslavia into krOnen, being 10 OF
more per cent everywhere"
Some of the re-emigrantS travel
through five countries and thus lose
so per cent of their money on forced
exchange. In France there are ever
graver difficulties, for even the export
of French money to exceed 1,OW
francs is prohibited. The traveller mus
get state permit, procedure takin;
sometimes weeks. The whole of Eu
rope is hungry for dollars.