The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1921-06-09

Ruling stops Traffic. 5@s I
immigration and customs authors
ties In New, York are contending with
an unprecedented influx Of stowaways
from Europe. Since the war large
part Of Europe seems bent on coming
to this country, whether possessed
Of the necessary passage money OF
not, and as might be expected an oblig'
Ing organization has grown up to help
them do 1t, writes Frederic ]. Haskin
in the Chicago News. An internaHon-
al stowaway ring-a sort Of Stowa-
way Limited-now Is operating in all
of the chief ports Of Europe, collecting
big profits on its promise to ship i'm
migrants in hiding to America. The
difficulties Of landing at Ellis island
do not concern these professional hid
ers. They merely put the trusting
one on board in charge Of one Of their
sailor accomplices, and collect their
fee. Some Of the sailors, Of course,
work alone, but in such risky business
1t is much safer to work with the ring.
Before the war the cost Of steerage
transportation across the Atlantic was
from $25 to $40. Today 1t ranges any
where from $12O to $3.50, a prohibitive
price to many would-be immigrants,
anxious to escape the awful poverty
and after-war depression Of Europe.
Such disheartened peasants are easy
prey for the stowaway gang. you
can be hidden on board ship and sup
piled with food and water and 1t will
cost you only $780," they are told.
And Of course they grasp at the op-
portunity. t' y 'r.3
Hence during the last year stowa.
ways have. been coming in droves.
sometimes as many as dozen carried
in the hold Of one ship. They repre-
sent all types and conditions of man
kind, from desperate criminals to i'm.
pecunious but respectable professional
men, but they are mostly unskilled
workers. Searching for them Is like
hunting for the proverbial needle in
the haystack. They are concealed in
the most unexpected .placesr-in the
ships coal bins. in its lockers. behind
secret panels, in boxes labeled "chemi-
Gals" and "olives" and even In the
ships ventilator flues.
During the typhus scare recently. 6
vessel was examined from top to boz
tom and nearly taken apart according
to an immigration official, in order to
find any passenger who might pos
sibly have avoided an examination
Then the announcement that the ships
interior was to be gassed was mega
phoned about the decks. Only then
did eleven husky stowaways creep Out
from hiding, preferring detection
to death. In some cases though the
ships authorities have not been so
considerate in announcing current
events, and stowaways have been
fatally gassed in their hiding places.
How the Ring Works.
From the little that has been
learned regarding the stowaway rim!
it seems probable they have confed
crates on nearly every ship leavins
a outh-European port, as well as Oh
many leaving European ports.
In some instances the stowaway has
been required to bring his own food
but usually this is supplied to him
while on board. If found by those moi
in the rings service he is immediately
taken before the captain, who decides
his fate. Sometimes the treatment Is
extremely severe. He may be placed
In a pen and given only bread and
water, or he may be chained uncom-
fortably to q post, but In most cases
he is apt to be put to work. Some.
times SO many stowaways are found
on the ship that the captain puts them
under lock and key-a wise precaution
since 1t has been found that many Of
them are desperate criminals who
have been encouraged by the police
duIAVAlLACo " ACdNC tullOuS puA 70 VI
Europe. One captain keeps himself
in excellent physical trim by staging
an energetic fist battle with every |
stowaway brought into his Office. AS |
a result very few stowaways have ap-
peared recently on his ship.
Occasionally stowaway gets
aboard without the aid Of the ring
or the crew or anybody else, depend
ing only on his own ingenuity to see
him through. One such was an Eng
lish lad of fifteen, who had round,
cherubic face and wore good clothes.
In choosing his quarters he selected
the most comfortable ones he could
fnd-namely, the scft rug beneath
the captains bed, where he got along
very nicely during the entire trip. In
the daytime he moved fearlessly
about the deck and chatted pleasant
" with the other passengers. Dur
ing the first day he had appeared in
The dining room and was assigned to
! table as politely as though he had
paid his passage money. Not until
the ship reached this side and the
list, was checked was the
Young stowaway detected, and then,
10 agreeable had he made himself.
that the passengers clipped in and
maid FOR his M Sca ca arrosc