The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1921-01-28
Frederic Haskin's LETT,


Washington. D. c.. Jan. 27.-Any-
where from ten million to twenty
five million people, according to
various estimates, are literally
standing in line In Europe waiting
for q chance to come to America,
according to Commissioner Of I'm
migration Wallis of New York.
Mr.. Wallis recently gave the SEN
ate committee on immigration q
succinct and startling account of
the immigration situation, Of which
only a few words have heretofore
been published. The gist Of his
facts are therefore here set forth.
In Danzig he says that people
are standing in line by thousands
to get on the boats. and that they
are camped, all about the port of
embarkation, waiting their turns.
The steamship companies report
that they are offered 10 times as
much business IS they can handle.
Most Of these immigrants have sold
everything they possessed in Or
der to raise enough money to pay
for q passage to this country. and
to have enough money to be admit
ted when they arrive. They pay
from $110 to $3.50 for a storage
passage to The United States. which
is more than a firstclass passage
cost a few years ago. The immi-
grant carrying business is said to
be very remunerative to the steam
ship companies.
Many of the immigrants tell Of
being robbed at the port of en-
barkation. They are forced to
check all of their personal belong
ings while taking a bath. and aft
erward they say they are unable to
recover them, the checks not being
honored. There are also tales o.
women and girls being dragged out
of line and robbed.
The result is that when the i'm
migrant arrives in the United
States he does not have sufficient
money to be admitted to this coun-
try, as the law provides that he
cannot be admitted if he is likely
to become a public charge. On one
ship carrying perhaps a thousand
immigrants there were several
hundred that had less than one dol
lar each in money. Many Of them,
from regions infested with typhus,
wear clothes so flimsy that these
clothes will not stand the disin-
fecting process through which they
must be put.
Congestion at Ellis Island.
Most of these destitute immi-
grants claim that they expect
money here from friends, relatives
or societies, and most of them are,
in the course of time, rescued by
some of their compatriots in this
country. But meantime they must
be cared for at Ellis Island. The
island has no accommodations for
such a swarm Of people. They are
compelled to sleep on the floors,
and until recently many of them
had to sleep without blankets.
There are no adequate toilet
facilities or facilities Of any other
kind.
Furthermore, these almost desti-
tute people land in . country the
language of which they cannot
speak, and in a city which is al
ready full of unemployed persons,
and which has bread lines. There
is practically no machinery for
placing these people in jobs. Mr..
Wallis reported several letters that
he had had from the west asking
for immigrant labor at good wages.
But he has no authority to esttab-
lish or to act as an employment
agency. He believes that the labor
department is now taking some
steps to distribute these immigrant
laborers where they are needed,
but does not know what funds they
have for the purpose. (As a mat
ter of fact. they have practically
none. The United States employ
ment service, since the armistice,
has been reduced to a skeleton or
ganization.)
Mr.. Wallis does not believe that
the situation is to be relieved by
the passage of law like the john
son bill prohibiting all immigrants,
with certain exceptions. such as
blood relatives Of those already
here, for a year. He believes that
the exceptions, and the frauds
which would naturally grow out OF
them, would more than fill The
same amount Of immigrants, but
boats. that We would get about the
that it would consist mostly of
women, children, and other de-
pendents. He seems to believe that