Flotsam and Jetsam of
The World's Womankind
Thu unfit throbbing ocean that benU)
against tho bargo olllco down nt the wall of
tho Mattery in Now York City hi Htlll offer
ing to our unwilling shores that wulf of mls
fortune, tho woman Immigrant. Every ship
that IiuhIh' pusHongeis at this port IjrliiKB
hundreds of tho llotHani anil Jetsam of
womankind front other hiiulH. And, an In
tho dayH when she llrst camo over, tho
Htunly 1'iirltan maiden to mother a nuvy
nice, or tho deported grlsettu to llnd a com
piomiHu husband, thu woman Immigrant of
today hos listened, on that othor Hhoro of
poverty, oppressiMi or disgrace to tho ulron
volco of tho great dividing waters and put
hortulf and her hopes on thulr promising
breast to waken to a now llfo on thulr
furthermost reneh. Sometimes hIio coition to
Join hor hiiHbaud, who has preceded her, or
a sweetheart, who bus earned a homo In
which to receive her. Or, perhaps, Bhu
coiiiuH to an enterprising young hrothor,
who liulll iilr cnsllis In that othor land and
thou cumo over thu sous to mako them
eomo true, to llnd a habitation for her, tlio
o'd father and a Htlll younger brother who,
In time, will help tho pioneer tulvenlurer to
Hond for thu old mother waiting in tho old
placo fur tho prlcu of a ticket to follow hur
dear onufl.
Tho Htory of such a woman immigrant
camu to light at tho bargo olllco tlio othor
day. A young girl had como over from tho
south of Italy with hur father and llttlu
brother to Join her established brother. Shu
was iminnd Marietta Marietta I.ongo and
who lookeil llko her namo. When hIio en
tered thu room of Hpeclal Imiulry, hetweon
her father and llttlu brother, tho eye.s of
every ono present woro bent upon her, for
hIio wan thu only pearl that tho ocean had
east up nt tho bargo olllco that day.
An .Mr C'liNtlo I'linii' True.
Hho and thu boy Hat down an a bench
uhllo tho father wax undergoing his ex
amination, but everything about Marietta
was meanwhllo telling an Interesting talu
to every iiim In tho place. Marietta was
in, shu said; shu looked like a woman of
'.'(), but with thu eyes and gracu of a
child, in Hoinu Htraugo way, with tho In
stinct of pretty womanhood tho world over,
shu hud dressed herself with tnste, almost
with style. Her hair massed Itself In a
natural pompadour" through which llttlu
rings or baby curls slipped ut and lay
ugalust her smooth brow; her youni; form
dellned Itself roundly In an ollvu silk with
a pink gulmpu, cheap, indeed, but simple
and attractive In tho combined effect of
color, and sho had high heeled shoes that
had a way of peeping out front under hor
skirts to lot you seo how small they were.
Everything about Marietta had a wny of
expressing ltoelf, Bomohow, all thu tlmo
sho at In unnlTocted and unconscious
thought. Yet shu looked sad llko a hurt
and lovuly and wondering child It was all
so uncertain, for they wero expecting aoino
ono to meet them and ho una not thoru.
Tho old man said that most of his money
had been taken from him In Naples, and
Tin did not seem clear about anything. For
a long tlmo after his examination they all
sat together silently on tho bench.
Suddenly a well dressed young man camu
in, walked straight to tho tablu whoro thu
board Hat, was sworn anil answered tho
questions put to him with Intelligence and
directness, when ho was told that those ho
nought wuro here, lie turned, saw thorn,
moved swiftly to tho old father and kissed
and embraced him again and again. A
trembling wavo of emotion swept over thu
llttlu group; Marietta roso, hur chin quiver
ing, tears veiling hor eyes.
TnlM'lllllu St't'llcN Alioilllil.
A moment later sho was In hor brother's
arms, holding to him yet while ho turned
anil embraced thu younger hrothor. Pres
ently they woro all weeping uncontrollably,
hut tho chairman peremptorily recalled
thu young man, who answered tho remain
ing questions with agitated hesitancy.
"You see," ho explained to a sympathetic
bystander, "It's nlno years since 1 saw
them."
It was all right at hint. The tickets to
Philadelphia vero found In the old man's
pockets, nftur tho young man had displayed
tho reassuring price of them to tho com
missioners and tho ability to provlilu for tho
nuweomors was satisfactorily Indicated by
tho young- man's statement that ho was
earning $18 a week, and besides had money
In tho bank. Sumo of his former earnings
had found their way back to Italy, you may
bo sure, and part of them had gone to buy
tho very gown that adorned Marietta so bo
comlugly. Surely It was an air castlu eomo
true; it was so to them, at least, ami away
they wont, clutching each other In frantic
happiness.
"Hut why didn't you let them ombraco
as much as they wanted to whon they llrst
met?" tho chairman of tho board was asked.
He smiled tolerantly.
"it is far hotter to restrain them," ho
said. "They Interrupt tho board, and be
sides that they got thwnsolvos In such a state
that thoy can't answer tho necessary ques
tions. Why, somotlmos a pair of Russians
will delay us llfteen minutes by their hys
terical weeping ovor a reunion. "
About one-third of all thu Immigrants
lauding hero nro women and few of theso
eomo Independently; those who do nro of a
different typo from Marietta, although tho
prettiest women that now como aro of the
Italian peasantry. In othor yenra tho IHbIi
and Hermans represented tho mojorlty and
generally went Into Borvlco, but theso two
nationalities aro uow bo amalgamated with
the American people that they can hardly be
considered aliens, and tjielr friends and rel
atives uro almost as numerous In this coun
try as In their own. Moreover tho Irl?h
or German girl who tiow cunes over has a
mind abovo servleo; local Inlluenco or natlvo
ability quickly puts hor Into a shop or a
factory and If sho should go Into servleo It
Is but as a means to an end. Italian girls
never go Into servleo and fow of .hem como
to this country unless to Join malo relatives,
15 von that Is comparatively Infrequent, for It
Is a rulo that tho Italian workman expects
to return and marry In his own land, and
to buy a llttlo farm with tho earnings ho has
saved hero. It Is his plan to Invest them
In tho country whero money Is reckoned by
(out lines rather than by dollars and whoro
there aro bluo skies and no hurry -forever
and over.
rjirliiK for (lie Unfortunate.
Truly unfortunate Is tho woman who
romea to seek oblivion or to compel atone
ment for tho sacrifices sho hns mndo. If
tho man can bo found ho Is commuulcatod
with and efforts mado to rcgulato their liven
with duo obsorvanco of tlio laws of tho coun
try, but often ho cannot be found nnd then
Hho must go back to tho land from whleh
sho came.
A corps of missionaries, representatives of
tho dirruront nntlonnlltUs, assist tho barge
olllco matron and hor aides In providing fur
tho wemen nnd locating them to tho best
advantage. This was not always so. It wn3
not a far cry from tho tlmo when lintnl
grantH, both men and women, woro "In
dentured" virtually Fold at auction to own
era who would pay their passage arrears
to tho era of tho "runner," a worthy suc
cessor In nefarious tyranny over tho tin
fortunato Immigrant. Tho day of tho runner
parsed away only lately.
Tho pioneer woman Immigrant was tho
Irish or German girl, who fnred not badly,
but In tho change of conditions tho national
ity shifted and tho AuBtro-IIungarlan camo
nnd Is now coming for that matter In tho
largest numbers. The runner waited for liU
prey outHldo the Immigration bureau nnd
usually being of thu namo nationality easily
Induced tho stranger In n strango laud to
let him take her to n boarding house tem
porarily, holding out promises of employ
ment. Her llttlo moans speedily became ex
hausted, for tho boarding houses wero In
league with tho runners and sho wns then
farmed out, becoming llttlo less than a boast
of burden. Her stolidity did not keep her
from seeing tho difference hotweon her own
lot nnd that of tho feathored and flaunting
woman who could bo gayly nttlrcd ovory
day and yet toll not nnd often sho adopted
tho easier llfo. A certain east sldo typo of
woiunn of today wns recruited from this
Htollil croaturo of tho Halkan mountains,
who, treated as an animal, could not rlso
nbovo tho conditions that mndo her ono nnd
who went naturally from drudgory to slav
ery ns the lesser hardship. After tho shnmo
of this hecamo popular tho presont commis
sioner stnrted productive nien3ures nnd tho
outcome was n society for tho protection of
girls lately landed to combnt tho forces that
wero determined on tholr downfall. No girl
Is now allowed to leavo tlio bargo ofllco with
out proper escort nnd temporary provision
Is mndo for hor and hor futtiro employment.
Type mill Type unil TypcN.
Tho woman who acts as mntron at tho
bnrgo olllco has to bring many resources to
bear on her Intorcourso with tho woman
Immigrant. Sho In mother, sister, friend,
Judge, accuser and protector. Whon a
woman Is landed sho passes a physical ex
amination nnd Is sent to tho physician with
a report, perhaps a suspicion, which ho In
vestigate or confirms. Usunlly, almost In
variably, tho immigrant womnn Is Ignorant
OMAHA ILLUSTRATED 1515
WOMAN IMMIGRANT FROM
or helpless nnd tho puzzlo of where she la
going has to bo solved for her. If her pas
sago has been prepaid tho steamship
agency has thu namo of her friend or rela
tives and sho is easily disposed of. Whllo
tho women aro detained their lot Is made an
comfortable as posslblo and thoy aro kept
from tho quarters whoro tho mon are
hordod. It thoy grow agitated nnd distressed
becauso no ono meets them thoy aro con
soled nnd promised nnd no efforts aro spared
to find tholr friends.
Tho Aiistro-Ilungnrlan women aro mostly
hard working, goal girls, and with their
bootod feot (nil theso mountain women wear
boots) and heads tied In colored kerchiefs,
they present a picturesque appearance. Sho
takes her lot good humoredly, tho Hungnrlun
sends out for hor beer, munches hor bread
and chatters with her uolghbors nnd friends.
Sho Is a daughter of tho earth, meets your
glanco calmly or brightly, according to her
Intelligence, nnd with Ingratiating Instinct
tries to win your Inlluenco If sho Is hold
and thinks you can holp her.
Some of tho Kusslnn women nru encased
In big klu coats, rovorslng tho fashion of
tho beau niondo by putting tho fur noxt to
them and thu whltu and ugly akin on tho
outside. Tho Itnllau women would do
nothing llku that; they havo tho inborn
faculty of pleasing, thu charm uf self-adornment,
and they maku themselves clean and
nttrnctlvo before passing through tho mat
ron's hands. Sometimes a young bride, who
has been married In her own country to her
sweethenrt in this by proxy, Is met by hor
bridegroom and thoy nro persuaded to havo
tho coreinony performed ngnln, for proxy
marriages aro not recognized by our laws.
Then thero Is a wedding.
Hut thero Is always more of sadness than
IMMIGRANT GIRLS FROM POLAND.
12.
mKmmm
THE BALKAN MOUNTAINS.
of merriment. When the detained Immigrant
women aro massed In tho big hall the va
rious types, tho various minds, tho various
temperaments, with their hopes nnd their
sorrows, nnd, perhaps, their memories
weighing them down; taking llttlo care,
sonio of them, hcrdlm: together muph ilk..
, - , ... .
nnlmals-ono marvels nt the heterogeneous
n. . . .
ino ocean outside Is beating against thu
., b.niiint, u iiiu wuiuia,
tno wairs from tho shores of tho old world
aro lenvlng tho bargo olllco to begin llfo in
tho now and, among them, her hands laden
with hor collected baggago, is Mariotta
still holding to tho now found brother, how
over and their faces aro allamo with Joy
and sweet enthusiasm. Hut Marlcttn was
tho only pearl that tho ocean washed up on
our shores that day.
On n in ttFen tnrpc
Ol Lite
Dutch feeling against Chamberlain, Eng-
land's colonial secretary, Is bolng exhibited
111 Itnlnlln ffldlllnn fnn ..svnxn nn tt.
centric painter Wlertz painted a picture
representing Napoleon in hell. A Dutch
artist hns reproduced tho picture but has
pinceu unamboriain's Head on Napoleon's
shoulders. The painting Is exhibited with
, " ."-. ""--i
fund.
Great abuso Is hoaped by tho English
nows.iapers upon ono Gordon, a money
lender, who has died nt tho early ngo of
35, leaving an cstato of J3.000.000, besides
$20,000 found on his person and $133,CO0 in
ensh In his olllco tho accumulation bolng
duo to tho fact that tho banks would not
havo anything moro to do with his accounts
iiiiyu uiiiuiiiK uiiiro io uo wun ms accounts.
"A ruthless, daring bird of prey," seeming
April 8, 1000.
"to spend in his business of extortion all
tho possession which an ordinary human
bolng would dlvldo between homo pleasures
and othor Interests of life," "working fe
verishly at his devil's Job of breaking up
homes and hearts."
Tho latest Ohio Idea Is an Insurance
policy which pays tho full amount Insured
for at tho outset, tho assured agreeing to
pay It back In a certain number of Install
ments and giving tho company a mortgage
to socuro tho payment. This seems to fill
tho long-felt want a form of insuranco
wherein the policyholder decs not havo to
dlo to win, nor even havo to grow old.
The other day n Philadelphia businoss man
advortlsod for a typewriter girl and wroto
to ono of thoso who replied, nddroflslng her
as "Dear Madam." Hy tho return mall ho
received tho following answor: "Whllo
thanking you for writing to mo whon In
nood of omploycs, I wish to Htato that 1
could not como unless you would alter tho
form of your address to mo. Although net
so very young, I am certainly not old enough
to bo nddrosscd ns madam. Neither havo I
over lived as tho wife of any man. I am
ns much of a lndy ns any of your daughters.
I am Horry to seem too particular, but,
whllo I cannot compel respect and polite
ness from people, I will starve, If necessary,
boforo accepting work from them, nt least,
fo far as address goes. I do not understand
tho machlno mentioned nnd, whllo I would
bo willing to try, and glad to havo good
work, I cannot como unless tho form of ad
dress Is as It should be."
A very unusual railroad accident haprened
roccntly near Hay, Intl., and, unllko acci
dents of this kind, had an nmuslng featuro
connected with It. When tho afternoon
southbound train was approaching a cross
ing at tho rato of forty miles an hour tho
engine- struck a horso and buggy, Injuring
tho horso and demolishing and hurling tho
occupants of the buggy, two men, twenty
feet or moro In tho nlr and causing them
to land In a pond of water near tho roadbed.
Tho men wero not In tho least injured,
though badly frightened. The) nmuslng
part of tho affair Is that tho road crossing
whero tho accident happened is on tho stato
lino of Indiana nnd Mlchlgnn. Tho buggy
when struck was In Mlchlgnn, but It and
tho occupants landed over on the Indiana
side. Whllo It may seem Incrcdlhlo that
an englno could strike two men in Michi
gan, land them In Indiana, nml sftn nnt
n " ' inuiana, anu still no
Injure them, Engineer John Dalley and Con
t.nuior .Mogioru stnnd ready to mako am
davit that they witnessed tho very original
it-ill.
Lost Reward by Sneezing
Whllo tho detectives wero sitting around
thu olllco, waiting for tho sergeant to issuo
assignments and mako details, relates tho
Atlanta Constitution, one of the men, an
old sleuth, whoso hair hns
bhadowing criminals, suddenly gnvo a loud
BDeczo lnat mauo tho Incandescent lights
"Orcat stars," exclaimed ono of tho
younger brood, "you aro tho most voclfer-
j-im T t t
"Yen, nnd let mo tell you something,
boys," replied tho old detective, "that sneeze
o.' mlno cost mo $10,000."
Tho expressions of incredulity upon the
faces of his hearers caused the old detective
io ion tno story of tho costly sneeze
"Maybe somo of vou rompmliw " tm onM
"about tho polico in Atlanta bring notified
back In the '80s of two bank robbers head
ing this wny. They had robbed a bank In
tho east and tho report was thoy wero com
ing to Atlanta to meet and dlvldo tho spoils,
having separated after tho robbery to avoid
suspicion. I was detailed to work on tlio
pnfln find If ,..nn... ... .. .. . . .
on i uiuuy uays Doioro l una
sP?ttod a suspicious stranger stopping nt a
lin.Trillnc linitan In T 1 i .
- " " iuo uity. 1 KUpi a CIOSO
watch on him and a fow days Inter another
suspicious character turned up and went to
tho samo houso to board. 1 know tho men
woro only suspected and that to secure evl
denco upon which to convict them I would
havo to seo them togethor whon thoy di
vided tho money or bear them discuss their
plans when they thought themselves un
noticed." Thostory was getting Interesting, for the
"boys" In tho detective olllco know that no
matter how much tho old sleuth fooled other
pecplo ho never wont back on tho "pro
fesh." "So I arranged with tho landlady of tho
hoarding house," continued tho old de
tective, "to lock mo up In tho closet oponlns
Into tho room which my birds occupied. I
was afraid not to to have tho closet locked,
becauso tho follows might havo pried around
and opened tho closet to bo suro they wero
alono. I wns to stay in the locked closet
until tho men held tholr meeting nnd ns
soon ns they left the landlndy was to hurry
Into the room nnd release me. Tho rest
would havo been nlnln aniline wn
fellows met nnd I wns in tho closet all
ug m. i Heard thorn talk about how the
nun worKeu tho rolihppv nn,i ,iir.. .,
... , ...... moLuffa uiu
division of tho money. Then nt a most crit
ical moment I felt that I was going tn
snoozo. I did everything In my power to
keep tho sneczo down, but tho dust in tho
closet had got In Its work and I gavo ono
of my regulation sneezes, greatly intcn
slued becauso I had attempted to suppress
t. Tho Jig was up. I heard two men
1 eolng down tho stops. I knocked on tho
door nnd tho landlady lot me out after what
I thought was an Intermluablo wait. Tho
men escaped from tho city and so far na I
know wero never caught. Thero wns a
reward of $10,000 for them."
