Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, December 31, 1911, EDITORIAL, Page 5, Image 16

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    TIIK OMAHA SUNDAY HKK: DIXKMmiU 31. 1011.
5
v.
.Build
hi you must but set
a skyscraper foundation in 19
By T. Toby Jacob:
Have CHEER you business weakling. Take HEART you diminutive dealer. Build BRAVELY in 1912,
even though your LAST year's efforts lay as pitifully broken as house of cards."
feet busy in 1912." Then again, say to yourself, "Im all right, my goods ar all right, I buy righfl
and I sell right and I tote fair with my customers, but I didn't 'HOLLER enough LAST yearl"
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Perhaps you didn't have enough HARDENING in your BUSINESS FOUNDATION last year; more
than likely your DETERMINATION RIVETS COOLED before they clinched CUSTOMERS to your
COUNTERS; it's even likely that your BUILDING TOOLS were not as KEEN as those of your COMPETI
TOR. Better lay a NEW foundation in 1912; start TODAY; commence with a ONE story business if you must,
but secure it with an UNDERPINNING that will STAND MORE stories as fast as you GROW and GROW
ING will be 0002 in 1912. j
' THIS is a SKYSCRAPER AGE, Brother; he who crawls at a snail's wiggle pace is TROD underfoot; the
dart-ahead-fellow with the aviator flutter gets the CHEERS of the populace.
.
There is NO such thing as standing still in business; you've got to take a LARGER or a SMALLER
store THIS year; your sales must SWELL or SHRINK; your brain must LAG or THINK.
You cannot enlarge your store SIDEWISE, for there's already another hustler on either SIDE of you;
you cannot go BACKWARD, for if you do you'll strike an alley; there is only ONE growth open to you and
that is UPWARD and ONWARD with MORE business and MORE customers.
' -. .. . ... .
"1912" will prove a MERCANTILE MARVEL; the PAST year's failures have whizzed by like a tank
station past a flyer '3 window and SAFE SIGNALS show a clear business track for another year.
. Failures, Survivals, Fair Success and PHENOMENAL GROWTHS will be as PLENTIFUL as EVER
during the next twelvemonth, but "Dame Fortune "will have NAUGHT to do with their SHAPING; the
sheer height of .your commercial structure will depend upon the plumb line of push; if you build on brittle
you are broke; the skyward climb is easier if you plant your resolve at BED ROCK.
Make a BUNCH of resolutions today and KEEP them; say to yourself, "I'll keep my eyes open and my
Uncle Sam Receiving New Citizens at Ellis Island
(Copyright, 1911, by Frank CI. Carpenter.)
EW YORK CITY. This is the
Nl story of an Immigrant.
I Not of a real Slmonpure lm
I mlu-ranf V. , , ... 1 ln
MWfc v. IIIJWI. III 111.-
migrant clothes.
1 came to New York with a
ni Mr. Nagel, secretary of com-inerc-o
and labor, to Mr. Williams, tho
commissioner of immigration it Ellis
Island. The letter requested that I be
shown all the processes and given all
information as to how the fo:-eigner
breads into this country. Uncle Sam is
adopting- Into our n.-Ulonal family more
than. 1,000,000 new brothers and' sisters
each year. Me keeps rushing them In at
the rate of 2.000 or 3,000 a day, or of more
than 100 an hour from midnight to mid
night, all the year through.
Jow do these people get in?
Who- are they?"
What are they?
Where do they come from?
Where do they go?
Can we dest them? Or will they he
like a lump of sour dough on Uncle Sam's
stomach, poisoning our national family?
The Eiprrlrnrr of One Immigrant,
I shall answer the last question first,
and that by my experience as an . im
mfgrant. The first chapter of It Is imagi
nary. You must suppose me a peasant In
Home little town in southeastern Europe.
M,y wages are less than 25. cents a day,
and the chief part of my dirt is brown
bread and water. One morning a smooth,
'.veil dressed man comes and offers mw
all sorts of inducements to f,o acrots the
ocean. He paints the Vii.icd States as a
conntry where Bold dollars can be pinked
up In the street;, utid finally persuades
me lo pay enough out of my savings to
buy a rteamshlp ticket to New York.
Tlie ticket Is for the steerage and it costs
tu Armed with It I go to l-'iume,
which is my nearest port and, after being
examined and fumigated, am hurried with
I'.OpO others Into the. hold of a steamer.
It Is the steamship company that causes
my going. My passage helps to pay its
i :c'dcnd.s, and that Is the reason their
stint lias called upon me. They get the
worth of theli money. I pay them one
third or one-half as much ai a first cabin
j.a$!.erger, but I sleep In a bunk, away
i O'n below decks In a room with huri
cYeda of others. I cat my "meals out of
t r pots and pans, and I have a luxurious
listing place, between rains, on the bare
floor where sea-slck men, woncn nnd
ih cr.n, my fe! o-v-passei geir, He sprawl
i.tj around.
Afttr fifteen daye of fairly jjjOil sall
1: g I l.avu passed out tf the Meulter
lanoai:, have crossed the Atlantic and
have steamed by the great Statue of lib
erty to the docks of New York. Thare
the cabin passengers have been landed,
and I have been shoved w.th the rest of
my fallows Into a barge and carried to
tlM little archipelago. comtlatliig of three
lit of land surrounded by water called
Kills island. The islands are cjvered with
buildings which seem to float on the har
bor. They are Joined by bridges, and our
lai'e floats right up to the doors.
Xuinlter liil (irois "F."
In the meantime the uuo of us have
been aorted and herded in groups. This
vas done on the steamer and each waa
n'ven a card showing his group and his
l umber. 1 am No. 25, group "P." This is
printed ou a white card which is pinned
in' in y breast, the officers "having cau
tioned me to keep it in sight. I have also
I, ad to sign a long paper of answers to
all sorts of questions. I have given my
full name and my age, have stated
whether I was a man or a woman, waa
married or single and whether I could
read or write. 1 had to give my na
tionality, race and last residence. I liaU
t state where I was going, and whether
my passage waa paid by myself or any
other person. coriKiratlon, society munic
ipality or government. I had to tell what
money I had or whether It waa as much
a 130, and if t waa going to Join friends
en this side. 1 gave answers to the ques
tions whether I had been In prison, or
tl.s poor house, or In an Insane asylum,
ted also whether I was mentally or
y 2' ' , V,il ' I . , . ... .' .. iXAarspaaum
r . Ahmi'' -l 'v.V
physically deficient, deformed or crippled,
and if yes, for how long and what made
me so. This paper and my signature. 1
was fated to mset with later on.
I had also passed the quarantine doc
tors at Sandy Hook, where they looked
me over to aee if I had any contagious
diseases and had failed to find upon ms 1
any sign of cholera, smellpo. yellow i
fever or plague. After all this I ha1 ex- '
pected to go right througu Ellis lilanrt I
and to at once land on ths golden streets
of Slew York.
How mistaken I was. 1
I was just at the beginning Instead of
at the end of the process of bresking
through I ncla Sam's doors. The thirty
of group "F, most of us carrying our
baggage, were taken across the dock into
a hallway and rushed single file up a long
pair of stairs. At the top of these we
passed Into a room where a dogen men In.
uniform stood. W then walked across
lnt n alley shut off by railings so that
only on could go ahead at a time. Tl
men In uniform were the doctors of the.
maiiue hohpilal i-ervkc The fiit man
who liiHppcted me uus on tho outlook
for uny kIhuh of deformity or contaKious
diHeuse. lie looked at my legs to ee if
! they were the pame lenijth ami sound,
he grabbed at my collar to Fee if 1 had
the goitre, and with his eyes examined
i me from my crown to my toe for signs of
tuberrulosi:;. 1 hud noticed that he hud
I put a chalk mark on the Kli'l ahead of
me and was relieved when he let ms
go by.
TrslliiBY the Immigrant's Kyrs.
A. little further on I came to a gate
where another doctor was standing. 1 '
could feel his eyes go through me is
approached, nnd then I felt him go
through my eyes. He had a little wooden
stick not blgKer than a toothpick, and
much like the orange stick you use In
nail cleaning. He, grabbed my right eye
lid and bent it bark so that he could see
ths whole hall of the eve. He' then took
the left eyelid and did the same. He was
looking for contagious trachoma or
ophthalmia, and had It teen thei he I
O aWBBHBBBBBBBBBBBBBSr'mAaBSaBBBBBBBSaaBBBBBBBBBBBBirta.
would, have taken me out of the ruults
ami mado the steamship compiinc rsrry
me buck whence I i-aiue. This 'a done
with eery inimlgiuiit. and the immigra
tion doctors look at L'.OUO.MJO eyes lu this
way every year. I
My eyes were all light, however, and 1
j was shoved ulong with those who could
I be panned, as far as their health was con
! cernecl. Jt waa far different with others,
; hut of them I shall speak farther on. !
should say at leat A por cent were held
hack for special inquiry, each receiving; a
l!)ell.,w card hearing their name and the
retsons why they were held.
j I'assing: the Inspectors.
i My next experience, was In the regls
i try hall. Thin Is a great room covering
j about half an acre and filled with a
network of alleys Inclosed by Iron pipe
fences. Kacb . of the alleys Is devoted
to one group of Immigrants, and the
groups are labeled A, U, C, D, E, ate.
That's it! You've been SHY on HOLLER.' VOICE means VICTORY In commercialism; mix QUITE
a little ADVERTISING in the concrete that forms the foundation you are setting TODAY.
If your name is SIMPSON and you sell SHOES make 'em think of SIMPSON when they THINK of
SHOES. Set aside a FIXED sum for ADVERTISING; then spend it REGULARLY; so much per MONTH;
just as you spend for gas or wrapping paper or ink or rent.
And when you DO advertise FORGET the days of the HANDBILL and HAND BELL. You've a MIL
LION MOUTHED COURIER to shout your wares TODAY; you've the POWER of the PRES3 at your beck
and call; you've the NEWSPAPER.
That wonderful life of the printed page stands ready to be TAPPED any time; if YOU are NOT tapping
it it's your OWN fault. But remember, there's NO power, NO voice, to mere white paper. Newspaper
space, like a painter's canvas, is worthless until you PUT something ON it. In other words, YOU produce
the HUSTLE and the NEWSPAPER will produce the BUSTLE,
TELL something in your advertisement; tell FACTS; explain METHODS; picture PROCESSES; state
SIZES; popularize your PURPOSE; make EVERY word, sentence or paragraph state a REASON why a
READER should seek YOUR store. ' )
And here is some MORE building material for that SKYSCRAPER you crave in 1912; clean MER
CHANDISE; snappy STYLES; wonderful WINDOWS; reasonable PRICES, and CLERKS so courteous
that they will STRENGTHEN your foundation instead of UPROOTING it.
So BUILD Brother BUILD BOLDLY. Mix courage with your concrete; use the LEVEL to make your
patrons loyal. If LAST year's structure turned out to be an "AIR CASTLE" change your plans and speci.
fications.
BUILD SMALL IF YOU MUST, BUT SET A "SKYSCRAPER FOUNDATION" IN 1912.
to correspond with the letters borne by
those who conic! from the ship. At flit;
end of ouch alley Is un Inspector in
uniform with a tall desk before him.
lie npe.ks a half dozen lanKuttges, unci
catet'blneB each Immigrant as ho gom
through. He niakc Mm pass all the
tests for admission, and if ho belongs
to the objected clasHes decides uKulnxt
him, marks him L. 1'. ('., or liable to be
come a public charge, and puis him on the
mad buHt to lJtii ope. There v were two
pretty Servian girls In front of me, and
tht questions asked them made me think
that th officer euspncln! that they
mlgt b white slaves." Behind me was
a fine looking old woman, with a white
handkerchief over her bead. Slio was
asked as to her relatives, and whuther
they would support her on lauding.
1 moved along with the crowd, ana
when I tame to the gate I found that
tb luspeclor had the long shwt of
answers which I had written out on
th steamer. H asked ach question
over araln and cross-examined me to
see If I - waa telling th truth. .When
I told him I had MS he mad me taJt
It out and 'count It befor him. I ob
served that th two girls In front of
me each had eight gold pieces of the
denomination of 20 marks. The man
talked to them In German.' and the
party In front of them was 'addressed
In Polish. Indeed, he seemed to . have
a whole babel of language at his
tongue's end.
It took . him about two minutes to
finish my examination and after he
waa convinced that. I wa honest and
not liable to .become a public charge
ha gave me a yellow ticket stamped
O. K., and as I passed out 1 was at Innt,
lit "Xinerlca. . - ' ' '
Hallway Arraatrntrali, -
This ticket only waa given ma because
I Intended to stay In New York. . Many
of the other Immigrants who were parsing
through had In addition tickets marked
"H," and later on they were bdged with
tho names of the railroads by which they
were to go to th west or to other parts
of the country. ' I followed some of them
Into a room which was like a great rail
road depot. There was a bank ' at one
end for the exchanging of money, with
the rates of exchange plainly published
over the cashier's window. There woie
ufllces where one could buy tickets, and
places where the baggage could be chucked
direct upon them. There were also, lunch
counters selling bags of food for 50 cents
or ft and every other convenience to help
th Immlgrunt on his way. Tho ' bags
woro large, and the food waa good. In
deed, I doubt ' whether one "can get as
much for the money anywhere else In
New Vol I;. This Is all regulated by law.
Thu Immigrants bound for other parts
of the country arc taken charge of by
the railroads and put on the. right cars,
Mral Back to F.arope,
Ho much for th Immigrant who gets In.
I .think there in too many of 'him and
that the country would be far better off
If two-thirds at least of him and his fam
ily were kept out of tho United Htates,
but according to the laws he Is a.lmlttted
and the future must he settled by con
gress. And now ss to the would-be Immigrants
Who Hre aent back. They ate brought
here at tho rlrk of the steamship compa
nies who cuny them, and are somrtlmus
sent in by countries and cltle. abroad
who want to get rid of supporting them
and inukv Uncle Hum puy the bill. The
classes wlio are excluded , are definitely
set down In the laws. Here Is u list of
them us the commissioner. of immigration
has given It to me:
Idiots, Imbeciles, fer b,e-io;u.e J persons
and eillrptlcs. I mane, persons who have
been Insane within five years. I'aupera
snd persons likely to become a public
churgc l'eihoiis having tuberculosis or
a dangerous contagious disease. I'ersons
Miff, ring from m-'ntul or physical de
frclH which may affect their ability to
earn a living. i liniiiaui, pulygamlsts
and anarchists. .I'roHtlttue and procur
er. Contrail laborers. I'ersons whoso
pHhage ban been paid for by any asso
iliitlon, municipality or ' foreign govern
ment, and lastly children untie;- W unac
companied by a parent.
How 'I be, ( heat lufle nam.
All soils of frauds ure attempted to
get thene clasped through. Diseased eye
are doctored and the lame arc taught to
walk' without limping as they pass by the
Inspectors. I.les Innumerable are told by
tho Immigrants and evory trick Is played
to pass through the registry hall. Juat
now an especial care is taken as t girls
who might be brought In as "white
slave." The lone Immigrant maiden Is
detained, and If there is any suspicion
concerning her she goes back to Europe.
Any one suspected of disease is examined
by several doctors,' and It takes the O. K.'
of three of them to let him go through.
To show how Important these restric
tions are. more than S4.roo Immlgrnnta
wer shut out of th United b'tates last
year upon this ground, and of these
almost 18.000 were paupers and likely to
b scorn public' charges. More then J.000
had loathsom or contagious diseases; MO
wero criminals, more than 300 wer pros
titutes and about 1,800 wer laborers who
cam to work under contract x
Million New Brother and Slater.
And now let us look at th million new
brothers and sister who got In. Wo
have adopted them all Into our national
family. Who are they and where do they
come fromT I ' wish you could have
tramped over Kilts Island with me and.
taken a look for yourselves at the sawsd
off, anemia, unintelligent classes who
passed through the doors at th same
time I did. There wer X604 of them
altogether, and the majority wer under
sited and uneducated.' They' cam front
southeastern Burope, and wer composed
largely of Hungarians, .Slavs, Italians,
gypsies and Polish and Russian Jews.
They were In about the same proportion
se' those w1 Imported last year, 6nly tho
number thl year' will be greater. Jri
1910 . we admitted 1.011.000 Immigrants,
and of Uies mora tban 800,000 war
shipped her from Europe. W had mora
than 260,000 from Austria-Hungary; we
had over 200,000 from Italy and 180,004
from the Russian emplr and Finland.
There was only a bagatelle from north
Kurope, and th bulk of the whole camo
from the southeastern countries of. that
continent, where from 23 to BO pr cent
of the people are Illiterate, and where In
some plaoes more than the majority can
neither read nor write. This hold true
of th Immigrants wo are now getting,
and It Is In striking contrast to those who
cam In In the past.
. For many years our adopted brothers
and sisters were from England, Scqtland,
Ireland, Germany and Kcandlnavlu.
Among these the percentage of education
waa high. Only about per cant of tho
Germans were illiterate and 1 per cent
of the English and Scotch. Only. 3 per
cent of the Irish could not read and
write, and the same was true of th
Finns, while the Illiteracy among the
Swedes and Norwegians ran as low as
on In a hundred. '
The people we are bringing In now ar
almost barbarians In comparison with,
those we had a generation ago, and thu
question Is. how Uncle Sam Is to tako
rare of them and still maintain th hlgli
rtandard of American character.
. The Great A merle Peril.
We talk of the yellow peril and shudder
as we think of Chinese and Japan
Immigration. I believe one of our great
est perils todsy is from Kuropeau Immi- -gratlon.
snd also In tho exploitation' of
our country by a lot of steamship com
panies whose stock la owned In Europe
and whose only aim Is to keep up their
CMdends. In the past the bulk of . th
Immigrants we.U to the west, and their
pure, fresh air of America and the smell
of old Mother Korth, a part of whom
was owned by themselves for the first
time, drove the servility of Europe out
of their veins, and by association wltu.
Americana and contact with American
problems they were finally ground, over
Into good American cltlxana
loiiitiilUi the Cities.
Now the Immigrant come In by the
million, and 'hundreds of thousands oC
Mm .te dropped down Into New York.
Philadelphia, Chicago, Hoxton and other
big cities. They lead there a life much
the same as hi Europe. Many ot then
go to the sweatshops, and their blood la
thinned by the oust of the factory or
mine. They tptak their own languagu
and Intermarry, They have their own
newspapers and are largely moved by
politicians or agitators who preach so-
clalbm and anarchism free from re
straint. The situation Is, indeed, far diffsrent
from anything we have bad in the past,
and it becomes more and more serious
from year to year. I hav before m the
numbers of Immigrants who hav landed
hi this country since 1ST2. There hav
been, gll told, a8,000.000 or . 000,000, and of
them about . one-fourth hav come . In
within tho last five yrers. W struck '
the million mark first in Wo. W brought
In another l.lOO.OuO in 10. and mora than
l.ftO.OQO In lsOT. In the two following
years times were hard and there was a
decrease, but In we came up to 1,000,.
000 again, and this year we have even
more. Can Uncle Sam Hand It? The
question bulks big In our prospects for '
the future, and it Is one that should be
settled forthwith.
FRANK G. CAWENTfcU.
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