IMMIGRANT HOMES AND AID SOCIETIES.

Immigrants to the United States generally come to relatives or friends who have preceded them. When these relatives or friends fail to meet the immigrants on arrival, or to send the necessary funds to enable them to continue the journey to their destinations, the immigration authorities deal with the problem presented in one of two ways: Either the immigrants are debarred, i. e., sent back to Europe, as likely to become public charges, or they are placed with someone whom the authorities consider trustworthy to be cared for until such time as they may secure employment or be called for by relatives or friends. At Ellis Island immigrants whose friends or relatives fail to call for them on arrival are detained five days, and if at the end of that time no friends or relatives have called, the immigrants are given the choice of leaving the immigrant station in company with a missionary or representative of some philanthropic or religious society or returning to Europe.

In order to afford such immigrants the opportunity of landing and also to help them and other aliens to avoid dangers that are likely to be encountered, certain philanthropic and religious societies have undertaken the work of assisting immigrants upon their arrival at the various large ports of this country. These societies, by special permission of the Government, send missionaries and representatives, the majority of whom are of the races they are employed to assist, to the immigrant stations and to the Government's detention rooms for the purpose of aiding incoming immigrants in every necessary and proper way. In the furtherance of this object many of the societies establish homes where the immigrants may be temporarily lodged and cared for.

DISCHARGE OF IMMIGRANTS TO IMMIGRANT HOMES AND AID SOCIETIES.

The act of permitting an immigrant to leave the immigrant station is called "discharging" him, and when he leaves the station in care of another person he is said to be discharged to that person. The person to whom he is discharged is theoretically held responsible by the authorities to the extent that the immigrant will not become a public charge. Although there are a great many different circumstances that impel the authorities to discharge immigrants to missionaries and representatives, there seem to be but three general classes of immigrants who are discharged in this way in great numbers: (1) Immigrants whose friends and relatives fail to meet them at the immigrant station and whom the authorities do not deem it wise to land unless some one becomes responsible for their proper care; (2) immi

grants who are without sufficient money to enable them to reach their destinations and who must therefore be cared for until the necessary funds are forthcoming; (3) immigrants, particularly women and girls, who have no friends or relatives in this country and are in need of a home where they may stay until they secure employment.

There is no provision of law authorizing the admission of persons to the immigrants at the immigrant stations for the purpose of doing missionary work of any kind, and the presence of missionaries and representatives at the immigrant stations and the selection of the institutions which may be represented there are largely matters of local administration and rest with the commissioner in charge of each station.

At Ellis Island, in the calendar year 1907, over 14,800 immigrants were discharged to missionaries and representatives by the New York discharging division. As the commissioners of immigration and the boards of special inquiry also discharged immigrants, these figures do not represent the total number placed in the care of immigrant homes and aid societies. One home provided 5,378 men, 1,822 women, and 60 children with board and lodging in 1907, and of this number 922 men, 1,062 women, and 34 children were intrusted to the home by the immigration authorities.

At the other immigrant stations, the commissioners of immigration stated that they discharged comparatively few immigrants to missionaries and representatives. One of the commissioners said that the number of immigrants discharged at his station would not average more than two per week. It is to be noted, however, that even at the ports where few immigrants were discharged to missionaries and representatives, these persons had free access to the immigrants at the landing stations and, in some instances, in the detention rooms.

In view of the fact that the work of immigrant homes and aid societies is generally recognized by the immigration authorities as an important and necessary one, it is somewhat surprising to find that in a good many instances little selective discretion is exercised by the authorities in granting to these organizations the special governmental privilege of representation at the immigrant station. The commissioner at one station stated that this privilege of representation was given to all persons who wished to do missionary work at the station and in the detention rooms, as long as these missionaries and representatives did not quarrel with one another or attempt to proselyte. One official remarked that sometimes there were more missionaries than immigrants at the station. At another station, the authorities stated that almost any organization wishing representation was granted a pass, but that the organizations asking for the privilege stated the qualifications of their representatives and always chose good people. The authorities at one station made the statement that almost any organization was allowed to send missionaries and representatives to the station, but that only three women, one of whom was the manager of an immigrant home, were allowed to visit the detention rooms.

The authorities at one station (where, in June, 1908, there were 87 missionaries and representatives maintained by 41 organizations), in granting this privilege of representation, seemed to place most emphasis on the condition that all services rendered at the station

should be free of charge, and apparently gave little attention to the personal character and qualifications of the missionaries and representatives. In speaking of the conditions under which societies and homes were allowed representation, the commissioner at this station told an agent of the Commission in 1907 that more importance was attached to the general standing of the society or house itself than to the personal character and qualifications of its representatives.

The following instance is illustrative of the methods employed by the authorities at this station in dealing with this privilege of representation. Through information given by an agent of the Commission, the methods employed by a certain home in placing inmates in situations were investigated in 1907 by the proper city authorities, and a man on the staff of the home was arrested for violating the employment agency law by charging fees to employers and employees without a license for so doing. The immigration authorities, who from time to time had received a great many complaints against this home for similar offenses, were told by an agent of the Commission of the arrest and of the evidence leading to it, but the commissioner of immigration said that he could do nothing in the matter until the evidence became judicially established. Although the arrest of this member of the staff naturally reflected on the philanthropic character of the home, its representatives were allowed to visit the immigrant station daily, and frequently had as many as 50 immigrants in a day discharged in their care. About two months later the member of the staff was convicted of the charges against him, but another month elapsed before any action was taken in regard to the home by the immigration authorities. When at last the home was debarred from representation at the station the clerical member of the society in charge of the home wrote to the commissioner, and stated that the accusation brought against the home was false and that the case against the member of the staff had been dismissed. In reply the commissioner demanded a certified copy of the court's record of the dismissal of the case. The manager then referred the whole matter to the responsible nonresident head of the home, a church official of high position, who wrote to the commissioner and stated that the manager of the home had explained to him the trouble arising from the misconduct of one of the agents of the home, and that he himself was convinced that the delinquency was not the result of anything in the management of the home, but was the fault of an employee, who was guilty of a breach of the trust that had been placed in him. The commissioner then demanded the dismissal of the offending agent, and on compliance with this request the home was again given the privilege of representation at the immigrant station.

Where the degree of care used in granting the privilege of representation is so small, it is natural to find that the authorities exercise very little supervision of the work of the institutions. At one station the missionaries, representatives, and managers of homes are supposed to make weekly reports to the immigration authorities on blanks furnished for that purpose of their disposition of immigrants discharged to them. These reports cover the immigrant's name, age, sex, nationality, and race; name of steamship and date of its arrival; date and hour immigrant was received at the house; date and time immigrant left the house; total amount paid by immigrant; destina

tion of immigrant; name of transportation line by which immigrant was forwarded; name, address, and relationship, if any, of party to whom delivered; nature of immigrant's employment; and the amount of the wages to be received. When an agent of the Commission attempted to compile statistics of the number of immigrants discharged to the missionaries and homes and the number of immigrants reported upon by certain of the homes, it was found that these reports were very incomplete. Of 4,400 immigrants discharged to one home less than 3,100 had been reported upon by the home, leaving over 1,300 immigrants unaccounted for. The fact that the reports of the missionaries and homes were incomplete was made known to the immigration authorities at this station, and a system of checking up was established January 1, 1908, by which the authorities ascertained whether or not all of the immigrants discharged to missionaries, representatives, and homes were reported upon, but no effort was made to ascertain the truth of the information contained in the reports themselves.

Although the commissioner of immigration at this station asserted that all immigrant homes were inspected and reported upon by a certain inspector before they were allowed the privilege of representation, this inspector, when asked by an agent of the Commission, did not know the addresses of two recently established homes which maintained representatives at the station, and said that he had not visited either of them. The official records of the station showed that another inspector had been detailed to look into the matter of granting representation to one of these homes, but his report on the same made no mention of an inspection of the premises, and investigation by an agent of the Commission developed the fact that the petitioners for representation had acted as their own references in the matter.

SCOPE AND METHODS OF INVESTIGATION.

As previously explained, immigrant homes and aid societies are institutions organized for the purpose of performing helpful and necessary services for incoming immigrants. The field which they occupy is an extensive one. Probably no philanthropic agencies in this country carry on work among a class of people standing in greater need of aid and assistance. The peculiar character of the services required, and the privilege of free access to immigrants at the immigrant stations and detention rooms bring to the representatives of these societies unlimited opportunities of doing good. But at the same time they impose special duties and obligations. The great opportunity of doing good is, because of the very nature of the work carried on, an unrestricted opportunity of doing evil. If these philanthropic organizations are to render valuable and disinterested services to immigrants they must be responsible and carefully conducted institutions, officered and represented by honest and trustworthy men and women.

Because of this situation the Immigration Commission felt that a careful investigation should be made of societies and institutions carrying on the work of assisting newly arrived immigrants. The Commission desired particularly to investigate possible abuses of the privilege of representation at immigrant stations; the management

and sanitary condition of immigrant homes; the fairness and reasonableness of charges for board, lodging, and services rendered; and the degree of care exercised by these institutions in placing immigrants, particularly young women and girls, in employment.

The Commission's investigation of these institutions covered a period of nineteen months (August 1, 1907, to March 1, 1909). One hundred and two immigrant homes and aid societies were carefully examined and reported upon. Of this number, 58 assisted immigrants or specific classes of persons which frequently included immigrants, but did not maintain homes, and 44 maintained immigrant homes or homes in which immigrants or specific classes of persons which sometimes included immigrants were accommodated. In addition to these homes and aid societies it was found necessary to investigate a certain number of employment agencies. After taking charge of an immigrant the home or aid society has frequently to assist him to secure work. Some of the societies and homes themselves maintain employment agencies for this purpose, while others merely direct the immigrant to certain agencies. In order to ascertain the degree of care exercised in placing immigrants in employment the character of 25 of these agencies, the majority of which were operated in connection with immigrant homes or aid societies or were recommended by representatives of homes and societies, was investigated.

No effort was made to attempt a detailed investigation of the work of every missionary, representative, society, and home coming in contact with immigrants, but it is believed that a sufficiently large number of institutions were examined, and that these institutions were sufficiently typical, to represent accurately existing conditions.

The method of investigating first adopted was to have an agent of the Commission visit the immigrant station, read the official records and obtain all the information which the authorities possessed with respect to the society or home to be investigated, and then go to the home or society headquarters and, in an unofficial capacity, make inquiries in regard to methods employed by the organization in caring for immigrants, the amounts charged for services rendered, the usual practice of the institution with respect to securing employment for immigrants, and all other matters concerning which information was desired.

But it was soon found that this way of conducting the investigation elicited only the most formal kind of information, and if any real knowledge of the work of the institutions was to be obtained it must be from personal observation and study extending over some number of days and during a time when the officers in charge of the homes and aid societies were not cognizant of the fact that they were being investigated. Accordingly, a young married woman of foreign birth, who spoke four languages, who had been trained as a bookkeeper, and who had, during her residence in this country, been in domestic service and worked as a waitress in a restaurant, was engaged to go to the home to be investigated, secure admittance as an immigrant in need of shelter and employment, and live there during the entire period of the investigation. Ten more young women were employed at different times to assist in the investigation. Four of these served in the rôle of immigrants seeking work-that is, they went to homes and aid society headquarters and asked assistance in finding employment. Four assumed the rôle of keepers of disorderly houses who 82401°-VOL 2—11-21