2. Emigration

A garden of emigrants. – The great migration of peoples – An unprecedented influx of settlers into America. – The value of labor and money brought from Europe. – Russian settlers. – The Samar Germans and the sad tale of their travels.

On the shore of an ocean bay, washing the American metropolis, stands an enormous circular building, surrounded by high walls. Before the narrow gates into the spacious courtyard constantly throngs a multitude of people, presenting a unique spectacle in the world. This is the so-called emigrants’ garden (Castle Garden) – a place where settlers arrive from Europe and where they find their first shelter in the promised land of the New World. What a mixture of clothes, languages, and faces! Red-haired Scandinavians and dark Italians, dirty Polish Jews and tall Irishmen, phlegmatic Germans and fidgety Frenchmen – all crowd here together, writing their names in America’s book of life and looking about confusedly when an aerial train of the railway dashes almost over their heads. Shrewd Yankees hover about, trying as quickly as possible to squeeze extra tallers, rubles, or francs from inexperienced settlers. Here also constantly present are agents of political parties, collecting subordinate material for political agitations and thoroughly confusing poor emigrants with all sorts of baseless promises.

The past and current years in America have been among the most prosperous. Thanks to the large harvests of these years, the country’s industry has developed on a colossal scale, as if making up for the recent still grave crisis. The demand for labor proved to be huge, and it found a response in Europe, where at the same time systematic crop failures and grave political circumstances laid upon the working population an almost unbearable burden. The natural consequence was the intensification of emigration, and the past two years in this regard are unprecedented in the country’s history. Ocean steamships from Europe one after another bring whole thousands of settlers, as if all of Europe had decided to emigrate to America or a new era of the migration of peoples had come. In 1879, a total of 135,000 settlers arrived in America; in the past year, their number rose to 400,000, and for the current year, 500,000 are expected. The influx of emigration constantly fluctuates in its volume. The largest influx before this was in 1854, when more than 319,000 people arrived in America, and then gradually weakened until 1862, when only 76,000 arrived. From that year, emigration grew again, and in 1872 it reached 294,000. The following year, 1873, was the year of a terrible industrial crisis in the country, whose sad consequences had only just been erased, and therefore emigration weakened again, so that in 1877, the number of emigrants was only 54,000 – one of the smallest figures in the history of European emigration to the United States. In 1878, this figure rose to 75,000, and in 1879, as already stated above, the number of emigrants was 135,000. Given the direct dependence of emigration on crop failures and hunger, one could assume that the largest influx of settlers would be from Ireland, in which terrible famine raged in recent years. However, statistics show that the Irish element in emigration grew far out of proportion with other nationalities. Particularly noticeable is the influx from Germany and the Scandinavian peninsula. All this is predominantly young and healthy people who, relying on their strong hands and persistent labor, hope to acquire a good new farm in the new promised land. Emigration is constantly supported and increased by the fact that former settlers, having acquired a farm, call to America their relatives and friends, even sending them money for passage. The especially large influx of emigration this year is explained partly by the fact that the recent industrial crisis for a time stopped from emigrating many thousands of families, who now, having received favorable news from America, are hurrying to fulfill their long-cherished desire. Germans emigrating here openly complain of the unbearable condition in their dear “fatherland,” where Bismarck’s system of iron militarism stifles industry and free labor. Swedes complain of the scarcity and barrenness of the land, Irish of hunger and a poor system of land rental, Jews of government persecution and poor business, Italians of militarism and a heavy tax system, etc. In short, everywhere and always discontent, and in aging Europe it seems there is no such corner left where a man could be satisfied. Americans with outstretched arms receive these burdened, laboring, and discontent. The demand for labor at the present time is extraordinarily great. The labor office at the “emigrants’ garden” finds no difficulty in finding work for all those settlers who do not depart to the distant west. A remarkable feature of emigration in the past year is that among the settlers the age of maturity predominates, and there are relatively few children. A large proportion falls on young unmarried men, who will certainly all marry in America and thus become firmly attached to their new homeland.

Such emigration is extraordinarily advantageous for the country; it is living capital, which is even more valuable than money. Americans fully realize this. The governor of New York State presented to the legislative assembly the following evaluation of emigration: “The significance of this addition to our population, as a productive force, cannot be measured simply by quantity. A study, which I had the occasion to conduct several years ago, proved that whereas in our population men from fifteen to forty years of age account for only 21 1/2 percent, among settlers this percentage is always no less than 41 1/2. If the entire influx of emigration over the last thirty years equals 8,000,000, then this has given us such a labor force as our native population could give only with a size of more than 18,000,000 people. Moreover, these are mostly people of an age which coincides in Europe with military service obligations, that is, people with the highest capacity for physical labor. The chief sources of emigration have constantly been Germany and Ireland, which account for 2/3 of all settlers. In 1856, a calculation was made regarding the average amount of monetary reserves brought by emigrants, and as the lowest estimate, the sum of 68 dollars per head was found. This settlement is one of the most remarkable ever undertaken in history. It very rapidly increased our population, created great cities, established new states, gave employment to our railroads, expanded trade and industry, and took an active part in all great national events, for which our country was the theater. The advantages of such strong emigration spread throughout all northern parts of the republic. About 45 percent of it ordinarily settles in New York State during the first year after arrival, after which this proportion considerably decreases.” The Statistical Bureau in Washington, making a similar evaluation of emigration, calculated that it over a fifty-year period until 1871 increased the country’s capital by 6,243,880,800 dollars and in just 1870 by 285,000,000 dollars. But more valuable than the value of this simple physical and unrefined force of emigrants was the multitude of skilled craftsmen, rare talents, and even inventive geniuses that they represented. It is remarkable that it is ordinarily the most energetic and enterprising people who emigrate from Europe, which is, moreover, very understandable and natural. Such a long journey, undoubtedly, can only be undertaken by the most energetic natures, who at the same time can more successfully free themselves from the oppressive weight of a difficult social position. Weaker natures ordinarily even fear such an undertaking and do not have the strength to extricate themselves from their difficult situation. In recent times a particularly favorable aspect of emigration has become increasingly noticeable, namely, that settlers, barely stopping in New York, go straight to the distant west, where they quickly acquire land property and a farm. The distant west still and until now represents a rich desert with a sparse population. Land is cheap and requires only labor. How much room for emigration remains there can be judged by the fact that the single state of Texas can contain up to 50,000,000 population at average density, while now it still has less than two million.

Emigration in the past year alone has been marked by a special feature. In appearance it seems more advantageous than before. People look more educated and are dressed more respectably. But at the same time they are poorer in monetary terms, so that the average sum of money they bring can only be determined at 60 dollars per person. And yet, despite all this, emigration of the current year, even if we determine it at 450 thousand, will extract from Europe clean money totaling 27,000,000 dollars – as a gift to America. The poorest emigrants are considered to be Italians, who usually arrive here without a kopeck and live, as they do everywhere, through musical beggary with a miserable barrel organ; the most uneducated are Hungarian Slovaks, who have acquired the reputation here of the coarsest and most slovenly people, and the richest are considered to be North German and Russian settlers. Particularly good sums are brought by the latter – from the Mennonites, so that not infrequently the average figure among them is 1,000 dollars per head. Last autumn, twenty Mennonite families arrived from Russia and together brought a monetary reserve of 85,000 dollars, which for Russia represented a direct loss of 170,000 rubles at the exchange rate.

From the statistical reports printed weekly by the emigration commission, it can be seen that Russian settlers constantly arrive in America. Particularly many arrived this past spring. In some weeks the reports announced the arrival of Russian settlers up to 900 people. According to the customary specialization of the name “Russian,” it would naturally be understood that these are actually Russian people. So I at first thought, and with understandable joy hastened to the emigrants’ garden to see my fellow countrymen. But what was my disappointment and astonishment when instead of true Russian people I constantly encountered Poles and chiefly the esteemed peyos-wearers, Polish Jews. Poles, and especially Polish Jews, with their ugly peyos and dirty long-skirted caftans, for some reason consider it more advantageous for themselves to pass under the name of Russians, although most of the former do not know how to say a word in Russian. I have several acquaintances who are decidedly Poles, and yet boldly present themselves as purely Russian, and one of them even added to his surname, ending in ko, a Russifying syllable v. The matter is explained, however, by the fact that among Americans, for some reason, an unfavorable view of Poles has formed, as a degenerate and diminished nation, incapable of serious labor. Therefore, the Russian label gives them better chances of finding work. The masquerade of Jews under a Russian name is even more understandable. Americans generally do not like Jews very much, and Polish Jews are not even liked by their own brothers – American Jews, who disown them as if from some dangerous contagion. The very name “Polish Jew” or “polack” is considered by the latter a derogatory word, a synonym for slovenliness and baseness. A respectable American Jewish girl considers it shameful to marry a Polish Jew, even if he were a secret rich man. Clearly, under such circumstances, Polish Jews have little chance of good business, and so they grandly call themselves “pure Russian” people. Once a short typical little Jew came to the local Russian church and asked for relief from the “Russian charitable society.” Seeing that the petitioner was not Russian at all, the cash manager decided to refuse him relief, at the same time giving him the address of one of the rich Jewish charitable societies. – “I am not a Jew, by God, not a Jew!” the little Jew cried out. – “I am Russian! By God, I am Russian!” – “But you speak Russian poorly,” they remark to him. – “This means nothing! By God, not a Jew! I am a baptized Tatar – Peter Troitsky. By God, not a Jew!” – At this, all the muscles in the little Jew’s face worked desperately, and his hands actively flailed about, making the sign of the cross as proof that he was not a Jew, but Russian. The scene was so comically hilarious that it was undoubtedly worth more than a dollar, which was given to the little Jew. A couple of years ago these same “pure Russian” gentlemen founded a “Russian club” in New York. Americans, generally very interested in everything Russian, began to pay close attention to this club, and were not a little disappointed when they learned of the deception.

– “I am not a Jew, by God, not a Jew!” – the little Jew cried out. – “I am Russian! by God, I am Russian!”

– “But you speak Russian poorly,” they remark to him.

– “This means nothing! By God, not a Jew! I am a baptized Tatar – Peter Troitsky. By God, not a Jew!” – At this, all the muscles on the little Jew’s face worked desperately, and his hands actively flailed about, making the sign of the cross as proof that he was not a Jew, but Russian. The scene was so comically hilarious that it was undoubtedly worth more than a dollar, which was given to the little Jew. A couple of years ago these same “pure Russian” gentlemen founded a “Russian club” in New York. Americans, generally very interested in everything Russian, began to pay close attention to this club, and were not a little disappointed when they learned of the deception.

There are almost no true Russian settlers here. Rarely there are isolated cases of Russians appearing, and sometimes of a very strange nature. Recently, a simple Russian soldier woman arrived here on an English ship with three little ones from Arkhangelsk. The unfortunate adventuress came here in search of her husband, without a kopeck and with only a dozen broken English words. Her husband she did not find, and with her hungry crying little children on the very first day after arrival, she was forced to ask for charity on the street. The police arrested her and turned her over to the emigration commission for return to Russia. Americans do not like such settlers. They are not the sort that Mennonites with fat wallets.