Show ON WARDS ISLAND tho the awful tRe ol 01 being a mormon A BEAUTIFUL LOCATION how ho w the detained Emi arrants fared 61 money counts ay with the commissioners money counts with the commis BI boners of emigration not that the worthy gentlemen are blo to pecuniary inducement in their official action not at all sim simply P ly that the man in a blouse with a shilling in his pocket is detained an unwilling prisoner on hie his arrival from europe E until the commission can determine whether he has bus brains enough to enable him to make a livin living a while the snob in a cutaway aitho with uncounted counted sovereigns in hie his purse lands with only the customs officers to interfere with him and no quest ionis are asked although it may may be perfectly evident that left to himself be he could no more earn a living than fly money counts and the emigrant who cornea comes over with a pocketful of spare coin alth although nugh hia his coat be ragged escapes from frown the commission with little difficulty sometime sometimes as in the c case ase of the mormons who have just passed through temporary imprison imprisonment i men t the question of character ie is involved the commission under undertook to to do what congress has not succeed ed in doing check the spread of polygamy in the united states it does not seem probable that the commission will atten attempt iDt it again very soon boon the board is authorized to investigate the cases of all emigrants to determine whether they are competent to take care of themselves and to refuse permission to land to such as seem likely to become a public charge in the case of the the the commission went outside this to prevent the people from landing and alre drew w the line at religious and presumptively moral incapacity it ie is not probable that many people will blame the commission for its attempt to elevate the moral status of the but the he courts found that there was little e in the law to justify them in detaining abid emigrants and ac ca cordingly all but five were let go thesa thes five are detained on legitimate mate grounds for further investigation 9 into heir resources r 1 ced when the vessel on which the alo mormons amons were C came maie into port the emigrants as usual were taken to castle garden and put through the regular formula ot of inquiries it was at once developed th that at they were bound for the pol polygamous re gion and the whole tot lot fifty in number were turned aside on suspicion the commission determined to make a test case and therefore sent them up to wards island by a fiction of the law no em emigrant 19 rant is held to land in this country if he is taken at once from the castle to wards island he may be detained there a mouth if the commission desire it and if then he lie is found to be without a trade or money or friends to guarantee his pros prosperity erity he lie is taken back to castle garden and the steamship company that brought him over is bound to carry him pack the period of dt detention is not usually more than a week though cases are not infrequent wh where e re the delay is twice as long the institution at wards island was not established for the purpose of a prison for doubtful but as a hospital for sick emigrants al though nominally a government institution it is self supporting for every emigrant brought into port the steamship companies car g them have to pay 60 50 cents and the tax thus collected is turned over to the hospital for its support naturally a sudden influx of half a hundred emigrants healthy but poor or suspected puts the institution to a severe test and gives the superintendent no little trouble to care for them when tho the mormons arrived dr murple the acting superintendent was absent in this city and the at ten tend dante ants in charge were a as worried as the p proprietor etor of a small hotel who sees four times aa as many guests approaching as at ho be has accommodations for the mormons presumably felt the anxiety of the guests for none of them knew what they were going there for the ferry to I 1 the ailand is land is a crude ameir for this part art of the country consisting aim im ply of a large four haupers pau pera pers it plies between the island and street once in half an hour wards ward island ia is gnp of the moet most attractive looking spots in this vicinity willow willows and evergreen trees lawns and handsome buildings give ive it tho the appearance of a publio rio park but the unhappy cormons mormons Mor mons homesick irom from unhappy their long ong journey failed to see a plea pleasure sare anit most of them were women and scotch the rest being danes daues of both sexes when they rea realized lied what whit th their meant and ila its possibilities they 11 lifted up their voices and rent the air with lamentation they wanted to go at once to their hus husbands banUs and those who any wanted to get out and find one some of them had a vague idea that mr air mormon was a philanthropist whose sole object was to find comfortable homes for worthy young men others knew nothing whatever of or polygamy and were not bound for utah utah at a all they were bere prisoners nevertheless and their grieving was useless when dr murple arrived no time was lost in putting the emi rants into A room known as the nursery was appropriated for the women it Is is up two flights of stairs in the main build ing and baa has windows to the east and west altogether it is a light cheerful room for children and not eo so bad for a lodging place fo for I 1 Adults qt 11 i it ie is iauch much better than a dark stuffy u ff steerage etee rage of course but the emigrants had entered the steerage etee rage voluntarily and here they were driven in it made all the differ i ence in the world and the enlarged quarters imp improved royed ventilation and fresh cots were unappreciated luxuries the anen were taken to a hospital ward in a another nother wing it Is is similar nilar in appearance to the nursery nure ery but smaller it seemed to the doctor like crowding to gee them all in but in realia reality y the emi grants felt lust lost in the un unnecessary necess ary pace apace it was evening when they came and they had little knowledge of their prison until morn morning 1 ing ned harrigan in one of his comedies makes a newly arrived emigrant the victim of swindlers and of such circumstances that he be b gets locked u up in the tombs wi within ahin a day of hp hia 8 landing surveying the walls of hie his cell be he remarks contemptuously 1 I came to america for liberty and thi this is how bow 1 I get it mr air harrigan might make the sian aaion doubly keen by placing the victim in the bands of a the commie commis eigners boners of almi emigration 9 ration on the morning the suspects were ushered into little dining rooms for breakfast A plain bench about ten feet long is the table and the seats are two low benches on either side such as are seen only in poorhouses and country churches the meal which was substantial and wholesome having been disposed of the emigrants were told thai that they were free to go where they pleased except off the island ai As that was the one place where they pleased dd to go and as the island comprehended a very small portion of this great country and especially as the island in legal fiction was only a 6 part of th the e high seas orthe or the deck leek of a steamer the emigrants viewed the prospect with despair lamentation threatened to break out again but a general weeping was averted in this way one or two of the more philosophical saw that under proper cibeu circumstance matan ces wards eWards island would be a capital place for a picnic and they resolved to make the most moi tofit of it and enjoy thern themselves selves to such extent aa as they could while captivity lasted and trust to providence to end it happily accordingly they started forth fl for or a ramble among the trees and obeying the gregarious instinct the gitig ot others era followed the fresh air the green gras grass lie the beautiful foliage the absence of the pitching n ship all tended to give them nee needed relief and at noon they returned with hearty appetites for dinner it was better than that served on they appreciated it but they had not ceased to long for the real and prospective husbands and the presence of the examining gave them no joy A multitude of quee ques asked of every one and then the commissioners hurried away to court the emigrants eini granta were assured that if they were all right the delay would be brief rather an ambiguous assurance but better than none moat most of them were inclined to take it hopefully by putting their minds to it they could find much to interest them on the island it was not at all unpleasant to lie in the shade of a graceful willow and wat watch cli the active life of the river all kinds of craft in great numbers were constantly passing mammoth 11 side ide wheel passenger steamers from iron the east diminutive tugs alone or drawing huge rafts loaded with freight trains after them coasting schooners ners excursion excursion boats bonde script scows and refuse barges ac but to the wea we tand stand only a quarter mile distant was the great city and that reminded them of their ca captivity deity tive five daye days they passed on the island as little free as if they bad had committed crime for though the they could roam about the pla place ce at will they could not depart and no petty thief ever wanted more to de depart a rt from blackwells Black welle than did tt these ese people from wards when at last the word came to forty five of them that they might proceed on their journeys or land aa as the legal phree be hath it they graciously tie ie dared elated that they hilaa bad bad a pleasant time barring the tho absence of bus hs bande bands A laign percentage odthe alleged mo Mor mope then went to idaho and montana where genuine husband husbands awaited them the five who remain are ordin ordinary arv examples of those unhappy pe people op r e who get extravagant notions con berning the gold that grows on the we trees here they have no unoo tt trade ade no friends who can be responsible for them and little cash case cases are not infrequent where a it man arrives at castle garden with his goods and chattels all included in a handkerchief and less than a dollar in his pocket the commissioners are slow vow to sen send d such a roan man back they consider each individual vid ual case cue on its merits separately and sympathize W with ith the sentiments of commissioner Commin ioner taintor taintor who eaid at a recent meets meet ing 1139 we wo must remember that some of our most prosperous people arrived in this count country ty with no thing but their muscles to depend on the famous family of gen sullivan of revolutionary fame faine was one marked example and ben F franklins ran klins entrance into pennsylvania vania must not be forgoston for gotton some of our best citizens are from those who came here penniless nevertheless money counts it is the evidence of ability to earn it money and youth and matrimony for when the commission discusses a cage ease and one of the investigators announces that the party in question is married and apparently not over 22 yeara of age lie is passed or allowed to land without further hesitation A young married man can g generally ene rally be depended on to support himself himi elfand and family eaid white haired commissioner starr dropping his chin and cooki looking n g over the tope tops of his spectacles with young married women suspected of mormonism tho the case was different lerent diff N Y sun |