" Here is his description of this mischievous
_genus homo_. "It is he who goes around in eastern and southern Europe
from city to city and village to village telling fairy tales about the
prosperity of many immigrants in America and the opportunities offered
by the United States for aliens. The runner does not know of anyone who
is undesirable; he claims to be all-powerful, that he has
representatives in every port who can 'open the door' of America to
anyone. It is he who induces many a diseased person to attempt the
journey, and it is also he and his associates who do their best to have
the undesirables admitted. The steamship companies, as a rule, do not
deal with these runners directly and disclaim all responsibility for
their nefarious practices. But the official agents of the steamship
companies do pay their runners commissions for every immigrant referred
to them. I have especially studied this problem along the borders of
Germany, Russia, and Austrian Galicia. Here most of the emigrants are
smuggled across the frontiers by these runners and robbed of the greater
part of their cash possessions. When they arrive at the 'control
station' it is remarkable that most emigrants have cards with the
address of a certain steamship ticket agent, and the agent, on the other
hand, has a list of all the individuals who were smuggled across the
frontiers.
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