of the protest entered by this consulate-general against the proposed expulsion of Hugo Klamer to the United States legation, under date of the 24th instant, because I was under the impression that the said protest had been rejected by the honorable police directory, as I had not the honor to be favored with an answer to the same by the 23d instant. As regards the statement contained in the esteemed communication, namely, "that the belief that the 27th day of January instant was fixed for the carrying out of said decree was based upon a misunderstanding," I respectfully beg leave to say that Mr. Hugo Klamer informed this consulate-general that at the time when said expulsion decree was served upon him he was notified by the imperial royal police officer making such service that said decree would be enforced on the 27th instant. Inasmuch as this consulate-general regarded this verbal notice as official, and as no date for the enforcement of the decree was noted upon the face of this document, this consulate-general thought it proper to be guided in its action by the verbal notice referred to. With the assurance of my grateful appreciation of your esteemed communication and of the explanation with reference to the mode of procedure in the case under consideration, I have, etc., EDMUND JUSSEN. No. 37.] Mr. Grant to Mr. Blaine. LEGATION OF THE UNITED STATES, Vienna, October 10, 1889. (Received October 26.) SIR: Your instruction (No. 21) of the 19th ultimo, inclosing a copy of the complaint of Mr. Frank Xavier Fisher, a naturalized citizen of the United States, on account of his arrest and imprisonment at Wolfurt, Austria, was duly received, and I have now the honor to transmit herewith a copy of a note, which, in compliance with your direction, I addressed to Count Kalnoky, Imperial and Royal minister of foreign affairs, on the 5th instant, requesting that the facts in the case be thoroughly investigated. Adding that such information as I may receive in the matter will be promptly communicated to the Department, I am, etc., [Inclosure in No. 37.] F. D. GRANT. Mr. Grant to Count Kalnoky. LEGATION OF THE UNITED STATES, YOUR EXCELLENCY: I have been instructed by the Acting Secretary of State to bring to your excellency's attention the complaint of Mr. Frank Xavier Fisher, a naturalized citizen of the United States, in relation to his arrest and imprisonment at Wolfurt, Austria. It appears that Mr. Fisher was born at Wolfurt, district of Bregenz, Austria, on the 9th day of August, 1849; that he resided there until he was nineteen years of age; that he emigrated to the United States on the 9th of November, 1868, and that in due course of time, and in accordance with law, he became a naturalized American citizen; that he is now the bearer of passport No. 8339, issued to him on the 26th day of July, 1889, by the Department of State at Washington; that he left the United States on the 3d of August, 1889, for Hamburg, and arrived at Wolfurt, Austria, on the 19th of August, 1889; that on the afternoon of the 21st of August ho was arrested by the municipal gens d'arme, and asked why he had not presented himself for military duty at the time fixed for his conscription; that the conscription in question took place after his emigration from Austria, and while he was in the United States, and that he had no knowledge of the said conscription until five or six years after it was made; that he informed the officer who arrested him that he was a citizen of the United States, bearing a formal passport which he offered to show; that an examination of the passport was declined, and that he was, without further ceremony, carried off to prison and there kept, under circumstances of great hardship and discomfort, until the following morning, when he was brought before the authorities and his papers examined; that he was then released, with permission either to leave Wolfurt, or to remain on condition of good behavior. It is submitted to your excellency that, upon this statement (as to the truth of which the complainant has made affidavit) Mr. Fisher was not, under the convention of the 20th September, 1870, between the United States and the Austro-Hungarian Empire, liable to trial and punishment, according to the laws of the Imperial Royal Government of Austro-Hungary for the non-fulfillment of military duty. The proceedings of the authorities at Wolfurt seem to my Government to have been hasty and unwarrantable, and to have been taken without any examination into the facts of the case. From the well-known sense of justice and friendship for the United States of the Imperial Royal Government of Anstria-Hungary, it is believed that your excellency will be ready to admit that care should have been taken to ascertain whether Mr. Fisher had violated the military laws of this country before arresting him upon such an assumption, and that his imprisonment under the circumstances was arbitrary and wholly unjustifiable. The Acting Secretary of State has accordingly directed me to express the hope that your excellency will cause the facts in this case to be thoroughly investigated. I avail, etc., Mr. Blaine to Mr. Grant. · F. D. GRANT. No. 29.] DEPARTMENT OF STATE, SIR: Your dispatch (No. 37) of the 10th instant relative to the alleged illegal arrest and imprisonment of Mr. Frank Xavier Fisher has been received. Your note to the foreign office in regard to the case is approved as in accordance with the Department's instructions. I am, etc., JAMES G. BLAINE. No. 44.] Mr. Grant to Mr. Blaine. LEGATION OF THE UNITED STATES, Vienna, November 27, 1889. (Received December 14.) SIR: I have the honor to transmit for your perusal an article which appeared in the Fremden Blatt of the 14th instant, with the translation of the same, which I have caused to be made, the article being upon the subject of the swindles which have been practiced during the present year or two upon the peasantry of Galicia and Hungary. I also take occasion to inclose two other articles upon the same subject, which I have taken from the Vienna Weekly News of the 19th and 26th instant; the latter paper being an English print of this city. My object in forwarding these articles, Mr. Secretary, thinking that you may be interested in reading them, is to keep the Department informed, as far as I am myself, in a matter which appears to be a great fraud and swindle upon a people who were seeking homes in our country. I am, etc., F. D. GRANT [Inclosure 1 in No. 44.-Translation.-From the Fremden Blatt.] TRADE OF EMIGRANTS TO AMERICA. At Wadomice, a town of Galicia but little known, a trial is now taking place the interest of which extends far over the limits of this monarchy. The crime imputed to the accused, “trade of emigrants to America," was committed by the same persons at the same time in Austria-Hungary and Germany. The prosecuting attorney, Tarnowsky, referring to this "trade," says in one part of his accusation that there"existed within the limits of Austria a territory which actually was beyond the reach of the law, where, in defiance of order and personal liberty, all kinds of tricks were played upon unfortunate emigrants." Nor did the prosecuting attorney omit to name the high officials who not only suffered this state of things to go on, but who, in some instances, even prompted the perpetration of these crimes. As far as the police is concerned, it must be owned with shame that it lent a willing hand for a monthly remuneration or a certain percentage, and that, instead of preventing crimes, they committed them. In mitigation, however, it must be said that they were subject to the orders of the district authorities, whose instructions, as they allege, they simply carried out. This trial also proves again the well-known fact that criminals are a fraternity, which is international and interconfessional. Polish, German, and Hungarian criminals here go hand in hand to cheat and rob Polish, German, and Hungarian emigrauts. Christians and Jews for years carried on a nefarious traffic in human beings, selected alike from the ranks of Christians and Jews. Criminals flock together everywhere; they understand each other without regard to nationality and religion. All the accused (sixty-five in number) were divided into twenty-eight sections, and arraigned on the following charges: Violence and privation of personal liberty (paragaph 93), extortion (paragraph 98), abuse of official power (paragraphs 101 and 102), accepting bribes (paragraph 104), bribing others (seduction) to abuse official power (paragraph 105), robbery (paragraph 109), fraud (paragraph 197), false assumption of an official title (paragraph 199), concealment of deserters (paragraph 290), and inducing soldiers to desert (paragraph 222). The names of the principal offenders are: Julius Neumann, keeper of railway refreshment room at Ausschwitz, Jacob Klausner, merchant, Simon Herz, cattle dealer, Julius Löwenberg, merchant, Marcell Iwanicki, imperial royal revenue officer and chief of police, Adam Kostocki, custom-house official, Arthur Landau, merchant, Isaac Landerer, merchant, Josef Eintracht, manufacturer of varnish, Herman Zeitinger, railway door-keeper, Ernst Edward Zopoth, cashier at the railway station at Ausschwitz, and Vincenz Zwilling, farmer. Inquiries made by the courts of justice show that emigration to America from some of the districts of Galicia has assumes gigantic dimensions. In proportion to emigration is the sale of farms and the spread of pauperism, and if the books of the agent of the Hamburg steamship line, seized at Ausschwitz, show that from May, 1887, to July, 1888, the sum of 595,041 florins was received for passage tickets after deduction of agent's provision, and that the agent of the North German Lloyd took, in the course of two months, 27,313 florins, the sums are by no means all enumerated which annually find their way abroad. The reason why Ausschwitz was selected by the steam-ship lines as the main point where to establish their agencies in Galicia was because it is the only town which is in direct railway communication with the German sea-ports. The most notorious of the agents appointed by the Hamburg line was the leaseholder of the railway refreshment rooms at Ausschwitz, Julius Neumann. His outrageous conduct at last attracted the attention of the railway company; who gave him the choice to either give up the agency or the lease of the restaurant. As the former could flourish only as long as he was at the same time lease-holder of the restaurant he made over the latter pro forma, in 1882, to Herz aud Löwenberg, but remained as silent partner. In this way the first emigration company was started at Ausschwitz. Their immense gains soon created competition, which reached its climax when the controller of the custom-house and the commissary of police formed a partnership with the railway cashier and the door-keeper and established an agency for emigrants on the premises of the railway depot. No emigrant could escape them, because every passenger had to come in contact with one or the other of these officials. The last established agency authorized by the provincial government was that of Klausner, at Brody, who was the agent of the Cunard Steam-ship Company. For some time the competing companies, by reducing the fares and increasing the commission of their agents, tried to monopolize the trade each for itself until, in 1886, they formed a ring, regulated the prices, and consolidated the different companies under one firm, authorized by Government and styled the "Hamburg Agency at Ausschwitz." Competition having now come to an end they could henceforth more effectually fleece the emigrants by charging arbitrary prices. After consolidation had taken place a system was organized to hire subagents, runners, and a force of men armed and provided with clubs, who had to escort the emigrants from the railway station to the hotel owned by one of the gang, where exorbitant prices were charged them for the poorest kind of accommodation until the time had come for their departure. We now come to the worst feature of the case. Railway officials, as well as police and revenue officers, were induced by the agents to give them aid for a monthly pay, and they not only suffered this state of things to go on, but even took an active part in it. One Bezirkshauptmann (chief officer of the county) named Födrich, received an annual salary of 1,000 florins. Not only the Austrian officials allowed themselves to be bribed, but also the Prussian frontier guards accepted money from the agents. Nothing, in fact, was left undone to turn the stream of emigration to Ausschwitz. Whenever emigrants refused to buy their tickets there, or had already a ticket which had been sent to them from America, then the commissary of police appeared on the scene. This unscrupulous and avaricious official came to the railway station on the arrival of every train, arrayed in full uniform, and had those emigrants pointed out to him by his agents who accompanied the train, who had bought their tickets already or were going by other lines. They were then ordered to enter the office of the police commissary to show their documents and their money; and the tickets which they had already were confiscated, the commissary ordering them in his character as imperial royal police officer to purchase tickets at the "imperial royal agency," otherwise he would be compelled to arrest them and send them home agaiu. Those who had no money to buy a second ticket were handed over to the police constables to be sent home. After the opening of the Bremen agency, in May, 1888, the situation of the company became more difficult. A new philanthropist made his appearance ou the stage, the owner of real estate and member of numerous corporations, Vincenz Zwilling. He was intrusted with the management of this agency in the fall of 1887 by the agent of the North German Lloyd at Krakau. At first he did not seem to be in a hurry to establish himself; he was probably negotiating with the rival company to come to terms with him. When he found that his efforts in that direction were fruitless be mounted the high horse of patriotism and philanthropy and petitioned the provincial government, claiming to have been solicited by the gentry to take charge of the Bremen agency, because he could no longer stand quietly and see the wicked doings of the Hamburg agency. To prevent the public, however, from mistaking the Bremen agency for the Hamburg agency he demanded the closing of the latter. This request the authorities did not grant; but he was allowed to open his agency in May, 1888. The commission which the company allowed him was 34 florins for each passenger guarantying him, aside from this, an annual income of 6,000 florins, with no othei duty to perform except to sign his name to the passage tickets. Zwilling thereupon commenced to organize his clerical staff. He engaged none but persons who had gained their experience at the Hamburg agency, and who knew all their secrets. The energy displayed is proven by the fact that from May 10 to July 24 Zwilling received for commission 1,781 florins, and Zeitinger, his chief clerk, 400 florins. The struggle between the two competing agencies was a most desperate one, and fights were of frequent occurrence at remote villages, at railway stations, and in the cars between the representatives of the two rival agencies. The scenes at the railway depot at Ausschwitz, where the armed runners of both agencies posted themselves to receive the emigrants, defy description. Blood flowed freely, each party trying to get possession of the emigrants, who thereby suffered as much as the runners themselves by being knocked about. After the fight was over each party drove its victims to its own agency, Landerer and Landauˇheading the "Hamburger," and Zeitlinger the "Bremer."" The office of the Hamburg agency was divided off in the center by a railing, in front of which stood crowded together the emigrants, while behind it strutted Löwenberg, attired in a fancy uniform, trying to make believe that he was an imperial official, while his clerks addressed him as "Herr Bezirkshauptmann." A picture of the Emperor, in life size, adorned the wall, for the purpose of giving the room the air of an Imperial office. Outside the door were posted several runners with orders to let nobody in or out during proceedings. The emigrants were then told to hand over their documents and their cash, which they usually did without any remonstrance. Arbitrary prices were demanded for tickets; in case of refusal, the commissary of police was sent for, who appeared in full uniform and threatened arrest and transportation home. If threats had no effect, he would slap their faces and threaten to hand them over to the military authorities for evading military duty. This would invariably have the desired result. If an emigrant was short of money, the agent would telegraph, in the emigrant's name, to the relatives to send some. Nor did the robbery end here; one of the clerks, Halatek, conceived the idea of bringing an alarm clock to the office, when emigrants were told that a telegram had to be sent to Hamburg to find out whether there was still a vacant berth. The alarm clock was set in motion, and after a while an answer came back for which the emigrant, as a matter of course, had to pay. Telegrams were also sent to the Americau Emperor," to find out whether he would permit the landing of a certain emigrant. All these telegrams had to be paid for by the emigrant. Another trick to extort money was, for one of the clerks to put on a fancy uniforin and pretend to be a surgeon to examine the emigrants and find out whether they were fit to go to America. This examination also had to be paid for. Sometimes an emigrant was pronounced to be unfit, and he was given to understand that by offering ten florins to the surgeon he would be passed, which was frequently done. Passports for America were also issued and charged for with ten to twenty florins. At the Hotel de Zator, kept by one of the gang, the emigrants had to pay exorbitant prices for the poorest kind of accommodation. What was left to them in Austria was finally taken away from them when they reached Hamburg. From May, 1887, to July, 1888, 5,799 persons, aged from twenty to thirty-two years, and liable therefore to military duty, were taken from the population. Finally, however, the catastrophe came. A week before the closing of both agencies the agents threatened each other with criminal proceedings and the publication of each other's doings. At the beginning of July, 1888, the governor of the province of Galicia and the president of the police at Krakau instructed a police officer to proceed to Ausschwitz and make a full report. On his arrival there a last attempt was made to avert the impending ruin by Landerer, who tried to bribe the officer by offering him fifty florins and a valuable ring. The officer accepted both, and after depositing them reported everything to his superiors, who, after investigation, arrested the whole gang. Three hundred and seventy-seven witnesses will give testimony at the main trial, during which no less than four hundred and thirty-nine letters and other communications will be read, among the latter two communications from the ministry of public defense; depositions of the Austro-Hungarian consulates in Bremen, Hamburg, and New York; statements made by the minister of war, and a letter of the ministry of the interior of the German Empire. [Inclosure 2 in No. 44.-From the Vienna Weekly News of November 19, 1889.] EMIGRATION SWINDLE IN GALICIA. Of an unusally sensational and revolting nature are the revelations which have come to light in Galicia relative to the wholesale impositions which have of late years been practiced on emigrants by the agents of an emigration company known as the "Hamburger Agentie, in Oswiecin." The agents in question seem not only to have had it all their own way and to have been the undisputed masters of the situation, but also inveigled by means of bribery some of the municipal and police officials. Their power, in fact, was little short of autocratic, and in innumerable instances they seem to have ruled the peasantry of the country with an iron hand. The trial before the law court at Wadowice, which commenced on the 14th instant, of no fewer than sixty-five prisoners, the majority of whom are Polish Jews, is of no ordinary interest, a careful perusal of the facts of the case supplying a graphic portrait of the social state of the country in the more remote districts, and of the universal corruption in vogue among the more intelligent portions of the community. It is scarcely to be credited that a state of affairs so shocking as that revealed before the law court at Wadowice could have been endured for so long a time in a so-called civilized country under a civilized administration. The sensatioral facts of the case are too voluminous to allow of illustration in detail, but a passing glimpse will suffice to give our readers a correct idea of the state of social life in Galicia. The object of the company was the transfer of emigrants from Galicia and Hungary to America, and, in order to make bay while the sun shone, the emigrants on falling into the clutches of the agents were cheated and robbed without mercy, and on offering remonstrance were subject to corporal punishment. So gross, indeed, is the ignorance of the Galician rustic that it was generally believed among the peasantry that the Austrian Government not only conntenanced but aided the emigration agents. That the company prospered may be judged from the following figures: From May 1, 1887, to July 24, 1888, 12,406 emigrants were dispatched by the agents to America, and the passage money paid by them, exclusive of exorbitant sundries, from Hamburg to America was 595,641 florins. The company's offices were so arranged as to give the idea of their being Government offices, and the presiding deities, two jews named Herz and Löwenberg, with the assistance of the police commissioner, Iwanicki, received in this sanctum the emigrants and sold to them the tickets for their passage out. The emigrants mostly came in shoals from the distant villages, where they had fallen a prey to the hirelings, |