Defectives in the Land by Douglas C. Baynton

Author:Douglas C. Baynton [Baynton, Douglas C.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780226364339
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Published: 2016-06-27T00:00:00+00:00

FIGURE 7. Letter from John Ringling of Barnum and Bailey and Ringling Brothers to Charles Nagel, Secretary of Commerce and Labor, March 21, 1910. (National Archives, Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, RG 85, Accession 60A600, file 52880/171.)

When immigrants were rejected, they usually left the stage of history and disappeared from the historical record. Moische Fischmann, whose story began this chapter, did not. Unlike most rejected immigrants, several years later Fischmann had a second chance. When he was rejected as likely to become a public charge, rather than return to Russia he traveled to Antwerp, Belgium, where he found steady employment until the outbreak of World War I. During the siege of Antwerp by the German army, he was employed by the Belgian government to dig trenches. When Antwerp fell in October 1914, he fled together with other refugees, eventually ending up in London, where he went to work as a laborer in one of the refugee camps established by the British government. A local philanthropist active in refugee work took an interest in Fischmann and, after corresponding with his family in America and learning of their desire to have him with them, paid for his passage to New York. On November 11, 1915, Fischmann found himself again in the inspection line at Ellis Island.

Again he was certified by the inspectors as “afflicted with a physical defect” and sent before the Board. There a similar scene played itself out: Fischmann’s brother testified—now a bit more prosperous, employed as an ironworker at $22 a week and having invested in four real-estate lots. His sister had since married, and in accordance with custom her husband testified on her behalf. He was a dress presser earning $25 a week and was willing to teach Fischmann his trade if, by some chance, no jobs for ironworkers were available. Two cousins promised whatever help was necessary. Again the board excluded him as “likely to become a public charge” entirely on the basis of his deafness.

Fischmann again appealed to Washington. Again, the Hebrew Sheltering and Immigrant Aid Society wrote in support, arguing that “we fail to find how that affliction in any way interferes with a person’s ability to earn a living. There are thousands of deaf mutes in the United States and yet almost all of them are able to support and maintain themselves.” As the Ellis Island commissioner pointed out, nothing material had changed in the case, except this—Europe was at war. Both the transatlantic journey and the destination were perilous. It was not feasible to return Fischmann. Few immigrants were coming to the United States during these years, and none of the few who did arrive were forced to return. In cases where exclusion was mandatory, as with mental disability, bonds were filed requiring that aliens present themselves for deportation once the war ended. In many other cases, such as this one, the Bureau simply let them in. The commissioner was chagrined that Fischmann’s “admission will be forced by reason of the abnormal conditions prevailing abroad.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.