reports fall short of the full number of arrivals, as the time for gathering the information is very limited, and is confined to immigrant trains. The Board has no means of informing itself of the number of immigrants who land at lake ports in the State other than Milwaukee, or of the number of immigrants who go directly from Chicago into the State without passing through Milwaukee; but it is safe to estimate that number at not less than 10,000. Immigrants going to any other State than those named below, or to any territory, or the Dominion of Canada, are not counted, and consequently no record of them is kept. TABLE Showing the Number and Nationalities of alien Immigrants who arrived at Milwaukee during the year 1882, destined for the States of Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan and Iowa. Totals. 24,596 13, 515 10,545 2,083 610) 404 41 218 7571 8391 2,857 1.489 57,952 == It will be seen by the following comparative tables that since the organization of this board, immigration to this state has increased from year to year beyond the most sanguine expectations. TABLES, Showing the Number, Nationality and place of Destination of Alien Immigrants arrived at the City of Milwaukee during the years mentioned. 11.476.1 O 6,552–2:344 610 106 13 467 950 1,347 2,249 332 38, 8K Many immigrants have been assisted in recovering lost baggage, by directing them where to settle in the state, and in various other ways. Every possible care has been exercised to protect immigrants arriving at Milwaukee. Relief to the amount of $12.85 has been granted to needy immigrants. 841 letters and 258 postal cards were received during the present year, and 750 letters and 368 postal cards mailed. The following letter is a fair sample of letters received by this board, showing the nature and extent of inquiries made by persons who intend to emigrate: Mr. W. Schmoldt writes from Olszewice, Germany, Feb. 22. 1882: I beg to ask your honorable board for some information regarding the state of Wisconsin, particularly the northern portion thereof. Agents and commissioners without number are at present engaged in advertising every conceivable section of the Union, in Europe: and when we consider the prevailing tendency of our age for fraud and swindling, and the well-grounded suspicion with which the representations of agents and their honesty and veracity are looked upon, it is almost impossible, with such a chaos, to arrive at cor eet conclusions. * * * * * * "I wish to be informed of the situation, soil and quality of wild lands in your state; of the resources that are open to immigrants, and where they may settle to best advantages in what branches of industry they may expect to readily find employment, and which is the shortest and cheapest route to their place of destination. "Furthermore, I beg to know in what manner lands may be obtained, especially in the northern part of the state; the cost per acre of the different classes of lands, and which county is best adapted for settlement. Finally. I desire to be informed as to the climate and other physical and material conditions of Northern Wisconsin: the price of provisions and other necessaries of life; wages, tools, farming implements and household goods." PRINTING AND DISTRIBUTION OF PAMPHLETS AND POCKET MAPS. The following pamphlets and pocket maps were printed during the year: Revised and enlarged edition of the German pamphlet, with map of the state, COPIES. 20,000 Pocket map, with short descriptions in German 9,000 Leipzic, on application, for insertion in his Pamphlets mailed or sent by express: English, German, Pamphlets and pocket maps now remaining on hand: 600 6.716 2,800 In preparing these documents it has been the aim of the board to state plain facts, avoiding all exaggeration, and to make them as complete as the material within the reach of the board will permit. That this has been appreciated, and that these pamphlets are eagerly sought by persons desirous of obtaining information about this country before emigrating, a few extracts from some of the many letters received by the board will show. Mr. K. K. Kennan, who had been sent to Europe by the Wisconsin Central Railway Company in the interest of their lands, and who was appointed agent of this board for the purpose of giving all who might desire it, information concerning the state, as was furnished him by the board, writes as follows representing the better class of persons intending to make this country their home: These are people who take great pains to inform themselves before hand as to the advantages of the different states, and read with great interest any reliable pamphlets or brochures which may be put into their hands. I say reliable pamphlets, because those of some of the states and railroad companies are obviously exaggerated and untrue. and have no such weight with intelligent people as do the carefully prepared reports of your Honorable Board. Indeed. the call for the latter has been so great that the limited supply which you kindly furnished me, some weeks ago, has proved utterly inadequate, and many people who would even gladly purchase them, cannot be supplied." etc. "Other states have numerous active, aggressive, well-paid agents in the field, who do not scruple to misrepresent Wisconsin and decry the superior inducements which she offers to emigrants. Unless some systematic effort is made to counteract these representations, and to keep the people supplied with reliable information about Wisconsin, we must expect to see the great stream of immigration pass by us, and be turned to account in developing the prairies west of us." And in a later letter: "I received this morning a copy of your new brochure (German), and I hasten to urge you to send me as many of them as you can spare. * ** Your pamphlet, on account of its semi-official character and its completeness, carries more weight than anything I can pub lish. Mr. Otto- Maas, of the "Amerika." a paper published at Vienna, Austria, and devoted to emigration, writes from the place named under May 12, 1882: "I especially like your pamphlet for the reason that it distinguishes itself from other American publications by its solid contents. * * * A great many postal cards of parties who desire your pamphlets have already accumulated." From communications of C. A Opelt, in Dresden, Saxony, respectively dated August 19 and October 27, 1882: Your esteemed letter of the 29th ult. (July), together with pamphlets and maps, is received. The latter have all been distributed. The state of Wisconsin with us stands high, though other western and southern states are sending out large quantities of pamphlets for gratuitous distribution. Please keep me constantly and regularly supplied with your publications Wisconsin is the pearl of all. She no doubt will be the favorite the coming year. * * * * ADVERTISING IN NEWSPAPERS. In addition to one home paper, the board has continued to advertise in foreign newspapers, for the purpose of calling the attention of intending emigrants to the resources and advantages Wisconsin posesses. In order that these publications might reach as many people as possible, the papers have been frequently changed, so that the advertisements have appeared in 43 newspapers as against 16 the previous year, without, however, much additional expense. The following is a list of the newspapers in which advertisements have been published: Ansiedler in Wisconsin, Milwaukee. Hannover Tageblatt, Hannover, Germany. Gotha Tageblatt, Gotha, Germany. Pfalzer Volkszeitung, Kaiserslautern, Germany, Meininger Zeitung, Meiningen, Germany. Tageblatt. Braunschweig, Germany. Westphalische Zeitung, Dortmund, Germany. Nordsee Zeitung. Geesteminde, Germany. Gesellige, Graudenz, Germany. Neckar Zeitung, Heilbronn, Germany. Nachrichten, Itzahoe, Germany. Deutsch-Am. Zeitung. Leipsig, Germany. Weltpost, Leipzig, Germany. Nachrichten, Mainz, Germany. Generalanzeiger, Malchen, Germany. Nachrichten, Oldenburg, Germany. Tageblatt, Stettin, Germany. Neue Wuerzburger Zeitung, Wuerzburg, Germany. Wochenblatt fuer das christliche Volk, Augsburg, Ger many. Anzeiger, Aschersleben, Germany. Deutsches Reichsblatt, Berlin, Germany. Breslauer Zeitung, Breslau, Germany. Tageblatt und Anzeiger, Cassel, Germany. Zeitschrift fur die landwirthschaftlichen Vereine, Darm stadt, Germany. |