Immigration Station

There are two stations for landing the immigrants, one at the foot of Washington Street; the other at the foot of Vine Street. Immigrants are examined at these two stations. Those who are detained for any reason are taken by boat to Gloucester City where the new station has been built. In Gloucester they have a very well-equipped building with offices for administration, sleeping rooms for detained immigrants, dining room and small rooms for special hospital cases. Until the new hospital is built, most of the hospital patients are sent to different hospitals in the city. There is also here a pier containing three acres on which is to be built a Receiving Station to allow all immigrants to be examined at Gloucester. The equipment of the building at Gloucester in every particular is modern and of the very best. The dining room especially, is fitted up in the very best approved style; it is large enough to allow two hundred to eat at one time. The walls and floor are cement; the tables and seats are metal, so that the entire room can be washed out with hose, as the floor slopes toward a drain in which is carried off all the water.

Missionaries and Workers

Twenty different societies are represented at this port by missionaries or agents. Fourteen of these may be called strictly religious societies. The work is carried on here about the same as at Boston and Ellis Island. There is no definite plan for following up the work after the immigrants leave Philadelphia. Those who remain in Philadelphia are visited as far as possible and their addresses are given to the workers of the nearest church or mission. The Episcopal and Lutheran workers usually send the names and addresses of those immigrants who are connected with their churches to the pastors in the towns or cities to which these immigrants are going.

The Lutheran Church has three representatives. They work together in supplementing the work of each other.

Under the direction of Mr. Demberg, the Young Men's Christian Association Immigration Bureau conducts the work at this station in the same manner as at other ports. Similar conditions obtain here as at the other ports, namely, that the missionaries are doing a most excellent work and in a very real sense, the most practical and helpful work that is being done with the arriving immigrant. The same need also is apparent here as elsewhere that the work should be organized in such way as to bring it into vital touch with the immigrant work in various Ports of Entry, and in close relation with the missionary work in our towns and cities.

The Methodist Episcopal Church maintains a Deaconess Home at 611 Vine Street. Miss Ford of the Methodist Church, and Miss Staake of the Lutheran Church, and Mr. Levins of the Philadelphia Bible Society, have been engaged in the missionary service at the Philadelphia Port for many years.

The Philadelphia Bible Society distributed 50,479 books printed in fifty different languages.

The Women's Christian Temperance Union, through the work of Miss M. L. Grunninger, during the year met ninety vessels and distributed nearly 40,000 pages of literature.

The Philadelphia Baptist City Mission Society carried on their port missionary work through the services of their city missionaries.

Mr. Levins, missionary of the Philadelphia Bible Society, related the following incident:

"I wish I could picture to you the dying of an immigrant at the Immigrant Station. On one side knelt the Matron, and on the other side Miss Ford, a Methodist deaconess, and before him an interpreter reading from a Testament in his own language. The Matron held her hands in the attitude of prayer, the dying man smiled and nodded his head yes, indicating that he understood her and would pray. This was the last comfort the dying stranger received—a Jew reading our Master's Words to him and the prayers of two Christian women."

At a Conference of the workers and of the missionaries and others interested in the work at Philadelphia, it was voted that as soon as practicable the Committee of Six should consider a definite plan for organizing the missionary work at the Philadelphia Port. There was a great desire for unity and efficiency in this service. There was unanimous agreement that it would be wise, if possible, to organize the work at this time so as to be definitely prepared for effective service, and to meet whatever conditions may arise in the immigration problem in the near future. This Conference also approved the proposition to appoint in each port city a Local Advisory Committee through which the missionary work could be supervised.

The greatest decrease last year (June 30, 1915) was in non-skilled or miscellaneous workers.

Of the number admitted in 1899–1900, sixty-per cent. settled in five states, New York, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Massachusetts and New Jersey.