``The dinners and suppers were as follows:

Thursday, July 30.  Dinner: Macaroni soup, boiled beef, potatoes, white bread.  Supper: Stew of meat and potatoes, tea, black bread, and butter.

Friday, July 31.  Dinner: Lentil soup, boiled fish, potatoes, gravy, white bread.  Supper: Hash (mostly potatoes), dill pickle, tea, black bread, and butter.

Saturday, August 1.  Dinner: Stewed liver, gravy, potatoes, stewed rice with dried apples and raisins, white bread.  Supper: Boiled fish, potatoes, gravy, tea, black bread, and butter.

Sunday, August 2.  Dinner: Salt pork, potatoes, string beans, white bread.  Supper: Sausage, potatoes, tea, black bread, butter.

Monday, August 3.  Dinner: Soup meat (evidently stewed leftovers of roasts), potatoes, white bread.  Supper: Sauerkraut with liver (left over from Saturday), potatoes, tea, black bread, and butter.

Tuesday, August 4.  Dinner: Sausage, potatoes, a vegetable mixture, white bread.  Supper: Pickled herring, potatoes, tea, black bread.

Wednesday, August 5.  Dinner: Soup, corned beef, potatoes, white bread.  Supper: Mutton stew, cabbage, potatoes, tea, black bread, butter.

Thursday, August 6.  Dinner: Macaroni soup, meat with gravy, potatoes, lentils, raisin broad.  Supper: Potatoes, with meat gravy, tea, black bread, butter.

Friday, August 7.  Dinner: Pea soup, either herring or meat with gravy, potatoes, cabbage, bread.  Supper: Canned fish, potatoes, tea, black bread, butter.

Saturday, August 8.  Dinner: Vegetable soup, leftovers of roast, potatoes, white bread.  Supper: Hash (mostly potatoes), pickle, tea, black bread.

Sunday, August 9.  Dinner: Soup, salt pork, potatoes, cabbage, bread.  Supper: Sausage, potatoes, tea, black bread, butter.

Monday, August 10.  Dinner: Soup, beef, potatoes, string beans, white bread.  Supper: Boiled eggs, fried potatoes, bread.

``These menus sound well and the allowances for each person were generous, but the quality and the preparation of much of the food were inferior.  It is no doubt a difficult matter to satisfy so many persons of such varied tastes, but the passengers of the nationality of the line were as loud in their complaints of this cooking as any of the others.  So simple a thing as coffee was not properly prepared.  I carefully watched the process by which it was made.  The coffee grounds, sugar, and milk were put in a large galvanized tin can.  Hot water, not always boiling, was poured over these ingredients.  This was served as coffee.

``The white bread, potatoes, and soup, when hot, were the only foods that were good, and these received the same favorable criticism from passengers of all nationalities.  The meats were generally old, tough, and bad smelling.  The same was true of the fish, excepting pickled herring.  The vegetables were often a queer, unanalyzable mixture, and therefore avoided.  The butter was rarely edible.  The stewed dried prunes and apples were merely the refuse that is left behind when all the edible fruit is graded out.  The prune jam served at breakfast, judging by taste and looks, was made from the lowest possible grade of fruit.  Breakfast cereals, a food foreign to most Europeans, were merely boiled and served in an abundance of water.  The black bread was soggy and not at all like the good, wholesome, coarse black bread served in the cabin.

``During the twelve days only about six meals were fair and gave satisfaction.  More than half of the food was always thrown into the sea.  Hot water could be had in the galley, and many of the passengers made tea and lived on this and bread.  The last day out we were told on every had to look pleasant, else we would not be admitted in Baltimore.  To help bring about this happy appearance the last meal on board consisted of boiled eggs, bread, and fried potatoes.  Those who commented on this meal said it was `the best yet.'  None of this food was thrown into the sea, but all was eagerly eaten.  If this simple meal of ordinary food, well prepared, gave such general satisfaction, then it is really not so difficult after all to satisfy the tastes of the various nationalities.  A few simple standard dishes of fair quality and properly prepared, even though less generously served, would, I am positive, give satisfaction.  The expense certainly would not be greater than that now caused by the waste of so much inferior food.  The interpreter, the chief steerage steward, and one other officer were always in attendance during the meals to prevent any crowding.  When all had been served, these three walked about among the passengers asking: `Does the food taste good?'  The almost invariable answer was: `It has to; we must eat something.'

``There was a bar at which drinks, fruits, candies, and other such things were sold.  This was well patronized.  Those who had any money to spare soon spent it at the bar--the men for drinks, the women for fruit.  Several of them told me they simply had to supplement the poor food, and in doing so had spent all they dared for apples and oranges at 3 cents apiece.  Different stewards told me that 1,000 marks and more were taken in at the bar when travel was heavier.

``There was a separate galley and another cook for the preparation of kosher food for the Hebrews.  They used the same tables with others if they used any, and were served in the same manner.  Their food also seemed of the same quality.

``The two clean, light, airy hospital rooms on the port side of the main deck, one for women, the other for men, made a good first impression.  Each contained 12 berths in two tiers.  The iron framework was the same as that of all the steerage berths, but the beds had white sheets and pillows with white slips.  By the side of each berth was a frame, holding a glass and a bottle of water, also a sick can.  A toilet and bath adjoined each hospital.  The steerage stewardess, whose chief duties were distributing milk for little children, and giving out bread at meals, acted as nurse.  According to her own statement, she had never had any training in the care of the sick.  She spoke German and some English.  The interpreter, I was told, interprets for her and the doctor when it is necessary.  However, when the doctor learned that I could speak both Slavic languages and German, he called on me to interpret for him in the case of each of his four Slavic patients.

``On one occasion a 6-year-old girl was seized with violent cramps.  The doctor ordered a hot bath, but the hot-water faucet gave forth nothing.  The stewardess had to bring hot water from the galley across one deck, up the stairs, across another deck, and down other stairs.  Later he ordered a cold bath, which could be given only after another delay.  The water ran so thick and filthy that it was not fit to use.  There were no towels, and a sheet was used instead.  Aside from the berths and a washstand, there were no hospital conveniences or apparatus in the room.  The most trivial articles had to be sent for to the `drug store' at some distance.

``At another time I had proof of the difficulty of getting the doctor to respond to a call.  A Polish girl was suffering with severe pains in her chest and side.  This was reported to a passing officer with the request that the doctor be sent.  Later the same request was made of the chief steward, and then of another officer.  Finally some one secured the stewardess and she went for the doctor.  In all more than two and one-half hours had elapsed between the time when the case was first reported and the doctor's appearance.  The doctor never was sympathetic, and when not indifferent was quite rough.

``I remarked to this physician that I and many others were not going to have any vaccination mark to present, and I showed some fear of not being admitted at Baltimore.  He assured me, with a smile of self-satisfaction, that the mark on the inspection card was the important matter.

``The daily medical inspection of the steerage was carried on as follows: The second day out we all passed in single file before the doctor as he leisurely conversed with another officer, casting an occasional glance at the passing line.  The chief steerage steward punched six holes in each passenger's inspection card, indicating that the inspection for six days was complete.  One steward told me this was done to save the passengers from going through this formality every day.  The fourth day out we were again reviewed.  The doctor stood by.  Another officer holding a cablegram blank in his band compared each passenger's card to some writing on it.  There was another inspection on the seventh day, when we were required to bare our arms and show the vaccinations.  Again our cards were punched six times and this completed the medical examination.  Just before landing we were reviewed by some officer who came on board and checked us off on a counting machine operated by a ship's officer.

``In the women's sleeping compartment, in an inconspicuous place, here hung a small copy of section 7, passenger act for 1882, in German :and English.  A similar copy hung in the so-called dining room.  Few of the women could read either of these languages.  From the time we boarded the steamer until we landed, no woman in the steerage had a moment's privacy.  One steward was always on duty in our compartment, and others of the crew came and went continually.  Nor was this room a passageway to another part of the vessel.  The entrance was also the only exit.  The men who came may or may not have been sent there on some errand.  This I could not ascertain, but I do know that, regularly, during the hour or so preceding the breakfast bell and while we were rising and dressing, several men usually passed through and returned for no ostensible reason.  If it were necessary for them to pass so often, another passageway should have been provided or a more opportune time chosen.

``As not nearly all the berths were occupied, we all chose upper ones.  To get anything from an upper berth, to deposit anything in it or to arrange it, it was necessary to stand on the framework of the one below.  The women often had to stand thus, with their backs to the aisle.  The crew in passing a woman in this position never failed to deal her a blow--even the head steward.  If a woman were dressing, they always stopped to watch her, and frequently hit and handled her.  Even though they were sent, there, this was not their errand.

``Two of the stewards were quite strict about driving men out of our quarters.  One other steward who had business in our compartment was as annoying a visitor as we had and he began his offenses even before we left port.  Some of the women wished to put aside their better dresses immediately after coming on board.  As soon as they began to undress he stood about watching and touching them.  They tried to walk away, but he followed them.  Not one day passed but I saw him annoying some women, especially in the wash rooms.  At our second and last inspection this steward was assigned the duty of holding each woman by her bare arm that the doctor might better see the vaccination.

``A small notice stating the distance traveled was posted each day just within the entrance to our compartment.  It was the only one posted in the steerage as far as I could learn, and consequently both crew and men passengers came to see it and it served as an excuse for coming at all times.  The first day out the bar just within our entrance was used.  This brought a large number of men into our compartment, many not entirely sober, but later the bar was transferred.

``One night when I had retired very early with a severe cold, the chief steerage steward entered our compartment, but not noticing me approached a Polish girl who was apparently the only occupant.  She spoke in Polish, saying, `My head aches--please go on and let me alone.'  But he merely stood on and soon was taking unwarranted liberties with her.  The girl, weakened by seasickness, defended herself as best she could, but soon was struggling to get out of the man's arms.  Just then other passengers entered and he released her.  Such was the man who was our highest protector and court of appeal.

``I can not say that any woman lost her virtue on this passage, but in making free with the women the men of the crew went as far as possible without exposing themselves to the danger of punishment.  But this limit is no doubt frequently overstepped.  Several of the crew told me that many of them marry girls from the steerage.  When I insinuated that they could scarcely become well enough acquainted to marry during the passage, the answer was that the acquaintance had already gone so far that marriage was imperative.

``There was an outside main deck and an upper deck on which the steerage were allowed.  These were each about 40 feet wide by 50 feet long, but probably half of this space was occupied by machinery, ventilators, and other apparatus.  There was no canvas to keep out the rain, sun, and continual showers of cinders from the smokestack.  These fell so thick and fast that two young boys were kept busy sweeping them off the decks.  It is impossible to remain in ones berth all the time, and as there were no smoking and sitting rooms we spent most of the day on these decks.  No benches nor chairs were provided, so we sat wherever we could find a place on the machinery, exposed to the sun, fog, rain, and cinders.  These not only filled our hair, but also flew into our eyes, often causing considerable pain.

``These same two outdoor decks were used also by the crew during their leisure.  When asked what right they had there, they answered: `As much as the passengers.'  No notices hung anywhere about to refute this.  The manner in which the sailors, stewards, firemen, and others mingled with the women passengers was thoroughly revolting.  Their language and the topics of their conversation were vile.  Their comments about the women, and made in their presence, were coarse.  What was far worse and of continual occurrence was their handling the women and girls.  Some of the crew were always on deck, and took all manner of liberties with the women, in broad daylight as well as after dark.

``Not one young woman in the steerage escaped attack.  The writer herself was no exception.  A hard, unexpected blow in the offender's face in the presence of a large crowd of men, an evident acquaintance with the stewardess, doctor, and other officers, general experience, and manner were all required to ward off further attacks.  Some few of the women, perhaps, did not find these attentions so disagreeable; some resisted them for a time, then weakened; some fought with all their physical strength, which naturally was powerless against a man's.  Others were continually fleeing to escape.  Two more refined and very determined Polish girls fought the men with pins and teeth, but even they weakened under this continued warfare and needed some moral support about the ninth day.  The atmosphere was one of general lawlessness and total disrespect for women.  It naturally demoralized the women themselves after a time.  There was no one to whom they might appeal.  Besides, most of them did not know the official language on the steamer, nor were they experienced enough to know they were entitled to protection.

``The interpreter, who could and should be a friend of the immigrants, passed through the steerage but twice a day.  He positively discouraged every approach.  I purposely tried on several occasions to get advice and information from him, but always failed.  His usual answer was, `How in the d---- do I know?'  The chief steerage steward by his own familiarity with the women made himself impossible as their protector.  Once, when a man passenger was annoying two Lithuanian girls I undertook to rescue them.  The man poured forth a volley of oaths at me in English.  Just then the chief steward appeared, and to test him I made complaint.  The offender denied having sworn at all, but I insisted that he had, and that I understood.  The steward then administered this reproof, `You let them girls alone or I fix you ----- -----  easy.'

``The main deck was hosed every night at 10, when we were driven in.  The upper deck was washed only about four times during the voyage.  At 8 each evening we were driven below. This was to protect the women, one of the crew informed me. What protection they gained on the equally dark and unsupervised deck below isn't at all clear.  What worse things could have befallen them there than those to which they were already exposed at the hands of both the crew and the men passengers would. have been criminal offenses.  Neither of these decks was lighted, because, as one sailor explained, maritime usage does not sanction lights either in the bow or stern of a vessel, the two parts always used by the steerage.  The descriptions that I might give of the mingling of the crew and passengers on these outdoor decks would be endless, and all necessarily much the same.  A series of snap shots would give a more accurate and impressive account of this evil than can words.  I would here suggest that any agent making a similar investigation be supplied with a kodak for this purpose.

``To sum up, let me make some general statements that will give an idea of the awfulness of steerage conditions on the steamer in question.  During these twelve days in the steerage I lived in a disorder and in surroundings that offended every sense.  Only the fresh breeze from the sea overcame the sickening odors.  The vile language of the men, the screams of the women defending themselves, the crying of children, wretched because of their surroundings, and practically every sound that reached the ear, irritated beyond endurance.  There was no sight before which the eye did not prefer to close.  Everything was dirty, sticky, and disagreeable to the touch.  Every impression was offensive.  Worse than this was the general air of immorality.  For fifteen hours each day I witnessed all around me this improper, indecent, and forced mingling of men and women who were total strangers and often did not understand one word of the same language.  People can not live in such surroundings and not be influenced.