Minister Jackson to the Secretary of State.
Athens , July 2, 1906 .
Sir: I have the honor to confirm the text of the telegram sent you in cipher this morning.a
My dispatch No. 402, of the 14th ultimo, should have reached the department before this, and it will shortly be followed by my No, 409, of June 21, in which I explain why the minister wishes to obtain the desired information in regard to the emigration of Greeks to the United States at the earliest practicable date. Another company of Greeks were sent back a short time ago, and considerable excitement has been caused thereby in political circles, and threats have been made to mob the agencies through which these people were sent to America. The minister is very anxious to be able to explain why the emigrants in question were found undesirable, so that proper warnings may be issued to prevent the recurrence of similar cases.
The emigration of Greeks to the United States is more or less of recent date. The number exceeded 1,000 for the first time in 1890. Since that year the emigration has been of more importance, the increase being fairly regular. In 1903, according to recently published statistics, more than 14,000 Greeks left for the United States, while [Page 810] in 1904 less than 10,000 are said to have gone. Last year, however, the number is given as 15,150. No especial reason seems to exist for this emigration, as it is certainly not clue to lack of work, for most of the men come from the Peloponnesus, where agricultural laborers are always in demand. The Greek has always gone abroad to make money, and education is making the peasant more or less dissatisfied with his lot. It is practically impossible to ascertain how much money these men send home, but it is certain that there has been a rapid increase in the amount (which is one of the causes of the increasing expensiveness of life in Greece—my dispatch of April 19th last). The following table shows the amounts sent from the United States to Greece by postal money orders alone during the last four years:
| Francs. | |
| 1902 | 66,475 |
| 1903 | 267,364 |
| 1904 | 701,943 |
| 1905 | 1,734,967 |
It was estimated that at least 20,000,000 francs were sent to their families in Greece by Greeks in the United States during the year 1905, in one way or another.
I have, etc.,
- Supra.↩