In 1913 every five hours about fourteen Lithuanians came to the United States of America. We can say without exaggeration that one third of them came to the city of Chicago, and most of them had a brother, a sister, or a friend who lived in Chicago. But whether they all were well taken care of by their relatives and friends we don't know. But we do know that many of our immigrants met with many hardships, and many were lost on the way to their relatives or friends who lived here in America. We heard of many cases where immigrants never reached their destination and disappeared completely. Great numbers of our people were sent back to Lithuania, not because of their sore eyes or lack of certain amount of money, but because most of them did not know the people to whom they were going, or had the wrong addresses. For example, there was one man who wanted his father to come to the United States. When his father arrived in New York he received a telegram from the immigration department which informed him of his father's arrival. This telegram was written in 2 the English language, and requested an immediate reply. Not knowing the contents of the telegram, the man kept waiting for his father's arrival for weeks. He did not come as he expected. He was worried about his father's detention, yet he did not know what to do in such a case. Finally he received another telegram and became still more worried, not knowing what happened. He took the telegram to a certain party who knew the English language and the party explained that his father was being sent back to Lithuania because he was too old to work and that his son had not answered the first telegram which was sent to him. Excited and worried he tried to help him and made every effort to stop the authorities from sending him back. He went to the local Immigrant Protective League to ask for advice, but it was too late and his father was sent back to Lithuania.

He could have saved his father if he had submitted an affidavit requested by the Immigration Bureau in the first telegram which was sent to him.

All these errors are mostly due to lack of understanding the rules and regulations of the Immigration Department of the United States of America.

We have another good example in the case of a step-father who wanted to bring to America his wife's children. He received the telegram from the Immigration Department, but he could not read it, and instead of giving it to a person who understood English, who would have explained the contents of the telegram, he waited for the children who were supposed to arrive from New York. As the time expired, the Immigration Department sent the children back to Lithuania because the party did not make claim during the designated period.

Two examples will be sufficient to clear the situation of our immigrants who face great hardships from the time they start their 4 journey to America and to the time they reach their destination. There are many such examples which we cannot enumerate at present. We must use all our efforts to help our fellow countrymen who are coming to America, and see to it that such things do not happen again. This is a deplorable situation confronting our immigrants today and causing them great suffering and hardships, all due to our negligence. We can remedy this situation and help a great deal.

Our immigration to this country has continued over a long period. Many of our people have attained a thorough education and have made fine reputations as citizens in the city of Chicago. In addition, we have not only one, but hundreds of societies which have good intentions and are willing to help our people who are in distress. We also have many good men and women who would devote their entire time to helping our immigrants, brothers and sisters, who really need our help.

It is about time for us Lithuanians to have our own organization, such as legal aid societies where people could come for help and advice in legal matters. This organization is indispensable to our people who need help and legal protection from crooks who exploit our people and take the advantage of them, because they are foreigners and illiterate. The legal aid society would help the people to solve immigration problems by giving them honest legal advice when they are in trouble and need legal protection. Heretofore we haven't had any organization to protect our people and our immigrants. Now we will make every effort to have such an organization, to help and protect our people who are coming to America.

Now is the time to bring all well-known societies together in Chicago, for we have a very important problem to solve. We cannot lose this opportunity. We must act immediately if we want to accomplish our worthwhile mission. It is our duty to organize and help our people who are in dire need. We must all join the Lithuanian society league 6 of Chicago, regardless of our differences of opinion. The Lithuanian Society League of Chicago has a very important mission to perform and therefore we cannot afford to lose this golden opportunity to join this large organization. The committee which will be elected will take care of all our future problems. For the purpose of information there will be a special bureau established in a short time, where all Lithuanians, without discrimination, will be able to get necessary information and legal advice.

Every society and every Lithuanian living in Chicago must help to support the Lithuanian Society League of Chicago and in return for his effort he will receive reward in legal advice and information which will be given by means of the society. The Guardianship Committee which has been elected will handle all problems pertaining to information and legal advice. This committee is composed of the following members: Mrs. M. Jurgelioniene, K. Gugis, and J. Ilgandas.