As the seacoast and the port of embarkation draw near, the groups of emigrants increase in size by constant additions. In the important emigration ports they arrive by thousands during the busy season. The provisions for their entertainment, while awaiting the sailing of the vessel upon which they are to embark, differ in different ports. In many ports they are required to put up in the cheap hotels and lodging houses, which, in such cases, abound in the neighborhood of the harbor. In other ports, the steamship companies maintain extensive emigrant stations, where emigrants are lodged and cared for while awaiting transportation. Probably the most elaborate of these is the emigrant village of the Hamburg-American Line, at Hamburg. This is located on the left bank of the Elbe, completely segregated from the city, and is designed to receive only immigrants from countries where the standard of health is low. It consists of about twenty-five buildings, and accommodates 5000 persons. Among the buildings are a large inspection building, a simple hotel, and a number of living pavilions, each consisting of a dormitory, living room, baths, etc. There is one large dining hall, with a special section for Jews, for whom also a separate kitchen is provided. The religious needs of the emigrants are provided for by a synagogue, a Catholic church, and a Protestant church.[137] The provision of the United States law, which requires an examination and medical inspection at the port of embarkation, is observed with different degrees of care in different countries and by different lines. It is to the advantage of the steamship company to refuse transportation to any individuals who are manifestly inadmissible to the United States, as their refusal involves their return at the expense of the company, and in many instances an additional fine of $100. On the other hand, if there is a fair chance that the immigrant may succeed in passing the examination, there is a strong temptation for the steamship company to take him, for the sake of his passage money. There is a practice, believed to be quite extensive, among the transportation companies, of compelling an alien who seems in danger of being debarred, to deposit with the foreign agent from whom he purchases his ticket a sum sufficient to cover the cost of his return in case he is refused admission. This is in direct violation of the United States law, but the difficulty of securing evidence has prevented the authorities from putting an effective stop to the practice.[138] Large numbers of would-be emigrants are nevertheless turned back before embarkation, as a result of the examination by the steamship company. The proportion of those detained in this manner to those debarred at the ports of arrival in the United States is at least four to one.[139] Some companies have had such a bitter experience in the matter of having their passengers refused as to lead them to exercise great caution. The Austro-American