Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1881-10-18
Tue ImmrasAr1oE QUESTION.

ton has been denounced as fraudulent or
purely selfish. In the first place there
are plenty of people who assert that
there is no available land for settlement,
and if this ia not strictly true, it is IN
queationably quite true that the best
lands have all been taken up, and
that the most OF them are held
for speculative purposes. Nor IS it
sufficiently understood that California can
never support anything like the population
the ares OF the State would appear capable
of maintaining. We have here a great
territorial area, but nearly two thirds Of it
is practically useless for the purposes of
settlement Nevertheless there would no
doubt be plenty OF room for double the
present population if the better quality of
land was in the market at moderate prices.
But this is not the case, and since it is not
the case the recent attempts to get up an
immigration movement promise little or no
return. 1t is time the elementary require
ments of successful movement of this
kind were more generally understood. To
begin with there must be not only an
assurance of sufficient cultivable lands at
reasonable prices, but their situation must
be known, and all the facts concerning
them must be ascertained and duly cata-
logued. When the projectors of the un-
dertaking have accomplished this prelimi-
nary work they will still be on the thresh-
old of their task.
It viii then be necessary to establish a
thorough system of advertising in Europe
and the Eastern States. For immigration
has become regular business, into which
competition enters largely, and the State
which has not the sagacity to realize this
must expect to be left behind. Kansas set
an example years ago which California
might have followed. and which California
would have followed but for the stupidity
and narrowmindedness of certain journal,
lists and politicians, who, rather than that
any of their neighbors should reap bene-
fits from the project, attacked it in the
most malignant way until they had per-
suaded the public that it was a sinister
scheme. The right way to have handled
this business was the way then proposed.
Experience has shown that private immi-
grafton agencies do not succeed, and their
failure is no doubt largely due to their lack
of responsibility. The State can give some
guarantee for fair dealing, and foreigners
will trust it. 1t viii not be suspected of
employing false pretenses, and putting
forth highly-colored and grossly-exagger-
ated descriptions of the resources of the
country, as too many of the colonization
scheme projectors have done. 1t mrst
also be remembered that our distance from
Europe puts US at great disadvantage.
The immigrants who start from Liverpool,
Hamburg or Havre for the United States
have to run the gauntlet of dozen active
and astute immigration agents before they
can reach California. And unless they
know in advance precisely what they are to
Gnd here the probability of their holding
out against all these allurements is very
small
If we want population we must expect to
pay forit. Wemust push our wares as keen
merchants do. We mast have active and
intelligent agents at ali the principal ports
of Europe, and also at New York. We
must systematic all the information about
our land, climate, products, etc., and have
it printed in several languages in attractive
form. We must get out cards and prospec.
tues and maps and lists of lands in the
market, with the prices annexed. We must
make special arrangements with the rail-
road companies and the steamship COM
panies for cheap fares. We must in fact
not only convince the intending emigrant
thai California is good place for him to
come TO, but we must conduct him here,
and watch over him all the way. No ar.
rangements less comprehensive and thor
ough than this can be expected to do any
good. With such arrangements it would
be easy to exclude all pauper immigration.
for which we have no USE All who are
brought here should have capital enough
TO start them in their new careers.
To do all this would require consider
able expenditure. That expenditure can
not be looked for from private hands. It
is State question, since the whole popu-
lation is to be benefited, and all therefore
should contribute to pay the expenses of
it. If the work is entered upon with a
complete understanding of the difficulties
in the way, and if all the necessary in
formation can be procured, it viii unques-
tionaDly produce good results. We do not
believe that anything less than this how
ever is worth talking about. We do not
anticipate any results from the present
Bureau of Immigration, for it is in no re-
spect an improvement on the feeble and
poverty stricken experiments which have
preceded it. AS to bringing immigrants
here merely to dump them anywhere, and
leave them to find their land, 1t is an adj
mirable method for giving the State bad
reputation, and for setting up an exodus
instead Of an Influx OF settlers. And I'M
til there is some indication that the State
can be got to undertake the business of
building up population, it will be hardly
worth while to discuss the subject seri-
ously.
A REMARKABLE YEAR.