Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1889-02-01
TO CHECK IMMIcATIOR.
THE EVILS WHICH THFORD BILL
PROPOSES TO RETIFY.

1t is undeniable tit a conyic-
ton has been CROWN for a dozen
years past that unregicted imml-
grafton is q serious cd increasing
evil, which ought toe checked
Congress, in tentive way, has
given expression tohIs change OF
view by a series o acts directed
against the immigr.ion of Chinese,
the Importation o6aborers under
contract, and of riminal, pauper
and insane. w have probably
closed the doors fectiyely against
the Chinese, bntCurope continues
to rid herself of ie most undesira'
BILE element of Ter population by
sending it to AIerica. This Is the
evil which the ord Committee has
been investigating, and the bill
which 1t has rpOrted too late tor
action by thlsCongress will serve,
doubtless, asI basis of a new law
to be passedby future Congress,
which shall ut a wholesome check
on the miscellaneous stream of i'm
migration shich of recent years
this county has had to swallow
considerably IN excess Of its powers
of digestbn.
The Fad bill forbids not only
IDIOTS, Insane paupers and criminals
being Landed in this country, but
it make it a misdemeanOr punish
able with fine and Imprisonment to
bring or to aid in bringing them to
the United States. 1t places an
arcbists, socialists and pOlygamlsts
under ,the same ban as criminal
and makes the pohibition of the
,9rtauon of laborers under con-
'."oU lore stringent than in the
p.esouU NV. The most significan:
. .ha Proposed is contained in
eno PloE,lsQn that a duty of 81
sna'a 70 leNH,d on every alien who
Go'. ,So ~ sn.' country, to be paid
W '"o o;i nsou' owner of the yes
SCI, ,"''ioau VI other carrier by
which said alien IS brought into
the United States.
The duties levieo ~, ,oroi,, nm
ports for the protectiO., Of mericar
labor fail in part to eaoo, tbo OH
ieI' 80 lons ~ 'ne cheap European
this country. The ForG hill meet,
the defect by matchingr tho dntio,
levied on foreign lab,orers wher
they present themselvas "a immi
grants. The duty phonooad /
small and probably inadeadma,a I
is well, however, that az naw ia
partuTe OEkbis sort should
extreke at the beginning. IL VIII
the other restrictions it TStonnt
that foreign immigration is st1pi sc
great as to oyerstock the lIaool
market here the duty can 6e In
creased. The important thing Is
the recognition of the principle
that the volume of immigration
like the volume of imports, may
properly be regulated and re-
strlcted by protective duty.
The bill does not meet nor IroO'
ably could it be framed to meet
two prolific sources of excessive
immigration. One is the ea6z11eSs
of frontier railroads for sttIao
which prompts them~fo pIaslnS'
Europe with alluri% pictures q
life in theft special territory ant
the other is the hunger of steam
ship companies for steerage pas
sengers, which leads them to senC
their agents into every village il
Europe to induce the peasants t
immigrate. Many Of the Western
and South western States invite for
eigners to come there by Offering
them the privilege of suffrage aftel
a six months or a years residence
1t is time this was changed. Oul
federal naturalization laws SHOULD
also be altered, 80 as to require
longer probation before aliens arr
admitted to the privilege of Amer
lean citizenship.
We needed immigrants fifty and
one hundred years ago, and it was
policy to offer them Inducements
to come here, but all this IS changes