New-York tribune., 1890-05-04
IMMIGRATION EVILS.
MASTER WORKMAN POWDERLY SAYS THEY
ARE MANY AND SERIOUS


POLITICS, CORRUPT OUR MORALS AM
1NpovERIsH OUR WORKING PEOPLE
Until very recently the Immigration qu..l' "
was not considered Of sufhciehC ihpoi '"N
waste time or words on, ana 10 r"i'o Wv
at all was the signal for Vohey u 'p,,D' u,' .au
al ., tho head Of the offender. Inc Hah
who hintcd that immigration was
aue proportions was put down as Nno"
""' a chat charge once lcvclled at "a
s. oeoo,nollv sealed his lips or gave MN Nv
ad 90 ,rouble explaining 10 his friends tha' ne
.o. ,oisundcrstood If a man suggested 'haV III
m;oration was unhealthy, OF an alarming n',u'''
or In anv way inimcal TO the peace anu "'ii''V
30 the people of the United States, the poliuo',
Hte Of the offender terminated Immediately an"
or,ful demagogues made the most OF IL III oi"oi
"a show that the broad, charltaoe sPiiO VI
Americanism was being assaied'
I, is mn, ALWAYS best TO tell the truth lnals-
o,;r,;natelv for some kinds of truth are quite
unpalatable 10 many. The uuth' OF P"iV VI
the truth. once stated will set men 10 'ninNi"s'
and while the original truthteller may oe @ li'i
culed and sconed at, others VIII De pcAc"'o'
through his rashness o,;
,,,sh 70 saw al the outset that am not AMI
.oa w, a snirit of Knownothingism of hatred
opimosity or even prejudice against the claSS u
;oiorants that now seek the shores ol uic
I-;,od States I would not do one OF tneh an
;r;,rv and would bestOw benefit on al VI
them il 7 could: it is, therefore, on other 'n"
biober grounds that stand when saying thao 'ho
immigration TO this country to-day IS u"ii's
unhealthy. and of undue proportions anu D,al
in mind. I am writing of immigration DIS IL eN'''
at the present day .; 20
Tboro was no record kept Of Immigration W
this country until after 1920 ana SIM.
time the statistics gathered have shown t""' up
10 December 81 1889, we have taken Al
1900 900 immigrants. and thai over ou'
half Of that number have landed lhsiue Vi 'n'
last twenty years. 49,. j.;
dustrial area of the United States ana ho'e 'no
effect of the rapid introduction of so many uiii,s
% tho field Of production We find that In all
occnnations machinery is displacng mechanics
and dropping them from the top to the middle oI
ho,tom round of the ladder. 1t is true that one
eNect Of the introduction of machinery VIII pe
10 make skilled men. workers. of those now
known as unskilled laborers. for beheVe |ie
next twenty years will see the most slaVlsh "o'S
done by the aid Of science and machinery anu
though il be but the turning of thumo-scle"
or the pushing of button that sets the h"cI.'"'S
Of the future in motion. IL VIII require cool he""
and skilled hand 10 do the service. Al present.
however we find the mechanic of yesterday com
netting with the immigrant who landed this
morning With forty Welsh citizens, experienced
and skilled in coal mining leaving these shores
and this region. and fifty inexperienced uhf'-
tered and slavish immigrants stepping into their
places we find that the lot of Others who remain
is not improving. They Obliged 10 lower the
standard Of wages and living 10 that OF the I'M
migrant. The time when 10 grow dlssatIshed
with the coal regions. or with manufacturing
centre. the workman could emiSratc 10 the West
and take UP land on which 10 build homo.
That day exists only in memory for our Govern
ment has neglected TO guard the heritage of the
people and has squandered it with lavish hand
until the best Of our acres are in the hands or
under the control of corporations and syndicates.
while the lands TO which the workman may go
are situated SO far from running streams that lie
cannot improve his condition by seeking other
fields and pastures new" in the United States. |
am aware that our esteemed fell0w-cItlzcn,
Andrew Carnegie, believes that the chances 10
gain access 70 the land still very good for he
says
one of the two great fallacies upon which Prog
res and Poverty"-Mr Georges bOok-ls founded
r. that the Land Is getting more and more into
the hands of the few. Now the only source from
which Mr.. George could obtain correct information
upon this point Is the and this tells us that
in 1850 the average eXtcni OF farm, IN the United
states 2o3 acres In 1850. 1919 acres, In 1870
1913 and that in 1850 II still further reduced
To- 1874 acres. The Is obvious for this rapid
distribution OF the land. The farmer who outvatcs
small farm BY his own labor /, able 10 drive out Of
the field the ambitious capitalist who attempts to
farm upon large scale with tie labor Of otheT>
WHO owns THE MoRTGAGE~.
believe that Mr.. Carnegie is entirely wrong,
and that his conclusions have been reached with
out going TO the bottom of the land question.
Hc points 20 the last census "a show that the
age In tho hands OF landworkers is decreasing and
that as "a consequence the "ambtious capitalist -
is hring driven out of the business Had the last
census done what we hope 10 see that of 1890 do,
we would know who owned the mortgages ON Tho
farms. and we might have learned ere this that n
was because ihe farmers were too poor 20 retain
large farms that the latter dwindled in size II
might have appeared that the ambitious capital
ist7 found IL more profitable 10 let 20 hi, tract Of
land and buy up the mortgages ~ thOsc WHO pur
chased from him wcll-managed and carefully
cultivated mortgage viii raise far better crop
for The "ambtious capitalist than the most fer
tile of soil We have only 10 20 to hcadquartcr,
for The proofs and hear what the farmers of
America say 10 know that farming in the United
States never was bad ~ present. never did
30 many mortgages hang over the heads Of the
agricuturists as at present and never before were
~ many farmers anxious 20 part with their bold
ings az present
The ambitious capitalist. having looscncd his
hold on the farm has frightened his grasp on The
railroad and squcczes an that he can out of the
ticr Of the soil in freight charges. after hc has
already taken his interest on the mortgage. TAX
ing H. altogether. II paid the capitalist well 10
Quit farming. for competition In bonanza farming
would have made It decidedly dangerous for him
should he remain longer al the plough Every
farmer Will tell us that roo acres makes a better
farm than i3t acres and If he is honest he will
also say that il he rich enough he would
have 200 INSTEAD Of l3i acres. The diminishing
silc of the farms and the abandoning Of the lie
Of a farmer by the ambitious capitalist does not