Omaha daily bee., 1890-06-12
THE IMMIGRAYTOY QUESTION.

The subcommittee of the house of rep
resentatives which has been canvassing
public sentiment regarding immigration
did not obtain much encouragement in
st. Louis for the view that the govern
ment ought to erect additional barriers
against immigration. Very generally
the question whether it is desirable that
immigration should be restricted at
all, in the sense of being les
sened and not merely being sifted,
was answered in the negative, and those
who held this view were not all of for
eign birth, as journals opposed to the
time-honored policy regarding immigra-
tion have asserted Some of them were
native Americans, but of that class who
take broad and patriotic and practical
view of this question. A majority of the
witnesses who appeared before the COM
mittee were of tho opinion that there is
no danger to American institutions, or
to the political, social or industrial Ing
terests OF the country, from admitting
foreigners who are not embraced in the
classes now excluded by law, but on the
contrary it is desirable to permit, and
even encourage, the coming here of in
dustrious and thrifty people from the
old world who can be depended upon to
make homes here and become good
citizens.
An eastern journal, discussing this sub
ject and referring to what the house sub
committee elected at st. Louis, remarks
that 1.-The general belief is that the time
has come when we should begin to put
up the bars" This sort of assertion is
easily made, but it is a misrepresenta-
ton. There is undoubtedly widespread
sentiment in the east favorable to put
ting up the bars. but it is by no means
general elsewhere. The testimony taken
by the house subcommittee in the
west shows this, and the COM
mittee has been by no means
partial in seeking those who were rea-
sonably supposed to favor the policy that
has been maintained since the founda-
tior of the government. The great ma
jority of the people of the west, who it
may be observed are not less solicitous
than those Of the east for the conserva-
tion of every political, social and mate
rial interest that may be assumed to be
affected by immigration, are not at all
apprehensive of any peril to result from
the annual infusion of four or five hun
drcd thousand foreigners who are able
to take care of themselves by honest
labor. The general sentiment of the
west, and we believe of all the rest of
the country outside of the over-popu-
lated portions of the east, is that there
can be no difficulty in assimilating tho
annual accretion of foreigners to the
number of one-half of one per cent OF
our population, and that instead of this
moderate annual influx being dis
advantage to the country, it
must result in benefit The
people of the west are not able to SYM
pathiZe with the narrow and selfish
view of this question which prevails so
generally in the east, and which at
tempts to find defense in an assumption
of patriotic concern for the general well
fare. They believe that if the existing
law excluding Objectionable classes is
enforced, so that all persons will be eX-
cluded who are not in Il condition to take
care of themselves by honest toll, there
will be no reasonable ground of opposi-
tion to immigration, which is more
likely to decline than to increase in vol
ume hereafter without additional re-
strictions.