The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1890-11-22
FOREIGN IMMIGRANTS.
Why Further Restrictions Seem
to Be Necessary.
SOME INTERESTING FACTS
In Surgeon General lIntnilt0n's ltc.
port OF His Investigations Abroad.
Some Very Loose Methods
that Should Bc Rcmcdicd.

WASHINGTON, D. O., Nov. 2l.-Surgeor
General Hamilton has made Il report tc
the Secretary OF the Treasury giving the
results OF visits paid by him 10 the
principal foreign ports Of embarkation
OF immigrants bound for tho United
States. lie said he visited the ports Of
Naples, London, Liverpool, Glasgow,
Bremen, Triests and Hamburg and
found that there is at present no sys.
tematic medical examination Of emi.
grants at any port Of embarkation. II
may positively be asserted without fear
OF successful contradiction that the
immigrants bound to the United States
are not generally required to undergo n
proper inspection. DR.. Hamilton says:
$50 far as my observation extends, and
go far as l can learn from the literature
on this subject there is no country in
the world in which citizenship is 90
chcaply obtained aa in the United States.
The general question OF restrictive meas-
nres us against the incoming macs is one
OF the mos. important that can be con-
sidcred from an economic or political
stand point and viewed from an Ameri-
can standpoint, there is no doubt that
the welfare OF the country demand more
restrictive measures than the present
laws seem to be able 10 furnish.
The advocacy OF restrictions upon i'm.
migration does not necessarily imply
hostility to foreigners, nor legislation
adverse to the interests OF those patural.
lied citizens now in this country. On
the contrary, it is believed to be for the
general interest OF those now on the soil,
who, having been invested with the
rights OF citizenship, are entitled to all
the protection that our laws can give,
and it is in their interest not less OF The
natural born citizen that further influx
OF persons not bringing skilled labor or
material wealth to the country should
be restricted. 1t ought to be d privilege
to bo al American citizen, and as nat
uralisstion is n gratuitous concession to
the immigrant, the immigrant should
be of such n character, morally,
intellectually and physically, as would
make him more or less valuable addi-
ton TO the body polite and it would ap-
pear the least the immigrant could do in
return for this concession would be to
render cheerful obedience and conform.
ity to the laws OF his adopted country.
But IN many instances this has not been
the experience. We witness in New Or.
leans and Chicago, for instance, the fact
that certain foreign nationaists insist
on maintaining their murderous assas.
sination societies and putting them in
practice on our own soil in contraven.
tion OF our laws and Of the public peace,
and this leads to the conclusion that the
class of immigration has changed from
the classes OF former times. 1t is fact
that most foreign countries do not en-
courage emigration to the United States,
or, il it is encouraged, it is OF q class they
can we'll afford to spare.
During the last six years, under the
operations OF existing law, the vast num-
Der Of 2,G68, ,270 immigrants has arrived
on our shores. l was unable to find any
evidence OF assisted emigration, except
to Canada, where, under certain circun-
stances, the emigrants are assisted. And
as the in!!ux into the United States is
less closely watched than that from
European district it is possible that many
OF those assisted emigrants may find
their way into the United States through
Canadian channels. He recommends
that more rigorous measures should be
adopted at the different ports Of entry to
shut out all criminal classes, and also
closer examinations be made in regard
to infectious diseases.