Los Angeles herald., 1891-08-02
ASSISTED IMMIGRANTS.
0vERTURES IN BEHALF OF DE-
n TANNED RUSSIAN JEWS.
Prominent American Hebrews Offer to Pay
Their Passage and Give Bonds That
They Will Not Become Public Charges.
sH Secretary Fosters Reply.

WAsHINGroN, August 1.-Secretary
Foster today addressed letter to Simon
Wolf and Lewis Abraham, president and
secretary respectively Of the Union ol
American Hebrew congregations, with
reference to the overtures made to the
departmentsfor the release from deten-
ton Of Russian Hebrew immigrants
held ut New York and Boston as as
sisted lmmigrants. whose landing is for
biadens by law. II their letter. to the
secretary, Messrs. Wolf and ,Abraham
stated that the Hebrew societies in the
United States, while they deplored this
kind of immigration and had advised
their brethren in foreign countries to
prevent it, were willing to stand
the expense of carrying the immigrants
and to give the government satisfactory
bond, guaranteeing that none of these
refugees should become public charges,
and urged that practically enforced Inn
migration of this nature could not be
classed properly, as assisted immigra-
tion within the meaning of our laws.
In his answer to the communication,
Secretary Foster says, in part: II fully
COuCuT Ill yOuI CbblAldJO VI V1C uudkA
tude of the present calamity which has
befallen SO many of your race, as well as
in your hope that early mitigation or
cessation of the current measures Of
expulsion may render it unnecessary for
any general migration of Russian He
brews to America or elsewhere. I'm
questionably the great and sud
den influx of destitute aliens
OF any race would be grave
misfortune to any country, and the
American Hebrews act both patriotically
aud humanely when they advise Jewish
refugees against coming hither, but at
the same time endeavor to render self
supporting those who finally come.
Obviously the support ola number of de-
pendent persons is tax upon the re-
sources of the country, even though
paid from private funds, and quite as
plainly, the industrial conditions here
might be seriously disturbed by the
sudden arrival and enforced competition
of multitude of needy people. Hence
it is important to the last degree that
the volume of this expected refugee i'm
migration be not excessive or threaten
ing, and that with entire certainty
it be promptly and widely dis
tributed, 80 as to supply the real
want in scattered communities and in
terfere as little as possible with the
existing and normal industrial condi-
tions. The apparent scope and though
ness OF your plans for securing this inn
mediate and wide distribution of the
expected refugees are most gratifying,
and upon the success of your associa-
tions in carrying out these plans will
largely depend the possibility OF the
government meeting your views in
other respects. While the immigration
laws Of the United States must and will
be enforced, agree with you that those
laws were never enacted in deroga-
ton of the plainest requirements OF hu-
manity, and no worthy immigrant, who
in all other respects meets the demands
of our statutes should be excluded from
the country, because through the action
of others he is for the time being home-
less and without property. l shall rely
upon your voluntary assurance that you
will actively urge upon your brethren in
Europe the attitude of our laws toward
assisted immigration. l also beg to
remind you that any tendency abroad
to defect toward this country the move
ment of destitute refugees, or to stimu-
late their migration hither, would be
distinctly hostile to the spirit mani
tested in your letter and TO the spirit in
which the government of the United
States desires to treat this difficult and
delicate problemv