San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1891-01-08
Immigration and Crime.

Immigration anu STiIle.
Boston Advertiser.
OF unusual interest is the an
nouncement that Surgeon General
Hamilton has recently returned from
tour OF the chief Europe an ports,
whence come the majority of the i'm
migrants who land pon our shores.
His report to the Secretafy of the
Treasury emphasizes the fiosI of
precaution. London, Liverpool
Glasgow, Bremen, Naples and
Trieste were visited In turn. AT
none of these ports, according to
this report, is conducted any sys.
tematic medical examination of emil
grants. All corners are alike al
lowed to sail for this country, and
society has as protection from an
influx of criminals, lunatics and pau
pers only such mild regulations as
obtain at our ports.
The fact that no systematic, and
hence thorough, medical examination
is required of emigrants at the ports
of departure is by no means the great
est fault that lies in the immigrant
system of the United States. The
Surgeon General tells US that, SO far
as he has been able to learn, no gov
eminent in Europe now encourages
emigration to the United States. This
il is gratifying to learn, for the people
of this country have been quite of the
impression in the past that England,
at least, has been in the habit OF
emptying it's aims houses and PEN
itentaries upon American shores.
Ipeeed, at one time, undoubted evil
dence of the entire correctness of this
impression was amply supplied. But
even with the discontiuuance OF as
sisted emigration, the United States
is not yet wholly free from the dan
ger of transported pauperism, and
has absolutely no protection against
imported criminals.
The suggestion of the Surgeon Gen.
eral as to the best means of controll-
ing and regulating immigration is
not wholly new. 1t has been pre-
gument upon this topic. But 1t
would appear to be at once the most
feasible and the most efficacious of
any plan yet proposed. Every in
tending emigrant, he suggests. shall
produce to the consul of the United
States nearest his home, evidence
from the proper authorities salts
factory to the consul, that he has
not been convicted of any crime and
that he has never been public
charge, and shall also produce
PHYSICIANS certificate of health. The
Consups permit to the intending emil
grant upon the receipt of this evidence
would be his passport to enter an
American port. The Surgeon Cen
ersl still further suggests that his
Consul's certificate might state
whether the bearer intends to be-
come q naturalized citizen of the
United States. This Is an excellent
suggestion, as requirement. that the
Consul's certificate should be pro-
duced, when application for natural
ization Is made, would be as erect
ual bar against admission to citizen
ship before the legal residence shall
have been obtained.
The adoption of such q plan as
this would be material assistance to
the immigration officers at United
States ports, would exclude more
rigidly than now the insane, the
pauper, the idiotic, and those afflicted
with disease. But far more import
ant than all these, 1t would operate
as an effectual bar to such charac-
tiers as have made certain districts OF
the great cities Of this country q ter
ror. Anarchism and the Malta thrive
by accesions from the rope. when
our ports are guarded by such pow
erful means as this proposed against
the entrance of habitusl criminals,
one of the most serious problems OF
the day will have been more than