The Big Stone post. (Big Stone Gap, Va.) 1890-1892, 1891-01-23

transportation companies, and section 4
of the bill is drawn to prohibit the circu-
lation OF any advertisement farther than
the statement of the time. schedules and
transportation facilities Of various steam
! ship companies. The testimony taken
| concerning the violation Of the Alien
Contract Labor law shows that the Off
GERS Of immigration met with many d fl
cutcs in its enforcement. The loophoic
pointed by several inspectors, and which
they claimed to be una,isc to remedy, is
the clause in the law allowing persons in
America to send tor their personal friends.
| The officers say that immigrants coming
in violation OF the law were instructed in
its provisions, and, on the report that they
came in response to the solicitation of a
personal friend they were allowed to pass
and could not he detained.
The report OF the committee calls at
tcntion to the alleged effort of officers
and societies in European countries to de-
port their undesirable population, and ex-
show that these efforts have been very
successful and that America has received
during the last few years q large number
| of people that were not wanted in some
of the European countries. There have
also been energetic efforts on the part of
immigration and transportation agents i'll
Europe to encourage IMMIGRATION to
America One of these combinations
alone sent H. ,l0G cmierahis to this conn
try within period of fourteen months.
The statistics presented to the commit
tee and printed with their timony show
that in New York. while the ratio Of
foreign population is only % per cent, -
per cent Of the insancs, 4G per cent OF
the inmates OF prisons, and 81 per cent Of
those receiving support. are foreign born.
This ratio holds good in mrny Of the other
States Of the Union, and in some is
even exceeded The statistics also show
that Of the native population the in
sane are one in every -l96 while in the
foreign born it is one in every l?l. Or
those receiving support anon. the native
population the ratio is one cvcryGSl while
among the foreign born it is one to every
$50 Among the inmates of prisons, Of
the native born the ratio is one in every
GS7, while of the foreign born it is one in
every 3S4. This condition of affairs evil
IDENTIFY induced the committee TO take
some action to correct it, and they have
provided that any alien who may become
II public charge within Que year after his
arrival in the United States, from causes
existing at the time of his landing, will
be returned to the country from whence
he came at the expense Of the steamship
company which brought him here. Under
the present law such IN immigrant cam
not be returned after he is once landed,
but, becoming helpless, is ut once thrown
on the charity Of the State where he may
he found.
The bill also provides for the establish
mcnt of ar immigration Bureau, and pro-
poses to place all emigration affairs under
federal control instead Of as the present
law provides under the cAntrol of State
institutions through contract with the
Secretary of the Treasury.
"rhc intent of our immigration laws,
the report says, sis not to restrict immi
grafton, but to slit it, to separate the de-
sirablc from the undesirable immigrants,
and to permit only those to land on our
shores who lave certain physical and
moral qualities. The time is far in the
future when we will suffer from an over
crowded population. The territory of the
United States will support seven times
her present inhabitants"
The report also says that one or more
Of the political parties i'll twcnty~thrce
of our States this year in their State
platforms demanded additional regulations
OF immigration; and the purpose of the
present bill, rs stated by 4 member of the
committee, is not to restrict immigration,
Int to so amend the laws as to enable the
officers of the Government TO enforce