The morning call., 1891-12-20
THE QUESTION OF FOREIGNERS.

Mr.. Bowers. who represents the Sixth
District of California in Congress, has in
troduced a compromise measure on the
immigration question. 1t has long been
evident that no drastic bill. framed on the
lines OF the Ford committee report, could
command the necessary votes to become a
law. Everybody is willing to set limits to
promiscuous immigration. but the Ford re-
port stood in the way of a satisfactory
reform of the immigration laws. Mr..
Bowers bill will not meet with so much
opposition, though it may be amended to
advantage in committee.
AS THE CALL understands the dis
patches, the bill provides: First, that no
one who is not a full citizen can make an
entry of public land; secondly, that no one
can become citizen until five years after
he has flied his declaration of intention to
do so; thirdly. that no one can file such
declaration until he has been one year in
the country, and finally. that no Judge
shall naturalize more than ten citizens in
one day. The effect of the BILL if it be-
comes law. would be to check the whole
sale manipulations for election purposes,
and likewise to restrain precipitate at
tempts OF foreigners TO become Americans
before they know their own minds. There
is nothing unfair in requiring man to live
a year In the country before he acquires
the right to take the initial steps toward
citizenship; nor is a period of five years
too long for his probation before he is ac-
cepted as member of the nation.
This business Of the naturalization Is one of
the most difficult problems in modern polit-
zeal science. History furnishes little guild
ance Oh the subject Until the Roman En-
pire no nation of antiquity admitted for
eigners to citizenship, though exceptions
were made in the case of very distinguished
individuals. Under the wise rule of the
Emperor Augustus Inhabitants OF any part
of the empire could obtain citizenship by
adopting certain formaiities ana proving lit
ness for the honor The devce was intended
TO cement the various divisions of the en-
pire, and to effsce bitter recollections of con-
quest and subjugatlon. But the Roman
Senate was very circumspect in granting
citizenship. Though it accepted Trajan, a
Spaniard, as Emperor. it is recorded that
two centuries and half elapsed before any
Egyptian was raised 10 the dignity of a Ro-
man citizen. The Romans were select in
their choice of partners. In our mother
country there was no naturalization law IN
til quite recently; the rule was that an
Englishman could not divest himself of his
anu SndI lOTciBueE cOulu not
acquire nationality in England. Pretty
similar rules prevailed in the countries of
Continental Europe. Each nation sought to
monopoliZe its own country.
The desire to fill up the empty spaces on
this continent induced our forefathers to
hold out to immigrants liberal rewards,
which included citizenship on easy terms.
The plan answered so long as there was an
abundance of cheap and fertile land to which
the immigrants could be transported. But
when good and low-priced land became
scarce, large proportion OF the newcomers
remained in the cities, gutted the labor mar
kets and planted dangerous class" in our
midst Europe began TO use the United
States as n sort of Botany Bay. The re-
sultng revu sion of sentiment against the
naturalization or even the admission ON any
terms of hordes OF incongruous and IN
manageable foreigners led to the appoint
ment of the Ford committee and to the in
PRODUCTION into Congress of flood of bills
looking to the restriction of both. Ford and
his friends insisted that Europeans who pre-
posed to emigrate to this country should
pass an examination as to moral character
aud pecnniary circumstances; this Of course
was reducing the case to an absurdity.
Other refOrmers sought to revive the old
naturalization Of John Adams time by
which foreigners were required to reside
twenty-one years in this country before they
voted. But it was pointed out that this
would divide the people into two classes
citizens and aliens-and that the latter could
not fail to be an element of danger. So that
plan was dropped.
Mr.. Bowers merely proposes to give for
eigners time to think before they change
their allegiance, and meanwhile to deny them
the right of dividing the public domain with
natives. He does not 60 very far, but he
goes in the right direction, aud his plan
might be worth trying with some fresh re-
strictions on the importation of criminals
and persons who are incapable of providing
for tn cir own support