The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1893-02-10
HOW THEY WOULD ARRANGE 1T.

IlOW fEIEf "OOLD AHNAI<NE :.
Writing upon the immigration
question and means of solving the
problem, in the Journal Of american
Politics, VIM. HI. Jeffrey thinks there
should be a law which will require all
persons coming to this country for
settlement to provide themselves
with a certificate of character from
the chief executive officer of their
town. He would have this certificate
state that "the person named is a
resident of said town, is Of good NOR
al character, temperate and industri-
GUS" He would also have this GER
tificate endorsed by three officers of
the town he lives in. First, by the
chief officer of the poor, Stating that
the person named has not received
any assistance from the poor author
tiles for a period of not less than five
years" The second endorsement he
would have by the chief officer of the
board of health, to the effect that he
was in good health and no contagious
disease had been reported from his
household for at least year. The
third endorsement by the chief of
police to the effect that the said per-
son has not been brought before any
court for any crime for period of
not less than five years, and that no
Indictment was pending against him.
He would also have this certificate
signed by the immigrant as evidence
that he can read and write, and coun-
tersigned by the duly accredited con-
sui from this government, to the dis
trict from whence the immigrant
comes.
He would further provide that 0
person should be eligible for citizen
ship until he had resided here five
years.
On the other hand A. A H0lbrook,
writing upon the same subject, does
not favor the placing of any severe
restrictions upon immigration. He
holds that those who come are need
ed here to perform the hard labor
necessary for the welfare of the coun-
try. He claims that the feeling which
is abroad regarding immigration is a
miSapprehension, which would be cor
rected by closer contact with these
people. Referring to the statement
of thenthousands of immigrants who
coming to our shores, are crOWding
out American labor, he admits the
truth thereof, but he says it is sim
ply crowding it to something higher
Speaking of the Welsh and Irish in
the coal regions, who are being crowd
ed out of the mines by the Poles and
Hungarians, he says it is true, but
instead of mining, they are running
engines, "bossing" the breakers, max
ing up the reports in the office, and
filing other more congenial places.
The crowding he claims is always up
ward. Because of this he would open
the gates, as he claims that those who
come now, will in a few years be
crowded up by others. There Is, no
doubt, considerable truth in what he
says, but it would seem that in his
advocacy of wide-open policy in this
direction, he loses sight of the fact,
that great many come who do not
MAKE desirable citizens. Those who
confirmed criminal and pauper ten
denotes, who do not care for our in
situations, nor have any ambition to
become good citizens, but rather who
prefer to continue here the degraded
life they led in the old world, and
whom the authorities there are anX-
ious to get rid of. They are not of
the class who ''crowd up in the scale
Of civilization, but rather pull down.
1t would also allow the anarchist to
come here and without hindrance SOW
the seed of his pernicious doctrine.
This class should in some way be shut
out. But that class who push up,
who make good, thrifty citizens, there
has been no objection urged against
their coming.