Arizona silver belt., 1894-05-19
THE EVII os uSREsfRIcrED ImmIGaA.
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 been freely ,liscusSed by politicians and social reforniers, yet almost all the public utterances as to the causes of the present disturbances, and the rem edies to he applied, are more or less tinctured by partizan bias, or made from the standpoint of self.interest Nevertheless they deserve consideration aq shedding some light upon q contro- yerted question, and some of the causes ascribsd; notably silver and the tariff, are undoubtedly important factors in She discussion. There is one subject, however, bearing especially upon tho labor question in the United States, which hG6 received scant attention, namely, the evil of unrestricted Euro pean immigration. True, immigration has fallen off greatly in the past year, but that is the natural result of hard times and consequent glut in the labor market, but the relief is as yet pros pective, for We are now experiencing the evil effect of the tremendous influx of undesirable foreigners during for mer years.
 While We have been intent put ting up Che bars higher and higher on the Pacific coast against the admission of Chinese,' we have wholly neglected the other side of she corral and per- mitted the hordes of pauper lsborers from Europe and Western Asia to' swarm iR upon us. The reason for this palpable inconsistency in our i'm migration laws is easily discovered and is embodied in the fact that the Chi nese are excluded from citizenship, wbile immigrants from other parts of the world, no matter how objectionable, may come unchallenged and even be- fore the foreigner has complied with all the requirements of our lax natur- alization laws-upon his declaration of intention to become citizen--he is clothed with the elective franchise. The ballot, that is the stumbling block Co the enactment of any adequate law to control immigration. The evil Is admitted by Democrats and Repuhli- cans, has been dilased upon in and out of Congress, but political exigency- she fear of Iosiug She foreign vote has proven an insuperable barrier to any stringent legislation.
 In many of our States the foreign population is so large as to hold the balance of power in politics, and any Legislation distasteful to them as na- tionality or sect is certain to be re- sented at the polls. Even among some of the most intelligent and industrious of cnr foreign citizens, their language and customs are jealously preserved, and inculcated iu their children. Thus. while enjoying all the privileges of citizenship, they remain practically foreigners, opposed to the spirit of our constitution. In nearly all the labor organizations in this country the for eigner holds a conspicuous place, and the increase of strikes and riots must be ascribed in large part to the spread | of European socialism. In recent ls. bor riots many depredations have been committed by foreigEerS AtCleyeland, Ohio, seven thousand rioters, mostly l Dagoes and Poles, demolished several manufacturing establishments, for the sole reason and purpose, it is alleged, to plunder and destroy. The president Jf the Mine Workers Association es- inmates that there are 160,000 men en- gagged in the coal strikes in twelve States q very large proportion of whom are foreigners. ard therU has been logs of life and great destraction of property. In the Wyoming coal fields, in Pen sylyania, it is asserted that hardly day has passed since January that crime of serious character has not been committed In every instance the crimes have been traced to Hun garians and Slayonians, who have man aged to escape. Entire communities have been terrorized by members of an oath'bound organization, whose in fuencS appears to reach from the an tharcite coal rsgions of Northern Penn sylvania to the bitumirous country of Central Pennsylvania, and west of the | Alleghany Mountains to the coke cotn- try. The criminal records of the DOT tions of the State enumerated shows, that during the last year more than 200 murders have been perpetrated and only seven of the murderers apprehen- ded. Ths property destroyed will ag- gregate nearly S2, ,O0Q0OO.
 It IS a matter for congratulation that the West has been almost free from these scenes of disorder and bloodshed. The majority of our foreign residents are conservative and industrious class of men, who discountenance violence, and accept philosophically the changed conditions brought about by the de- pression ID mining and general stagRa- ton of business, and are content to.