Daily Kennebec journal., 1894-12-27

social rather than economic Importance
1t is necessary to the preservation intact
Of our national character. Those who
believe in the right of men to migrate free
ly where they please must now consider
whether the United States has not a
higher right to preserve its moral, social
and political integrity"
The State of Maine has been little, if
any, troubled by the undesirable classes
Of immigrants but this does not indicate
that the same is true of the large cities
in other states. So many of us are either
immigrants or SO recently descended from
immigrants that there is naturally feel
ing of hospitality toward the new comers.
Sight is lost of the fact that the class OF
immigrants now seeking our shores are
representatives of peoples unfamiliar with
our customs and are literally untitled by
the training and heredity of generations
to become assimiIated; that but little If
any thrift or effort is required on their
part to get to this country. Indeed there
has been suspicious that they were helped
here to get them out of the way. They
come here to find many out of work and
willing to work for a livelihood provided
it be decent one, they step into the
places of the latter and work for wages
upon which no good citizen can live
wholesomely, they afford opportunity for
sweat shops and for robbing the respect
able, Americanized working people of
work And no one can blame them.
They must live. Under former conditions
governing immigration, the cost OF
passage ETC., this country got an infusion
Of thrift and energy. Moreover, they
came from countries which gave assur-
ance that they possessed capacity for
assimilation. Since 1869 the immigration
from the United kingdom, France, Ger
many and Scandinavia has gained but
little in any year and ON the whole has
shown very marked falling off. On the
contrary since that time the immigration
from Russia, Austria, Hungary, Italy
and Poland has steadily phenomenally
increased Because the governments and
conditions of living from whence they
came are rendering the poor, poorer and
more debased, because in those countries
there are breeding masses of human be-
ings that know but little of humanity, is
no reason why we should allow their
victims to come to this country and bring
self respecting labor to their level. If they
remain ut home they contain the elements
which will eventually erupt like social
volcano and possibly result in more
civilized order of affairs
This country has wonderful recupera-
tive power, wonderfully assimilatiye ten
denotes, great fields for endeayor But
those fields are not occupied by most of
the newcomers. They swarm into the
over populated centres, the centres of
civilization which they are changing it
almost seems into centres of barbarism and
from which influences radiate in every
direction. They include many who be-
come good citizens it is true They in
clude more who lead better lives than it
seems possible under the circumstances.
The great majority strive to do the best
possible to them but the tendencies to
criminality are great. Uncle Sam is a
whole soulcd host. He is very self reliant
and takes very broad ground on such
matters. But the very fact of the wide
spread agitation of this matter indicates
that the danger point has been or soon
will be reached.