The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1896-12-15
THR PART PLAYED BY FOREIGN
VOTERS
EUGENE EDWARDS

OOO4OG wv u NS"Ns
In view of the fact that some OF our
newspapers, in commenting on the re
cent election, have intimated that the
! foreign vote Influenced the result OF
that election, we beg to call your at
tention to the following:
What most OF the advocates OF fur
Their restriction want, and what the
Lodge-C orliss dill. shortly to come be-
fore the Senate, aims to accomplish, Is
not the exclusion of foreigners, gener-
ally, but those who are ignorant alike
OF their own language, of an occupa-
ton, and Of the standards OF living
and character which distinguish the
American people.
Now in regard to the recent election
two things may be said:
1st. The way a man will vote in a
particular election is not a test of his
desirability in other respects.
2nd. A bill like the one proposed
would have kept out a very small por.
ton of the foreign born who voted in
the recent election either for gold or
for silver, for Mckinley or for Bryan.
It has been shown in the vatrIous
publications of the Immigration Re
strictlon League, and else where, that
illiteracy and general updesiraOllity
go together. The illiterase ore the
Sav, Latin and Asiatic races. During
the last f4cal year the average Illlt
eracy OF immigrants from Austria
Hungary, Italy, Poland and Russia
was 40 l per cent, while of those from
the United Kingdom France, Germany
and Scandinavia il was only 3 z per
cent
Now what part did the Siav, Latin
and Asiatic vote play in the recent cleo
Cion3 According Co the census Of 1890,
part 1, PIP 40 I'D If all the males of
voting age Of those races had been
naturalIzed and had voted in the last
election, the percentage which their
vote would have been of the total vote
would be as follows: United States
2 6l; North Atlantic States, 3 %;
South Atlantic States, 0 so; North
Central Srates, 2 "a; South Central
States, O.8I; Western States, s SO
But not all these could have voted
By the ceeus of 1890, (parr 2, PIP. 600,
688) of the Slav, Latin and AsIatic
foreign born in the United States 80 0
per cent. were aliens, while of the
British. German and scandinavian
only 80 per cent. were aliens. The
vote Of the Slav, Latin and Asiatic ele
ments Of our population was, there
fore, not over II per cent of the toGal
vote in the election, and probably much
less. 1t is true that there has been q
large immigration OF the Siav and
Latin people during the last SIX years,
and that last year they formed 50 per
cent OF the total immigration. But
1t has been shown both by census and
by the testimony of the Immigrants
themselves that they do not go into the
States which were pivotal during the
last election, except to the city Of Chi
cagO, but congregate on the Atlantic
sea6oard.
It is. therefore, misleading to say that
the iIliterate toreign-born vote in the
election has any material bear
ing upon the question of excluding the
llliteraGe immigrants who are now
presenting themselves for admission.
In 1889, the Slav and Latin immigra-
ton was about one,Centh of the total
immigration; TO day it is more than
half. The people who built up the
North and West were the British,
Irish, Germans and Scandinaviaus.
These would be practically unaffected
by a reading and writing test.
Very truly yours,
PRESCOTT f. HILL,
Sac'y immigration Restriction League.