Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1896-03-20
Restrict Immigration in Self-Defense.
To the Editor Of The Evening Star.

10 the Editor Of The Evening Star:
| At last our national leg:sla TORS are he-
ginning to take cognizance of the real
c1l Sc of our Industrial troubles. From
time to time We have been told that they
were due to improper laws on the subject
OF tariff and money, though very MANY
realized the true situation, but were afraid
10 grapple with 1t. The speech of Senator
Lodge sounds the keynote. We are now
anu have been for some years suffering
from plethora of cheap foreign laborers.
The immense foreign immigration of this
class has produced the sore on the bodv
| polite. Treat and cure this by real restric-
ton, and all VIII be WELL Let it run along.
and the inevitable result will be tremen-
| dous Increase in the army of tramps and
Migrants; and in order to keep I'D a SEM
biance of an American system of living
wages the one-half of the population wh:ch
Is employed will be called upon to support
the other half, roaming in idleness over
the country Or confined in warehouses and
Kindred institutions.
This IS the problem which confronts us
at this time, and to which both statesmen
anu work nsmen must address themselves.
II must take precedence over all others
Of what avail will be strikes and Similar
efforts to prevent the lowering of wages #
for every striker there are half dozen APP
piicantS ready to take service at much re-
duced compensation?
We have, in truth, been over-generous.
and therefore unjust to ourselves We point
with more or less exultat:on to the great
anu rapid increase in our population but
soon We will realize that it is our e>oat
misfortune. Not the number but the char
acter OF its people makes great country
why; just look at the situation. few
cola days, and up go the most urgent an
peals for help to keep many persons from
starving or freezing. Every avenue of in
dustry Is overcrowoed, and on every hand
we meet men who have been crowded out
ana are seeking to raise a few. pennies TO
keep soul and body together. Our own peo-
pie have been literally run out of their EN-
pigments. While we, theoretically, are ALI
IN favor of high wages, practically we in
dorse the very lowest; and because of the
keen competition the margin of profit has
been reduced SO low 1t is next to impossible
TO pay god wages and keep business
running. The combines have almost driven
small dealers out of trade, but it is only a
question of time when they too, if present
conditions prevail, will have to go to the
Wall There can never be any business re-
VlVai until the inducements are such as to
make capital invest in various ENTERPRISES
rather than lie all but idle in the banks
We have been trying to do an impossible
thing. viz, to keep up wages and at the
same Tune Ignore the memorable law of de-
mand and supply.
Years ago John Randolph saw the
troubles which would beset us in this direc-
tion, and he wisely advocated that greater
reliance be placed on domestic production
for an increase of population.
This is live topic. one in which every
citizen, native or naturalized, is profoundly
interested. Suppose the case were the other
way. and millions Of our people were flock
ing to some other country, and underbid-
ding them in the labor market: does any
one doubt the strong arm Of the law would
fail to intervene?
Unless some very radical legislation.
much more restrictive than the proposed
amendments to the immigration laws. Is
adopted. the time is near at hand when We
will have to admit that the American
workingmen are no better off than those
in the countries from which undesirable
Immigrants are now pouring into this coun-
try. Self-protection is the first law of ma
ture. Let US recognize the Importance of
the present situation, and face it boldly
and frankly ere 1t be too late. T.