The herald., 1898-11-27
IMMIGRATION FACTS
THE VOLUME AND CHARACTER
OF OUR IMMIGRATION
ABOUT BANK EXAMINATIONS
The System Should Be Radically
Changed-Eastern Bond Market.
Enthusiastically Notes r
OFFICE OF THE HERALD,

A certain interest always attaches TO the
statistics showing the number OF new mem
bers which have been added to the popula-
tion by inauguration, but it is when one
goes beyond the mere figures OF enumera-
ton to consider the quality OF the new
additions to the population that imm;gra-
ton statistics become most instructive.
Both classes OF data, says Bradstreets, are
given in the annual report OF Commissioner
General Powdcsly which has just been sub
mitted to the secretary OF the treasury. IL
is shown that the number OF immigrants ar
irving in the United States during the last
fiscal year was 229,299 which was slight
decrease--l533-as compared with the mum.
Der for the preceding year. The males out
numbered the females by over $4,000, the
former numbering 1879. The total mum
ber debarred was 1890, not a very large
proportion when one considers the total
volume Of the immigration, being only about
l-3 per cent. The bulk of those debarred
were excluded because OF being paupers or
persons likely to become public charge. In
this class there were 226l persons. Contract
laborers comprised the next largest class,
with All; diseased persons returned num-
bered 25S and assisted immigrants 70, while
there were only IL insane persons, 2 con-
VlctS anu L luiOt.
The range OF illiteracy among the immi
grants may be gathered from the statement
that those over IA who could neither read
nor write numbered 43,057. Their economic
condition was somewhat better than that
for the year before, for they exhibted:to the
examining officials $3,S52,O77, winch was
over S30O,000 in excess of that exhibited by
slightly larger number of immigrants in
ob,1, u; 4
represent their entire possessions The
greatest number of those declaring tlieir oc.
equations were comprised in the class of
laborers, VIZ: 52,53l; servants came next,
with 23,656, and farmers third, with 10, 243.
AS regards the country of origin, Italy came
first, with 5S,6l3; Russia second, with 81
225; Ireland third, with 25, 12S, and Germany
fourth, with l7,lll. If the figures for Hun
gary and Galicia and Bukowina, in Austria
Hungary, were united the dual kingdom
would take second place. but as it is they
are given separately, 1869 for the former
and 1920 for the latter. 10 Sweden are
) credited l2,30S immigrants and to England
9S77 There are SOME pathetic humors in
certain OF the statistics embodied in the re-
port. For example, we learn that among the
steerage passengers were "a actors, SO artists,
los clergymen, II editors, 81 lawyers, 81
physicians, 1876 sculptors and bankers, not
td mentioA others whom only untoward fate
would seem likely to drive to seek passage
under steerage conditions.
Commissioner Powderly makes some rec
concentrations which seem to have reason
behind them. One of them is to the effect
that the head tax on immigrants should be
increased from 81 to 50. This is recon-
mended mainly on the ground OF the need
of providing a fund sufficient to permit of
the enlargement of the bureaus operations
to their full capacity of usefulness in pro-
tecting the country from the influx of de-
pendent, defective and criminal classes
from abroad Another recommendation is
to the effect that the law prohibiting the
expenditure of greater sum for immgra-
tion purposes at any port than shall have
been collected at that port be repealed.
This seems entirely reasonable, for the en-
isting law would seem unduly to localize the
operations of a system which is in its es-
sence national. So there would seem little
to urge against the establishment of an
immigrant directory, to be kept for each
fiscal year by the bureau of immigration,
with the view of preventing frauds in natu-
ralization proceedings by requiring aliens
presenting themselves as candidates for citi-
zenship to produce certificates or duplicates
thereof from the bureau. This plan would,
doubtless, do much to prevent naturaliza-
ton frauds, and it could not fairly be charged
with severity as safeguard upon the priv |
ileges of citizenship.