New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1898-02-01
ATTACKS ON THE LODGE BILL.
IMMIGRATION AND CRIMINAL STA
TISTICS.
IMMIGRANTS FROM SOUTHERN AND EASTERN
EUROPE not WORSE THAN THOSE FROM
OTHER PARTS OF THE CONTINENT
-rILLTERACY got TEST

or CHARACTER
Inv rrIraRApu - THE rRrBuNEl
| Washington Jan. 3i.-Nost OF the opponents OF
! the Lodge immigration Restriction Dill no" 49,
| ing in the House Of Representatives. 'ic "np0.,
| 70 contend that the immigration laws OF ''e
United States as at present executed are eh'NeF
sufficient 10 protect American interests Inc LOU.
hin rronoses an educational test as a measure ot
restriction Yet. It's opponents say "he '''','"N
/ IL a disadvantage. the qualities "h'c' ~
| man n valuable member Of cominun''y
o.. and nerseverancc thrift honesty sobriety ana
fair-dcaling-are entirely Independent OF h's "''''
% road and write II f. well known, they afSu''
THAT native Americans are not inclined TO perIor"
hard physical labor. Formerly, the IT'S" w"
| uerded upon to work the mines. construct '"''
roads dig sewers and FOR other branches VI ~
/ skilled labor but nowadays Irishmen are seido"
willing 70 take such places. The ltSlh'n7 al" ~
OF other races who now employed 90 10. ~. ~.
! ,,ort tho irish. they only nj the places iei'
vacant by the Irish. -,
! England's supremacy In the Industrial W.
been due 10 cheap iron and cheap COAL VI W. ~,
plentiful supply has been at hand AZ al unie''
r-nitsd states possesses all natural cohd''o"S ~
rivaI and excel Great Britain In IRON anu '"''
,rodu,tior Tts competition IL already serious'
,oI, n England The United States has Il great
area OF coal fields than any other couh'S " -
world and produces more iron ore anu p'7 -
than any other country. The total Ndlue Vi mn.
/ nj
ooo COO and In 1895 E7s,Oo0O0o. It's posso'liVes %
| lo..Ion,,ent are simply tremendous Dut pros'e'
tho opponents Of restriction assert, VIII ~ '
/ ,os.bIa n the man who Is ready 10 conn ".
and work IN the coal mines and iron mi"s 70 w
barred from coming. ,,,o,,
Tho arguments OF the immigration tteSulc''o''
League are directed particularly against inc ''''',
,,r,,ion Sron Southern and Eastern Europe WIZ"
- declared 10 he so much worse than that rom u"
other European countries that, as measure VI 90"
walton for the morality and INDUSTRY OF III, -
Try r. must he checked and regulated. Tho League
charges that immigrants from ltaly hAhsar!' H"s
STA and Poland being to n larger degree ihitefate
tban those from other countries. arc less desraoe
ard iii our prisons. almshouses and chari'dois III
-ttutions" Mr. Hall the secretary or me i'n"'siA
ton Restriction League, repeats this charge III ICY
ter I'm The Tribune under date Of December - 1871
referring particularly to the experience or Ma'sa-
chusetts In the same letter he makes me state
ment that there is lltte fraud In The Inspection
OF immigrants" 1t is for the immigration authoH-
tics TO answer this fling AT their efficiency bu' every
one who has dealings with them knows how PANS
taking. careful and rigid they are In the execution
OF the mmigra don inspection laws.
II one examines the arralsnment OF the imIni-
grants from Eastern and Southern Europe quoted
above f. Will be found that The charge OF greater
crminality insanity end paupersm against them as
compared with the people from other parts or
Europe is unfounded The Official report Of the
Massachusetts state Prison !or 1873 states tha thele
were 40 commitments OF which 81 were OF persons
OF European birth Great Britain and Ireland con
tributed a ~ these France 3. Germany l. sweden |;
Finland !. Italy 4. Austria and Russia and Poland
none so that me countries complained OF furnished
Of foreign birth, while during that year and FOR sew
eral previous years these same countries contributed
other hand Great Britain and ireland supplied over
among Immigrants from Italy. Austria Hungary.
Russia and Poland Is about times az large as
among the immigrants from Great Britain and Ire
The Massachusetts State Reformat9ry for the
oners there were from Austria 2; Great Britain
and Ireland, q; Germany,7; Italy q Norway and
of foreign birth from Austria. Italy. Russia and
Poland; or commitments from Austria Italy, Rus
Migrants rom from RUSSO and Poland between 1892
and - per CENT , from Great GIy Bran
grants from Great Britain and Ireland. 26+ and
The commitments for the same year to the Bos-
ton House Of Industry showed SoS 90 from Graf
many. 50 from Sweden and Norway, IA from Italy,
from Russia, from Finland from Poland. and
/ from Austria; commitments from Austria,
Italy. Russia and Poland, a litt!e oyer per cent
4yerage iterecy from austria Italy Russia ana
Britain and Ireland. over "a per cent average
illiteracy from Great Britain and Ireland so per
II all the ,ais and houses OF correction in Massa
y4iepap Of British and IRISH NATIVITY % from
France. "a from Germany. 96 from Sweden and
Norway 81 LrSm 6 hy from rom kTssa 81 from from
Hungary; or commitments from Austria Hungary.
Italy Russia and Poland. less than per cent
average illiteracy, 81 per cent; commitments from
Great Britain and Ireland. " per cent; average
iii teracy. 50 per cent.
The statistics OF tie Massachusetts insane asy-
lums are complete. but they sufficient
to illustrate the faacy OF the Leagues contention
During fourteen years previous 10 ls9i 1890
have been admitted to the State lunatc hospitals
of which $3.50 were OF British and Irish parentage
and from other countries Loo These figures do
not give specific Information III regard to the coun-
tries prescribed by the League. but they can
only form a part OF the smaller number or l.3ij
the Leagues assertion here also Is untenable. As
the character OF people is doubtless the same In
Massachusetts a In other States. the results as
certained above will unquestionably hold good all
the country. This bears OUT the contention
that iiteracy IL not a test OF a mans character
and shows the absurdity OF the statement that BE-
immigrant cannot read write he Is
likely TO become a criminal, a pauper All
insane person than II he could
How little pauprriSm has to do with foreign i'm
migration is shown by McMaster in his History
OF the People OF the United States" Vol 10 when
speaking OF pauperism In 1920. he says that pau
pers then were increasing more rapidly than popu-
latiOu; seventh OF the population OF the city OF
New-YOrk actually lived on charity. and seven
elshths OF them reduced TO abJect poverty
by he inordnate OF liquor
That habitual drunkenness IL one OF the principal
causes OF crimnality, pauperiSm and insanity Is "A
universally recognized fact and II Is Just "a well
known that the vice OF drunkenness IL exceedingly
rare among the races which The League seeks 10
exclude.