The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-12-04

must ever be the sum total of his own individual qualities and abilities. Sec ond only to this comes the power of act ing in combination or association with others. Very great good has been and will be accomplished by associations or unions of wage-workers, when managed with forethought, and when they com bine insistence upon their own rights with law-abiding respect for the rights of others. The display of these qualities In such bodies is a duty to the Nation no less than to the associations themselves. Finally, there must also in many cases be action by the Government in order to safeguard the rights and interests of all. Under our Constitution there is much more scope for such action by the State and the municipality than by the Nation
 But on points such as those touched on above the National Government can act.
 When all is said and done. the rule of brotherhood remains as the indispensable prerequisite to success in the kind of na- tionaf life for which we strive. Each man must work for himself and unless he so work no outside help can avail him: but each man must remember slso that he Is indeed his brothers keeper, and that while no man who refuses to walk can be carried with advantage to himself or anyone else. yet that each at times stumbles or halts, that each at times needs to have the helping hand out stretched to him. To be permanently ef- fective. aid must always take the form of helping a man to help himself: and we can all best help ourselves by joining together in the work that is of common interest to all.
 Our present immigration laws are un- satisfactory. We need every honest and efficient immigrant fitted to become an American citizen. every immigrant who comes here to stay, who brings here strong body, a stout heart, a good head, and a resolute purpose to do his duty we'll in every way and to bring up his children as law-abiding and God-fearing members of the community. But there should be a comprehensive lew enacted with the object of working threefold improvement over our present system. First, we should aim to exclude abso- lutely not only all persons who are known to be believers in anarchistic principles or members of anarchistic societies. but also all persons who are of a low moral tendency or of unsavccy reputation. This means that we should require a more thorough system of inspection abroad and a more rigid system of examination at our immigration ports. the former being especially necessary.
  ton law ought to be to secure by a care ful and not merely perfunctory educa- tional test some intelligent capacity to appre ciate American institutions and act sanely as American citizens. This would not keep out all anarchists, for many of them belong to the intelligent criminal class. But it would do what is also in point, that is, tend to decrease the sum of ignorance, SO potent in producing the envy, suspicion, malignant passion and hatred of order, out of which anarchistic sentiment inevitably springs. Finally, all persons should be excluded who are be- low a certain standard of economic fit- ness to enter our industrial field as com petitors with American labor. There should be proper proof of personal ca pacity to earn an American living and enough money to insure g. decent start under American conditions. This would stop the influx of cheap labor, and the resulting competition which gives rise to so much of bitterness in American indus trial life; and it would dry up the springs of the presidential social conditions in our great cities, where anarchistic organiza- tions have their greatest possibility of growth
 Both the educational and economic tests in a wise immigration law should be designed to protect and elevate the general body polite and social. A very close supervision should be exercised over the steamship companies which mainly | bring over the immigrants, and they | should be held to a strict accountability | for any infraction of the law. |