The sun., 1903-12-25
senator Lodges Plan to Restrain
Our National Development.


senator Lodges Plan to Restrain
Our National Development.
Senator LODGE of Massachusetts, in
the Century magazine, defends his bill to
exact an educational test as means OF
restricting immigration. 1t is method,
he contends. (which discriminates be-
tween the Objectionable and the desira-
BILE better than any other, and it's appli-
cation would "at once shut out at least
one-haf of the immigrants who ought to
be shut out" These excluded immi-
grants, however, he calculates, would
be almost wholly from Italy and Russia,
none Of them from Germany and Scan
dinavia, and mot more than per cent.
from France and Great Britain and less
than 10 per cent. from Ireland.
When the Rule Of Naturalization was
debated in the First Congress, in Febru-
ary, 1890, arguments very like those used
by Senator LODGE were urged. Our
society and our political institutions
would be corrupted by alien immigra-
ton. THEODORE SEDGwICK OF Massa-
chusetts, for example, contended in the
House of Representatives that "in the
United States the human species might
be multiplied by more eligible and con-
venient mode than indiscriminate i'm
migration. He would admit none but
reputable and worthy characters" and
he would require them to be imbued
with our political principles. for he
feared that immigrants would come
"impregnated with prejudiees Of educa-
ton acquired under monarchical and
aristocratic governments which would
deprive them of 1the zest for pure re-
publicanism JAMES JACKSON of Geor-
gia, also, would trust to the natural in
crease of our population for inhabitants" I"
rather than have the common class of
vagrants, paupers and other outcasts of
Europe
JOHN PAGE of Virginia, however, had
no such fears. He was against hard
terms of admission and contended
that .it Is nothing to us whether Jews
or Roman Catholics settle among us,
whether subjects of Kings or citizens Of
free States wish to reside in the United
States" They will find it to their in
terest to be good citizens he went on,
"and neither their religious nor their
political opinions can injure us, if we
have good laws we'll executed" JOHN
LAWRENCE Of New York agreed with Mr..
PAGE that it was questionable if any
good could come from the restriction
Of immigration which would compensate
for its evil.
1t will be seen, therefore. that the dis
tressful forebodings Of Senator LODGE
are not new and original with him. Since
the debate in the First Congress, about
twenty-five million immigrants have
settled in the United States and what
actually has happened? This republic
has grown from feebleness into q fore
most Power Of the world, as it could not
have done if we had undertaken at the
beginning Of the republic to discriminate
against illiterate immigrants, according
to the plan of Senator LODGE. We
should, for example, have shut out a
very great part of the Irish immigration
at the time when it was at its food and
was most necessary to us.
When immigration began to be rela-
lively large, in the decade beginning with
ls4O, alarm as to its consequences became
prevalent. Memorials asking for the ex-
tension OF the term Of residence requis-
ite for naturalization to twenty-one years
were presented to Congress. In lS45,
ROBERT c. WINTHROP presented to the
House of Representatives resolutions of
the State Of Massachusetts,, the spirit
Of which was similar to that now ex-
pressed by Senator LODGE in his bill and
in his Century article. Native Ameri-
tanism" cropped out and seemed to be
politically portentous. Frauds on the
naturalization laws, with the corruption
of the ballot box, was the cry then, as it
is now in certain quarters. The Native
American agitation subsided after hav-
ing made great stir, and no sign of it
remained during and after the civil war.
The necessity of immigration for our
military defence and our natural and
industrial development was generally
recognized.
Since that period has come in more
than three-fourths of the total immi-
grafton since the establishment of the
republic, or something approaching
twenty millions. If Senator LODGES
bill excluding illiterates had been the
law during that time very much of it
would have been excluded, yet now the
percentage of illiteracy among the chill
dren of these foreigners is probably less
than it was among the native population
at the time when the Know Nothing
agitation was at it's height. The total
number of votes for President cast in
creased from 2,69s oil in 1874 to IL, ,85s, ,e53
in 1900, very largely because of the i'm
migration meanwhile, Was the condi-
tion of politics in the time of POLK better
than it was in the time of MCKINLEY, and
what evidence was afforded in 1900 that
the intelligent fitness of the electorate
had declined? Was not the evidence
rather Of improvement?
immigration, contends Senator LODGE,
lowing TO the looseness of our naturaliza-
ton laws, '"is pouring in on us constantly
in o,Ir large cities and towns q mass ~