The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-08-22
The New knOw-N0thing "a SIN {.

The New gism.
Letters we have printed from intelli-
gent correspondents indicate that the
great flood of immigration of recent
years. from southern and eastern Europe
in chief part, has brought about revival
of something Of the old know-Nothing
sentiment of the middle of the last CEN
fury. The dread OF Catholic invasion
which stimulated the earlier agitation
most powerfully no longer appears. but
the old native American" spirit begins
again to assert itself.
Tho demand of the Know Nothings of
the period between 1850 and 1880, that the
time Of residence preliminary to naturali-
cation should be extended to twenty
one years. is repeated now; and it is a
suggestive circumstance that among
those who are joining in it some of the
most insistent are themselves citizens
who were naturaized before the period
of the present great Italian and Jewish
immigration began, or are the descend
ants Of the immigrants against whom
the agitation of fifty years ago was
directed
Still another and new demand is now
made. 1t is for national legislation to
| require an educational qualification in
immigrants, on the ground that the great
| number Of illiterates now arriving on the
immigrant steamers will tend TO produce
in, thn IS
country, and that our institutions, social
and political, will be injuriously affected
| by the vast mass of imported ignorance.
The subject was discussed from this
last point Of view in an address delivered
last Wednesday evening TO meeting of
the Associated Republicans of Kings
county by their president An educa-
tional qualification for immigrants" he
would make leading Republican issue
sin the near future and under it he
would raise the cries of protection to
American labor, protection to the Ameri-
can people, protection to American insti-
buttons and protection to the American
future. The argument by which this
speaker, MIR. JAMES A. HICKMAN, en-
| deavored to sustain his position that we
are In danger Of national deterioration
by the immigration now coming in and
that which has come since 1880 is not
supported, however, by the results of
the earlier immigration, even as he de-
scribed them.
The incentive to the old Know Nothing
agitation was the great flood of Irish
immigration which began at the time of
the Irish famine and was succeeded by
an even larger German immigration.
Very much was said then of the conse-
quenoe of national deterioration which
must come from the introduction of these
foreign hordes, by speedy naturaliza-
ton, into the body of American citizen
ship. Mr.. HICKMAN undertook to DEM
onstrate, however, that the "old stock
still predominates in our population,
undiluted by alien blood, and he mar
shalled census statistics to prove his
point. According to his figuring, of our
white population, about 100000 in
1900, NEARLY 4O,OOO,OOO are descended
AiOui Llb -OV,VUO OOlOIudIS.
In order to get this result Mr. HECK
MAN had to do violence to statistics. Be-
cause out of a total white population of
| about 100000 in 1900 only 20, 1873, 0s9
were foreign born or natives Of foreign
parentage Mr.. HICKMAN concluded that
10000, 900 is fair number" of the popu-
lation not descended from "the 200 900
Colonials. He leaves entirely out Of
the account, however, the grandchildren
Of the more than 5000, 900 immigrants
who came over between 1910 and 1860, who
are natives of full native parentage. OF
course, too, many Of the 10000 mmi-
grants from 1880 to 1000 have had descend
ants who are included in the native popu-
lation. Mr.. HICKMAN assumes that the
fecundity Of the foreigners has been much
less than that Of the "Colonials, but the
facts are all against the assumption.
Experience has shown, moreover, that
foreign descent, near or remote, has
nothing to do with the value of citizen
as an American political factor. Even
the foreign born are usually Ameri-
canized by the time Of their naturalza-
ton, more especially when they have
learned to speak our language, and the
great political and industrial value Of
them and their descendants is shown in
the experience Of the development of this
republic since the 2O00O,0OO of immi- |
grants began to pour in. 1t has been |
the period Of our greatest political, m a.
terial and social progress.
Possibly the question Of requiring an !
educational qualification, with view to
the restriction of undesirable immigra-
ton. will come up hereafter as political
isslie; but the Republican party is not
likely to load itself with it in the campaign
of next year. The laws OF Southern