Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1904-01-24
THE TIDE OF IMMIGRATION.
f. T., Clark SAYS the Standard of Oar
wage Earners Is Threatened.

WAKE
Edgar f. Clark, chief of the Order eff
Railway Conductors and the labo:
member of the coal commission. says
on the Immigration question:
We have reached time in the d"
vclopmcat OF this country when there
is danger to our economic and social
institutions through our inability To rs
simulate the iordcs of immigrants that
are coming iii here every year. This
nation has disSipated a continent in Il
century. and the time has come when
the influx of the serfS and criminals of
Europe cannot be distributed over this
vast land. They will not go out in the
wilds and hcW a new path for them
selves. They become competitors with
American workmen and drag dow.s the
rate of wages
These immigrants knock the proi'
from under tile whole social and eco
nomic structure of this country, and i!
they are not checked the Americas.
workmen will be reduced to the leve
of the somislavery existence of ts,.
pun l'ttiN W vi Nliit> INV ~ vi i1'i III
There are lust two classes of work
men in this country today, They are
the men who work hard at the real
manual labor and who cannot do more
They are contented with their lot
which is vastly superior to what is the
existence of the foreign laborerS. Tll"
other class is the artisan He is
IL. I ~
men of manhood this great country
has produced These two classes get
along we'll together. The lower class
does not interfere with the other. But
here comes your immigrant with his
low scale of wages He lines up with
the laboring men of the country and
begins to cut the price of the lower
class Now. there is one of two things
for these men to do. They must accept
the low wages established by the pau
per Immigrant or they must begin to
cut the price of those higher up. The
consequence is drop in wages all
around.
"The American father wants to edu
cate his children better than he was
himself. and in order to do It the wages
of the Warkineman must be kept up Ii
they are reduced the children must n
taken from tie schools before they G0f
q proper training and be sent out IL
help support the house. In that Wa
the social standard of the American
workman IS lowered by the immigrants
Il DO not favor utter exclusion nor do
think it should be unlimited. The ed
ucational test is good as far as it goes,
but | would go further than that il /
had anything 10 say about the resNrlf.
ton of immigration. The trouble lies
with our naturalization laws. They are
entirely too loose The Immigrant can
come over here. aud III some states he
can become an American citizen, With
all that pertains to that grand priv
lege. He is a voter in a few years. and
his voice in the government IS as po"
erful as yours or mine. although he
may not know the basic principles OF
the laws of the country or even spea!
its language. These immigrants ar'
made citizens While you wait. Noui
son and mine are compelled to wal
until they have been in the countrl
twenty -one years before they can b"
come citizens.
What should be done is to build up "
better citizenship. beginning at the ve!A
foundation of the country. the schools
More of them should be provided. The
higher ones should be brought within
reach of the workingman's chldrrh
We shall never he able to do this until
the food of immigrants is checked