New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1905-12-06
QUESTION OF IMMIGRATION.

Confederate dead who died in Northern prisons
QUESTION OF IMMIGRATION.
terest to this country. In the year ending June
30, 1905 there came to the United States 1,oZo'-
900 alien immigrants. In other words, IN the
single year that has just elapsed there came 70
this country greater number of people tha'i
came here during the 100 years of our colonial
life which interviewed between the first landing
at jamestown and the Declaration of Indepen-
dence 1t is clearly shown in the report OF the
Commissioner General of Immigration that
while much of this enormous immigration is IN
doubtedly healthy and natural. conslderaole
proportion is undesirable from one reason or an
other: moreover, 81 considerable proportion OF IL
probably very large proportion, fncludlhg most
of the nndesira Bile class does not come here OF
it's own initiative. but because OF the activity Oh
the agents of the great transportaton connpd-
MES These agents are distributed throughout
F1rope and by the offer of all kinds or lnduce-
ments they wheedle and cajole many lmna-
grants, often against their best interest," u
come here. The most serious oDstacle we nave
to encounter in the effort to secure a proper
regulation of the immigration to these snores
arises from the determined opposition Oh tl-e
foreign steamship lines who have no interest
whatever in the matter save TO increase tue
returns on their capital by carrying masses %
immigrants hither in the steerage quarters OF
their ships.
AS 7 said in my last message to the congress
we cannot have too much immigration oL tne
right sort and we should have none wHa iCh I
~ the wrong sort Of course 1t is des1raDie
that even the right kind of Immigration shouI r
be properly distributed in this country, We
need more OF sueh immigration lot the oout -
and special effort should be maze 10 secuIe IL
Perhaps it Would be possible to limit the nuhiuer
of immigrants allowed to come in any one year
to Ney--York and other Northern cities, Whhe
1eoI Two rnIimited the number allowed TO come
TO the South always provided, however thaC d
stricter effort is made to see that only lulitl-
grants of the right kind come to our country
anywhere In actual practice It has proved so
difficult to enforce the immigration laws where
long stretches of frontier marked by an inlagln-
ary line alone intervene between US anu ouI
neiohbors that I recommend that no immigrants
be allowed to come in from Canada ana Mexico
save natives of the two countries themselves
AS much as possible should be done to distribute
the Immigrants upon the land and keep them
awav from the congested tenement house dis
trcts of the great cities But DISTRIBUTION Is d
palliative not a cure. The prime need is 10
keen out all immigrants who will not make good
American citizens The laws now existing for
the exclusion of undesirable immigrants should
he strengthened. Adequate means should be
adopted enforced by sufficient penalties, to COM
pel steamship companies engaged in the pas
senger business to observe III good 1altl tiie
law which forbids them to encourage or solicit
immigration to the United States. Moreover.
there should be a sharp Limitation imposed upon
all vessels coming to our ports as to the num-
her AT in1migrants in ratio to the tonnage which
each vessel can carry. This ratio should be
high enough to insure the coming hither of as
good a class of aliens as possible. Provision
should be made for the surer punishment OF
those who induce aliens to come to this country
under promise or assurance of employment. 1t
should be made possible to tnfiict a sufficiently
heavy penalty on any employer violating this
law to deter him from taking the risk. 1t seems
70 me wise that there should be an international
conferences held to deal with this question of
immigration which has more than merely
national significance; such conference could
among other things enter at length into the
methods for securing thorough inspection of
would-be immigrants at the ports from which
they desire to embark before permitting them
to embark.
depart from the old American tradition and to
discriminate for or against any man who desires
to come here and become a
FITNESS citizen, save on the ground
FOR CITIZENSHIP OF that mans fitness for cit
ONLY QUESTION. izenshiu It is right
ana cuty cOnsIuer MS
moral and social quality. His standard of living
should be such that he VIII not, by pressure of
competition, lower the standard OF living OF our
own wageworIers; for 1t must ever be a prime
object of legislation to keep high their
standard of living. If the man who seeks to come
here is from the moral and social standpoint OF
such character as to bid fair to add value 10
the community he should be heartily welcomed
We cannot afford to pay heed to whether he is OF
one creed or another, of one nation or another.
We cannot afford to consider whether he is
Catholic or Protestant, Jew or Gentle; whether
he is Englishman Irishman, Frenchman or
German, Japanese, Italian. Scandinavian, SlaV.
or Magyar. What we should desire TO ind out
is the individual quality of the individual man.
In my Judgment. with this end In view. we shall
have TO prepare through our own agents a lar
more rigid inspection in the countries from
which the immigrants come 1t will be great
deal better TO have fewer immigrants but all OF
the right kind. than a great number OF immi-
grants many OF whom are necessarily OF the
wrong kind. AS far possible we wish to limit
the immigration to this country to persons who
propose to become citizens of this country and
we can we'll afford to insist upon adequate
scrutiny of the character OF those who are thus
proposed for future citizenship There should
be an increase in the stringency of the laws to
keep out insane. idiotic, epileptic and pauper
IMMIGRANTS But this Is by no means enough.
Not merely the snarchist but every man of an
archistic tend ncies, all violent and disorderly
people, all people Of bad character. the incom-
petent, the lazy. the vicious, the physically UNFIT
defective, or degenerate should be kept out The
stocks out OF which American citizenship is 70
be built should be strong and healthy sound in
body mind and character. 1t il be objected
that the government agents would not always
select well, the answer IS that they would GER
tainiy select better than do the agents and
brokers OF foreign steamship companies, the peo-
pie who now do whatever selection is done
The questions Arising in connection with
Chinese immigration stand By thAmsalyss~ The