Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-02-14
TO STEM TIE TIDE
VT &C
Efforts Of European Countries
to Restrict Emigration.
- T.
REFUGEES FROM ABROAD
Y n9
~ T.
BENEFITS Of ENFORCING AN
IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION LAW
New Legislation Abroad to Improve
the Conditions of Would-Be
Immigrants.
REFUGEES FROM ABROAD
Special Correspondence Of The Evening Star.


and yet 1t is only now that the European
governments are making a serious effort to
stem this tide of emigration. That the eff
fort is serious is shown in the character of
laws recently enacted and laws now pro-
posed.
The most serious flaw in all the emigra-
| ton restriction laws of Europe today is
| that they do not restrict. The disconnected
| the adventurous, the criminal or the refugee
bids defiance to any law which may be en-
| acted to hold him in the country, and once
| outside the borders of his native land it is
merely question of intelligence and money
| to reach the destination he has in mind
| The threat that if he leaves without a per-
| NIT he will be deprived Of his citizenship
! and subjected to arrest and Imprisonment
If he returns has little weight with the man
whose life is all in the future and whose
patriotic ties have been weakened by op-
| preston and half starvation. There is
nothing behind him and everything before
him. If he leaves a family, he goes away
with the intention of sending for them be-
| fore long and thus regaining the only thing
| of value which is sacrificed on his de-
parture.
America the Mecca.
Over 100000 people emigrated to the
| United States last year, but there would
| have been 100000 more If the United States
| immigration law had not been in existence
| Under the operation of that law perhaps
| less than 10000 actually refused ad-
| mittance, but this does not include the
| many thousand who are left at the Euro
pean ports of embarkation because the
steamship companies know that it is use
| less to attempt to get them into the United
| States England, Denmark and one or two
other countries actually have laws whereby
funds can be raised by taxation for the
purpose of ,deporting paupers, criminals and
other undesirable persons, and it is only by
the utmost vigilance that the United States
| is kept from becoming dumping ground
for all people Objectionable or source Of
expense to the European governments.
An immigration restriction law does re-
strict because the country enforcing it has
the advantage of being able to repell all
classes of invaders who are declared unlaw-
full A country that attempts to restrict
emigration, however, would have to con-
struct Chinese wall around its territory
and maintain a Gordon of armed troops
thereupon to prevent the egress of its citi-
ZenS.
Sapping the Life Of the Country.
When the Italian emigration restriction
law was enacted in 1901 there were 1900
transportation agents at work in Italy So
Letting emigration. The result of such
competition as this was most tremendous
and the life of the country was being sap
ped through the emigration of every able
bodied man who could be induced to leave
by those who were interested in selling him
a ticket. The law cut the number of these
agents down to a few hundred, and so re-
stricted the competitive efforts of those left
as to remove large incentive which had
hitherto been offered the population to go
to foreign country In every European
country today, with the single exception
of England, it is illegal to advertise in
ducements for emigration, to solicit a citi-
zen to emigrate either personally or through
the mail. or In any way to do more than
merely accept the transportation business
which offers itself to the agents OF course
this law is not observed any more than Is
necessary to escape conflict with the police
authorities, and many of the European
agents take great risks of fine, imprison-
ment and loss of government license in
their efforts to secure business
The police are constantly Selling tons of
mail matter sent out by emigration agen-
cieS and destroying the same and much
reading matter is debarred from general
distribution throughout many Of the Euro
pean countries on the ground that it con-
tains attractive display advertisements of
steamship and other transportation COM
panfes For instance, calendars can not be
brought into Austria for the government
has decided that too many of them contain
attractive advertisements of foreign steam
ship companies, which may serve to con-
stantly remind the adventurous Austrian
of the possibility of leaving his own coun
try. Even emigration agencies authorized
publish the rate of fare and the time of
sailing of steamers.
Where the bulk of travel is through sea-
ports, as is the case in Germany, Belgium,
France and Spain, it is possible to exercise
closer vigilance in preventing departures,
but even in those countries there appear to
be thousand ways of evading the authori-
ties and making a peaceful and easy es-
cape to a foreign land.
To Better the Conditions at Home.
The efforts of the European governments
to restrict emigration are not confined to
the making and enforcing of laws making
it difficult for people to leave the country.
A higher and more intelligent form of legis-
laton has resulted from realization of
the terrible economic loss incurred in the
annual emigration of hundreds of thou
sands of people. This emigration is pri-
marily due to bad conditions and a serious
attempt Is being made in many localities
to correct notorious evils, furnish employ
ment for the native population, and thus
make 1t more desirable for people to remain
at home. In Italy education is being made
possible for the children of the peasants,
and wherever possible taxes are being low
cred SO that industry, especially agricul-
ture, may live. In Hungary parliament
has made large appropriations for the
building of roads in country districts, ex-
tension of railroads, sand the substituting of
industrial concerns which promise employ
ment to large numbers of people.
Not much progress is being made in Rus
STA, country losing enormous numbers of
its citizens through emigration every year,
but little can be expected until peace again
comes to that great empire. There is some
promise that measures OF reform will be
adopted in regard to the treatment of the
Jews, but until these actually materialize
the Jewish emigration from European Rus
STA will continue to be as great as ever.
In England alone, Of all the European coun-
tries, no attention has been paid to the
evils Of emigration. In one sense the Irish
land purchase act was an attempt to check
the exodus of people from that country,
and that 1t is meeting with some measure
of success is shownlby the fact that emf
grafton from Ireland did not increase last
year as compared With the year before,
although 1t did increase enormously from
both England and Scotland. The English
people are determined upon some form of
immigration restriction and the government
has promised that measure will be enact
ed during the present session of parliament.
England Is notable sufferer, both from
emigration and immigration. perhaps in In
tenser manner than any other country. Yet
England is the only country where there Is
no restriction upon either movement OF the
population.
immigration restriction laws admit the
| desirable and keep out the undesirable.
Emigration restriction laws keep the de-
| srable and let the undesirable go. Unfor-
fitpa tQ1u OR ha yp{t oa hot