Arizona republican., 1905-08-01
PHOENIX. ARIz.. AUGUST l. 1905
A New Record in immigration.

A
 The fiscal year 19O4-05 was a record breaking one in commerce and indus try. Our foreign trade rose in value to S2.635. .97O .O0O-the greatest total in our history. Our exports were larger than ever before. and so were our inn ports. Our industrial activity was ev- erywhere intensified. and the demand for labor thus created drew to our shores and unprecedented number or immigrants. For the first time this tarny of recruits passed the million mark. The department of commerce and labor has just reported that 1.O2''- 421 aliens were admitted in 19Oi-Oo. This is an increase of 214.551 over last years total and of 17O,375 over the highest previous total-that of 19O2-O5' Four times as many aliens were land ed last year as were landed in 1SS3-S4 or 1Ss4-95. and this in spite of the fact that our inspection laws have been made more stringent and tests or eng ibility not thought of a. decade ago have been invented and applied.
 In general character the stream Of immigration differed little from that of recent years. We continue to draw most of our labor raw material from the countries of southern Europe Ttalv has ceased. however, to furnish the lions share. Italian immigration rose in volume from 193, ,296 in 19O3-O4 to 221.479 in 1904-O5. But the inflow from Austria Hungary increased much more rapidly In 19O3-04, 177,156 Aus trians and Hungarians were admitted; 275.693 were admitted in 19O4-O5. For the first time in six years Italy has been crowded into second place. But these two Mediterranean countries still contribute about One-half of our immigration. In 19O2-O3 their quota was a little more than 50 per cent. In 1903-O4 it was about 45 per cent. Last year it was again a share under 50 per cent. Russia is the third greatest factor in the over-sea exodus. We ad- lnitted in the year just ended 1s4.S9f Russians, including Films and Poles from Russian Poland. The year before the Russian total was 154.141. In 1902 O3 it was only 1O7.347. Immigration from other countries has not varied greatly. though the total from Great Britain and Ireland rose from S7.700 in 19O3-O4 to 137 ,O57 last year.
 The immigration problem has re- gently been attracting marked atten- tion. Efforts are being made. in the south to divert to that section the in flow from the Mediterranean basin. Italians are especially sought as plan tation hands, and the Italian govern ment has shown some disposition to aid in dehecting the current of steer age travel from Naples and Genoa to southern ports. New York has every reason to approve this change of pol icy. which will operate to check the growth of the alien colonies established there. and to correct the abuses of the padrone labor system. We suffer from the congestion of immigration in our chief ports and inland cities, while the agricuF uraI south stands ready to wei come . ,e alien laborer and give him stead1r and profitable employment. The National Civic federation is arranging to hold a conference in New York next December. to which the governors of all the states are to be invited, and an effort will be made to thrash out the immigration question in all it's details. The record breaking flood of 1904-05 would have led ten years ago to an agitation for stringent exclusion laws. Public sentiment seems inclined nowa- ,fI the immigrant and to insist only on better machinery for sitting out the dangerous and unworthy elements and distributing the rest of the inflow to the best general advantage. The l United States has still room for the industrious of all nations. The only l problem to solve is how best to use | and assimilate the raw material of fered us.