The Brandon news. (Brandon, Miss.) 1892-1961, 1905-02-02
IMMIGRATION
SOUTHWA
Tide Of European immigration Should be
Turned to the Undeveloped
Fields of the South.
Times Democrat.

We commented, some days ago, on
the movement to turn the tide of Eu-
ropean immigration from the over
crowded cities of the North to the
undeveloped fields and industries of
the South. This would be to the
advantage OF all interested. It would
benefit the North, which is suffering
from the congestion of large immi-
grant population in It's great cities
to the South by furnishing it with
more labor to develop it's resources
1t would be equally advantageous to
the American laborer by protecting
him from the competition with an
excess of cheap and unskilled labor,
which has tendency to depress
wages; while the immigrant who is
looking for work and frequently can
not find it in the North, and in de-
spair returns home, would find plenty
to do on the Southern farms and
plantations.
But while the project is so gen.
orally advantageous to all, we scarce.
ly expected to see it received with
such unanimous favor. The United
States Bureau of immigration is pre-
pared to give it's ardent support, and
will do all it can legally do to turn
the newly arrived immigrants towards
the South. Commissioner General of
immigration Sargent would, indeed,
go much further if the law allowed
it. In discussing the matter with the
| representatives of the Southern rail-
roads who went before him, he ex-
pressed regret that the Federal gov
erment had not provided by law for
the better distribution of aliens in
this country, as it's failure had re-.
suited in the building up and mainte-
nance Of foreign colonies in the
United States, which ought to be
broken up.
1t was only by proper distribution
that the evil could be corrected. He
added that the practical question was,
what shall be done with the hundreds
of thousands of immigrants to avoid
dangers that now threaten us? He
called attention to the congestion of
population in New York, Chicago and
other cities: the enormous expendi-
ture for the support of INDECENT aliens !;
the records of the lesser criminal and
police courts; the alien inmates of
hospitals, jails and reformatory in
stitutions; the crowded habitations of
foreigners in the cities; the struggle
for bare existence by which the
'sweatshop'' system has passed from
one alien race to another; the intro
duction into this country of the Malta
the vendetta, the "Black Hand' and
anarchist societies, and on the other
hand, the millions Of untitled acres
and the unsatisfied demand for ag-
gricultural and ether manual labor
All these evils, he thought, could
be cured by the diversion of a part of
this foreign immigration into the
agricultural sections of the South.
The Southern press, officials and
people generally have expressed them
selves friendly to the movement, and
as anxious to welcome the newcomers
this showing marked change of senti-
ment from the old belief that the set
Element of European immigrants in
this section would do great harm by
disorganizlng the negro laborer.
Even more pronounced is the press
of the North, which is giving the
project send-off that cannot fail to
help it, These papers declare that
the tide of foreign population to the
South. by bringing about the devel-
opment of this section. will benefit
the country as whole, while it will
hasten satisfactory settlement of the
race question.
The Chicago Post Rep. thinks the
movement destined to be a success be-
cause it is in the hands of such emf
nently practical men.
"Of two-fold Importance, = says
the Post, lis the movement launched
in Washington for the purpose of
diverting to Southern agricultural and
industrial communities the stream of
immigration that now is directed to
the larger centers of population in the
North. Besides serving in a meas
ure to solve the serious problem Of
foreign colonization in cities: it
should give to the South's industrial
revival an added impetus sufficient to
overcome any rretardent influences
that may develop. The proposition
ldiffers from most social and economic
schemes, in the fact that it's consum-
nation is in the hands Of practical
railroad business men instead OF
drealners and Missionaries. The ben
eft of such an arrangement to the