The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1905-12-08


migrants. In other words. in the sin
gle year that has lust elapsed there
came TO this country a greater num-
Der Of neoDle than came here during
n n hundred n s%ixty-nine years
of our colonial life which I~nteryeueJ
between The first landing at James
town and the Declaration OF Indepen-
dence. 1t is clearly shown in the re-
port Of the Commissioners General OF
Immigration hat while much OF this
enormous immigration is undoubtedly
healthy n natural. a considerable
proportion IS undesirable from n
reason or another: moreover. q con-
siderable proportion Of it. probably n
very large proportion. including most
OF the undesirable class. does not come
here of its own initiative. but because
or the activity of the agents of the
transportation companies. These agents
are distributed throughout Europe.
and by the offer of all kinds Of induce
ments they wheedie and caiole many
immigrants. often air their best
interest. to come here. The most Sc
rious obstacle We have to encounter
in the effort to secure a proper ragula-
ton Of the immigration to these shores
arises from the determined opposition
OF the foreign steamship lines who
have no interest whatever in the mat
ter save to increase the returns on their
capital nv carrying masses of immi-
grants hither in the steerage quarters
of their ships.
AS I said i'll nv last Message to the
Congress. we can not have too much
immigration of the right sort. and
We should have none whatever OF the
wrong sort. OF course it is desirable
that even the right kind of immigra-
ton should be properly distributed in
this country. We need more of such
| immigration for the South. and special
L &c -I~-1 "
Perhaps il would be possible to limit
| the nj of immigrants allowed to
! come in any one year to New York and
other northern cities. while leaving
the number allowed to come
tn the South: ALWAYS provided. howey-
ar, that a ~stricter effort is made to see
| that only immigrants of the right kind
| come to our country anywhere. In ac-
| tual practice 1t has proved so difficult
| to enforce the immigration laws where
| long stretches Of frontier marked by
an imaginary line alone intervene be-
| tween u3 and our ~neighbors that |
| recommend that no immigrants be al
lowed to come IN from Canada and
| Mexico. save natives of the two coun-
| tries themselves. AS much as possible
| should be done to distribute the imn1i-
| grants upon the and and keep them
| away from the congested tenement
| house districts of the great cities. But
distribution is a palliative. not a cure.
| The prime need is to keep out all i'm
| migrants who will not make good
| American citizens: The laws now ex-
| listing for the exclusion of undesirable
| immierants should be strengthened.
| ADEQUATE means should be adopted.
| enforced W sufficient penalties. to
| compel steamship companies ngage
in the passenger business to observe in
| good faith the law which forhids them
to 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 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
| under promise or assurance of
| employment. It should be made pos
| sible to inf1ict a sufficiently heavy pen
| atty on any employer violating this law
| to deter him from kin the risk. It
| seems to me wise that there should he
an international conference held to
deal with this class Of Immigration.
which has more than a merely national
| significance: such, a. conference could
among other things enter at length
into the methods, for securing a thor
| ough INSPECTION Of would-be immi-
grants at the ports from which they
desire to embark before permitting
them to embark.
In dealing with this question it is un-
wise to depart from the old American
tradition and to, discriminate for or
| against any man who desires to come
here and become a citizen. save on the
ground of hat mans fitness for citi-
ZenshiD. 1t Is our light and duty to
consider his moral and social quality.
l His c+oplo~1 of l;,yirrr c1o,,Tl no c,,oI
that he will not. by pressure Of COM
! petition. lower the standard Of living
| of our own wage-wOrkers: for it must
| ever be a prime object of our legisla-
| ton to keep high their standard of
living. If the man who seeks to come
here is from the moral and social
| standpoint of such a character as to
| bid fair to add value to the community
| he should he heartily welcomed. We
| can not afford to paw heed to whether
he is of one creed or another. of one
nation Or another. We can not afford
to consider whether he is Catholic or
| Protestant. Jew or Gentile: whether
he is Englishman or Irishman. French
mar or German. Japanese. Italian.
| Scandinavian. Siav. Or Magyar. What
we should desire. to find out is the in
dividual uua!ity of the individual man.
In my Judgment. with this end in view.
we shall have to prepare through our
W GA O. 1ai a. IiSfu
in the countries from which the immi-
grants come. 1t will be a great deal
better to have fewer immigrants. but
all of the right kind. than a great
number Of Immigrants. many of whom
are necessarily of the wrong kind. As
far as possible we wish to limit the
I Immigration TO this country to persons
| who proposed to become citizens of
his country. and we can well afford to
insist upon ADEQUATE scrutiny of the
character of those who are thus pro-
posed for future citizenship. There
should be an increase in the ~stringencv
of the laws to keep out insane. idiotic.
epiieDtic. and pauper immigrants. But
this is by no means enough Not
merely the anarchist. but every man of
anarchists tendencies. all violent and
disorder1y people. all people of bad
character. the incompetent. the lazy.
the vicious. the physically unfit. defec-
tive. or degenerate should be kept out
The stocks out Of which American cit