The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-12-04

ceeding under this construction of the law, a portion of the people for the nrst ship we're booked. With. all these strenuous efforts to throw every safe- guard around the undertaking and to aid in the practical solution of a most vexatious national problem. to throw the cloak of the Federal Government around an undertaking advociated by the strongest men in the country, as a State official of one of the States of the American Union I proceeded. [ feel sure that the thinking men, the sociol- ogists, those who have the bettermen of American interests at heart, cannot fall to see the benefits promised through such precautions to the condi- ton os the entire country.
 Tt was fight from start to finish to get the ice broken. Had if not been for the fact that Baron von Pills of the Norddeutscher Lloyd, who, having sean the South en tour, and having realized her Immense possibilities for develop ment agriculturally, industrially and more particularly from the standpoint of commerce, we would never have been able to do anything. Baron von Pills has proven himself a staunch friend of the South. The South has been blackguarded, slandared and abused so long in Europe by those whose interests have prompted them to activity in the task--and I might say they have been permitted to do many questionable things from the stand- point Of our laws--that 1t seemed a hopeless task. In many places to merely mention the South was equiva- lent to bringing forth talk about the Black Belt, the widely y-circnlated maps with the Southern States printed in black ink, The Emblem of Death and heaven knows how many other slam
 ders. Indeed, the thing had gone so far that these islanders had been given official circulation by consular officials of the different countries residing in this country"
 How about the immigrant the South needs, and who will be satisfied in the Sonth2"
 T am glad you ask that question. The answer Is a simple business propo- sition and one we have always seemed to overlook in all our work to secure immigrants. 1t is folly to try' to bring people from abroad into the South who have been accustomed to a higher scale of wages at home than they wil1 get at their new homes, This is why you can never bring South with satisfaction an immigrant once landed at Ellis 1s- land where he hears stories of fabu- lous wages in the East and Northwest being inAapable of understanding why a less wage in dollars and cents in the South, where the climate makes such a difference. is more to him than the larger wage is in the East.
 You simply have to secure the de- slrable crude material from those sec. tions of Europe--and they are not many--where the scale of wages is lower than fin the South. persons tO whom the South's scale is necessarily attractive We have number of such who have saved sufficient in few years Io buy their own farms and are now successful citizens. This is the keynote for Southern immigration Neglect or forget 1t for moment and dissatisfaction and failure follow as surely as night follows the day. We must use common sense. I shall not go into details as to where the sections I refer to are to be found, but they exist, and from them come the most desirable material for American cIti- zenship that reach our shores. hnve been among them in their homes What is more, the States accredited delegates have abundant opportunity to examine their police and other rec ords at thetr own homes and then judge of their fitness.
 ''At this moment the Southern States are beginning to attract widespread at- tention in Europe, not only among in- tending emigrants, but among export CTS and importers. A little active work on the part of fully authorized State authorities, acting always under Uni- ted States law, may work wonders not only for the South. but for the country at large, benehtipg rather than in turing the negro l;1,or. improving our whole countTy's economic condition, adding to the common wealth, and, above all. affording a practical solu- tion of the problem of congested un- desirable immigration in the great cen ters.