New-York tribune., 1906-08-01
THE IMMIGRATION PROBLEM.

Immigration touched a new high water mark
in l905-06. Reports from Washington put the
arrivals for the year at 1062, ,054, which exceeds
the 1904'O5 total by $4,000. But 1904-05 was an
extraordinary year. 1t brought an increase of
214.OOO in the volume of immigration and saw
the annual inflow of aliens pass the one million
mark for the first time I'm our history. In the
last decade, in fact, the movement of population
toward our shores has virtually doubled, and
unless conditions change we shall soon find our
selves saddled with the burden of assimilating
annually mass of alien raw material equal IN
numbers TO our own normal national growth
complete classification of immigrants by ma
tionalities has not yet been made; but 1T is evi-
dent that are still receiving disproporton-
ate quota of recruits from Southern Europe.
Italy sent US 222,606 applicants for citizenship
last year, against 221,479 in 19O4-O5. Austria
Hungary and Russia were the next largest con-
tFibutors and it is not unlikely that those three
countries will have to be credited with more
than half Of last years immigration, just as they
have furnished the lions share OF it for ten
years past.
The digestion, economically and politically,
but especially politically, OF so enormous mass
of aliens-aliens In tongue. ideas and sympathies
has become serious problem. Congress has
been compelled to overhaul our inspection sys-
TEN and to consider various schemes for restrict
But though the Senate passed an acceptable
immigration bill at the last session OF Congress,
the House of Representatives, influenced by the
delegations from the seaport cities and from
inland cities having large alien colonies. so
modified its restrictive provisions TO leave the
measure mutilated and mpOtent. It is now still
In conference committee to be taken up next
winter, when, 1t is to be hoped, the Senate will
insist on the restoration Of the more important
49, $500 iV17Vr1i
grants were easily assimilable-like the English.
Irish Scotch, Welsh, Germans and Scandina-
vians-there would be no need of resorting to
so rigid a sitting process. But the bulk of the
newcomers not equal TO adapting themselves
to conditions here and are driven TO maintain
a gregarious colony existence in or near the
great cities in special localities like the Penn
sylvania anthracite and bituminous coal fields,
where they remain a menace, both industrially
and politically. So long as they can be imported
as mere industrial raw material they will con-
tinue an alien and discor1ant element, in the
nation, but not of it, and drag on develop
Lent as an enlightened. self-gOverning demOc-
racy. It is all very well to talk about keeping
our gates open to the oppressed of all nations.
Within the proper meaning of the phrase that is
great and noble service. But we shall do the
world in general a greater service by working
out intelligently and soberly the experiment Of
democratic government, and we should not handi-
cap ourselves unwisely for that all important
task.
Some workable device is clearly needed to check
the present high tide of immigration. There can
be great objection to increasing the head tax,
which is merely nominal, and Congress
would do well to raise this tax, not from 81 to
s5, but from 81 TO $40. Opinions differ radically
as TO the advisability Of an educational test and
there is something TO be said on both sides. But
a moderate educational requirement, by deter
ring the more ignorant, would raise the quality
OF the applicants at our gates and awaken them
as nothing else would to the necessity of abjur-
ing colony isolation and fitting themselves for
actual contact with and ultimate absorption into
American life.