The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1907-11-29

against it. Such all undesirable is
supposed to be kept out by exciting
legislation, which debars criminals,
and which ought to be further
strengthened by requiring every
alien to have a passport and certif-
cate Of good character from mis- own
local officials. The litcracy test,
however, would keep out large
percentage of very Objectionable
aliens, because it is the ignorant and
illitcrate who are such a fertile field
fer the irresponsible agitator; who
are destitute of resources and a
knowledge Of support; who have
low standards of living and little
ambition TO seek better: who arc
avcrse is country life and crowd in
TO the city slums, increasing the
crime, disease, misery and poverty
there. Certainly the test would do
much to improve the present infer
ior quality OF our immigration and
would greatly enhance the chances
Of The south securing the kind Of i'm
migrants she would welcome. North
west Europe is land Of universal
education, while public schools arc
unknown III southeastern Europe re
the steamship companies cannot
| bring the more profitable but less
desirable illiteratc alien races from
the Mediterranean countries, they
will fill their steerage with the less
profitable, more desirable. literate,
kindred peoples Of northwest Eu-
rope.
"ln short time YOU could pro-
badly settle every cultivatablc acre
of land III the south, and in The
course Of a few years quadruplc the
present cotton crop and cut the price
IN two. In an even shorter time
your forests could be turned into
| lumber and your minerals mined.
But what Is the use Of all this mad.
h"t haste to develop every one Of
your resources? You are now, after
| many wears Of hard and Sclf-sacriic-
ing effort, happy, contcnted and
prosperous people. Why fly from
| the present labor ills, whatever they
are made out to be by the selfish i'll
tcrcsts, 10 ills You know not of?
Way not leave something for your
own posterity and not icopardize
your Institutions. ideals, and very
civilization itself, by bringing in
other alien races which are now be-
ginnin" to cause in thc northwest the
very economic, social and racial evils
which are known on the Pacific
slope as the "Yellow PERIL and in
the south as the Negro Problcm?'
"Our present laws. with the. eX-
ception of Chinese and japanese cx-
clusion, are mere police regulations,
and dcbar merely the admittedly de-
ficicnt and dependent classes. What
is needed is legislation that will test
the caliber, the character and the
capacities of immigrants. Why
should We admit the pennilcss alien
who is forced by his Ignorance and
poverty to go to work at once in the
sweat shops and slums. Why adj
nit the uaintclli%cnt, illiterate per-
son who is sure TO be ignorant of
trade, lacking in resources and abil-
ity, likely to become a public charge
and sure 10 become a tool in the
hands. Of the corrupt boss or anar-
chistic agitator-why admit the il
litcratc adult when we are spending
millions on education and make lit
cracy Il condition Of our franchise
and citizenship?
"With regard TO legislation, in
my opinion the head tax ought to
be further increased to ten or twcn-
ty-five dollars; the possession Of pro-
perty or money, say fifty dollars, as
in the case Of England, ought to be
required; all assisted immigration
ought to be forbidden except where
the passage is paid by The aliens
nearest relatives; a passport Of cer4
tificate Of character ought to be re-
quired; and by all means all litter
ate adult aliens ought to be cXclud-
ed. Such provisions would go far
toward relieving the northeast of
its iatolcrablc immigration evils, and
would certainly bring us a far better
class Of immigrants than the bulk
of the new immigration which has
met l,no,,n to nomn in lorUr Oum-