The Union times. [volume] (Union, S.C.) 1894-1918, 1907-03-08
THE CONSERVATIVE
VIEW OF IMMIGRATION.
The Labor Problem Furnishes the
Largest justification for the In.
tereSt Manifested in
Immigration.

ilS iiotaDlS ldTSc dttcnNa1CS ana the
keen interest manifested at the Immi-
grafton convention in Macon is fully
justified by the vast importance OF the
subjects under discussion.
We are passing through transition
period in the industrial and social life
of the South. The idleness and shift
lessness OF the negro, his steady exo-
dus from the fields of agriculture to
the cities, and his increasing indispo-
sition to manual work have upset the
entire labor system OF the South.
The scarcity OF labor has further been
increased by the prosperous conditions
of the working classes which have rem
dered it possible for these men to live
and prosper i'll other lines. We are in
need, too, OF better and more skillful
help in our domestic life and service.
The labor problem furnishes the larg-
est justification for the interest mani
tested in immigration, and the necessi-
ties of our people in this department
are SO great as to tempt us to overlook
many prudential and far-seeing precau-
tons which ought to surround the
bringing of new peoples into this most
conservative and most American of all
sections OF our country.
Beyond the labor stringency there is
a material demand for immigration
along other lines.
Our people desire an increase Of
population, because OF the general de-
sire to live i'll a populous state and to
outrank our nearest state rivals in
numbers and Importance.
Our people desire an increase OF
population because we have much un-
occupied territory which we desire to
see settled and improved.
We desire an increase OF population
because more people paying taxes will
reduce the per capita oi taxation to the
individual citizen.
We desire an increase because these
new people will create 4 larger market
and an increasing demand for Our man
Iuiacturcd products, for our raw mate.
rial. Tor our Wholesale and retail stores.
and lor all the things which our people
have to sell.
We wish immigrants to come to
Georgia To establish new industries,
and to increase our supply oi all pro
ducts to meet the demand OF our own
and other states
To sum it al up we are inviting new
people here, bccauSc, prospcrinp and
prosperous as we are, we want to get
rich faster and prosper more abundant
ly than we are today.
All Of these are good and natural
E reasons Tor sustaining and helping the
immigration movement which is being
earnestly planned at Macon. All good
citizens must feel an interest in the
outcome OF that convention.
> If we arc looking only for today and
Tor the immediate tomorrow, there need
be no prudent reserve and no holding
back in the fullest and most unhcs-
tating pledge OF cooperation in ad-
vancG with everything that the immi-
grafton convention may do.
But there are questions involved
here fully as deep and in many respects
even more vital than the material con-
siderations which are moving the en-
thusiaStic friends OF immigration.
We are not SO poor or so needy in
Georgia that we should rush unthink
ing and unguardcd into politics that
may bring us trouble in the future We
are growing last enough TO satisfy any
reasonable people We are getting
rich and richer every year. Our num-
berS are charging by the natural in
; crease OF homogeneous population
Our territory is being settled whole
somely II slowly, and every year will
multiply the increase OF our own peo-
pie. who IN the course OF time must
form a population as dense as Germa
nys and create demand for every acre
OF our land and all our work that is to
be done. We need not fear that the
coming years will see our farms in
weeds or our workshops deserted.
: We in the South are by common con-
sent the most representatively Ameri-
can, and the most intelligently conser-
vative part OF the American people.
This is fact of universal recognition.
1t means much to us now in repute
and dignity, and in the future IT will
mean more to us of safety and prog
ress along high lines OF civilization.
The people OF Chicago and New York
and Cleveland and Buffalo cannot boast