The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-06-04

Asiatic ports than Canada, South Amer ica, South Africa and Australia; and consequently no other country has any considerable net foreign immigra- tion-it is in truth the worlds dump Ing ground. The foreign steamship lines, shown by Senator Overman, have made secret controcts with for eign governments like Austria-Hun- gary to cart off so many thousand a year to Americal An increased head tax upon them of $30 or $40 dollars would equalize steerage rates, and shove off or back some of the social refuse and scum populations that are unquestionably being dumped upon the New England states. New York state pays annually over $10,000, 900 for the supporttof the foreign born defcients and dependents in her public institu- tions. Boston has just learned what it is to have the franchise in the hands of the brownish Negroid races and the Massachusetts legislature has as a re- suit just passed bill practically dis franchising the Boston city elctorate and putting the local government in the hands of a civil service commission and a permanent finance commission appointed by the governor. That's what makes marrow minded Lodgeism in crowded New England" as you term restriction. You do not seem to be any more able to comprehend the im- migra tion problem and evils of Yankee dom-any more than New England formerly understood the negro problem. l had no conception of it until l went to Harvard and became acquainted with conditions down there, which were so alarming that I could not re- sist identifying myself with one of the restriction societies. But you will some day, if foreign immigration from south east Europe and western Asia is dis tributed and diverted south, just as New England now has some practical conception of the negro problem as a result of the recent influx of these negroid races.
 Fourth three -fourths of the present foreign immigration are males and nine-tenths are adults. AS rule they come single handed and alone for the purpose of staying few years, pick ing up what they can find at any wage and any work, living parsimoniously like a flight of grasshoppers upon our abundance, says John Temple Graves, and going back with their miserly savings to their native lands. During the past 10 years over S,000,000 aliens have entered the United States and 4,000, ,000 have left with their savings. Less than 10 per cent of the annual slien influx has ever been here be- 
 on an average $25 per person. Why should not these birds of passage" granting that the increase falls on them be made to contribute something directly to the financial support of a government which offers them such splendid opportunities and privileges?
 Now, in all candor and fairness to public spirited citizens of north and south, to Senator Overman in partc- ular to your own congressional dele gation, every one of whom I under stand to dissent from your editorial of the 24th inst. and one of whom is on the House immigration committee and Is member of the United States immi- grafton commission which has been in vestigating the subject for over two years, and whose report will be along the> lines of this letter, will you not give this letter publicity in your col umns, or at least parts of it? Pray let me hear from you. Sincerely yours,
 J. H. PATTEN.
 Washington, D. C., May 2s, 1909. A237 House office.