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

vited the poor and oppressed of any land, let alone all nations as you put it for in 1908 we prohibited the slave trade, which meant African exclusion and which in the light of subsequent and current events was no mistake and in 1882 the Chinese were also, as a race, excluded. In fact, this country was really estab- lished by the Puritan and cavalier who immediately proceeded to make it unbear- ably uncomfortable for any and every one disagreeing with their ideas of re- ligion, politics and economics; and right ly too, In my humble opinion, for if you will pardon the racial conceit l think we have here as a result the finest and best civilization that ever existed, be- dimmed only by the presence of alien races enthusiastically brought here for the blood money there was in the traffic.
 Your opinion that the proposed increase of 150 per cent on aliens Is a tax on deserving poverty and misery seems to be the only plausible objection raised if one can judge from the press and pub lic I think you are quite wrong there, just as you are in regard to the proposal having come from the narrow brain or some Henry Cabot Lodge in the crowd ed New England environment" That s calling Senator Lee S. Overman of North Carolina a pretty hard name, don't you think? And don't you think you ought to right the wrong you have done one of the most broad-minded, patriotic southern men in the Senate? l know you will if you will but look over his able speech which I take great pleasure in sending you under separate cover.
 In that speech Senator Overman points out four possible, to me conclusive, req sons, grounded in official statistics and record testimony, why the present head tax should be increased from $4 to at least S10 They are as follows:
 First last year the expenditures out of the Immigrant fund.- exceeded It's receipts by 100 per cent, and as a re- suit therefrom the building of needed hos pitals, detention rooms and contagious wards at Ellis Island Ne wYork city, and the establishment of decent accom- modations 8 other ports of entry, had to be curtailed and postponed. This new immigration from southeast Europe and western Asia contains many having dan gerously contagious diseases-such dread full Oriental afflictions as trachoma' Ia vus and the like-who often have 10 pc detained for weeks and months before a cure can be effected and the ahen ad- mitted.
 second. the tax Is not levied upon or collected from the immigrant, but is paid by the steamship companies The immigrant knows nothing about 1t. The foreign owned and operated steam ship companies are in combine or trust for charging the immigrant all the traffic will bear Their officials SO testified before the United States industrial commission tvol. XN, pp loo' IF. etc0, and were forced to aomit that as a result of the combination they had more than doubled steerage' rates. and still it is the cheapest coun- Hoe ta hxr from S10 to xbD. Since monopoly conditions exist and the traffic Is being charged all it will bear. the present tax of $4 is not shifted upon the immigrant but comes out of the profits of the foreign steam ship lines. On July l, 1907, the mead tax was doubled, that is, increased from s2 to $4 in order to get needed ad- ditional revenue to provide better ana needed accommodations at New York and Boston, and to establish stations in the south. But steerage rates re- mained the same throughout that year and are the same today. And, in the opinions of students of the situation, would continue the same if the tax were increase to $10 or even $2o TO increase the rates would result Tn u falling off in traffic and consequent greater diminution of the net profits than the payment of the tax out or the profits. AccOrdlngtO your slaleiheht of the facts, the average immigrant Is poverty stricken, and consequently to raise the present steerage rate or s37.5O (the rate varies a dollar or two with the port, size and speed of yes seD would mean a great decline In the number of passengers carried, ana therefore 8 greater loss to the steam ships. Testimony before the industrial commission showed 1t cost them only s1.7O to feed and room an immigrant passenger on the entire trip over. The total cost of bringing an alien was estl- mated at ST. Why should not these foreign corporations, at present con tributing not one red cent to the finan- cial support of the federal government beyond the present S4 lead tax, which does not even meet the reasonable eX- penditures of the immigration service, pay even a $20 or $30 tax, since they are making annually millions of dol lars out of the traffic, as is attested by their continually building larger and faster ocean flyers, and the small cost of the service rendered?
 Third, as has been said the United States is by from $10 to $s5 cheaper to get to from Europe and western