Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1909-08-18
The Immigrant HOrdes.

John Mitchell, former head of the
Mine Workers union and one of the
fairest and most conservative of the
leaders of organized labor, has come
out strongly in favor of raising the
standards of immigrants to the point
where only educated persons with
sufficient means to enable them to
make a start in this country shall be
admitted. Mr.. Mitchell is now chair
man of the trade agreement depart
ment of the National Civic Fedora
ttion of New York, and the express
sion of his sentiments on the question
of restricting immigration by educa-
ton and other tests was made in
speech at the annual meeting of the
American Academy of Political and
Social Science, which met with the
enthusiastic approval of his hearers.
He declared that he had no SYM
pathy with the cry, America for
Americans" because it was narrow
and illogical since we all came from
foreign-born ancestry; that we
should welcome all the white races
from all parts of the world; but that
it is impossible to assimilate the
multitudes which now serge tow
ards our shores. I'm former years"
he said, 1.-The men who came to us
from a foreign shore were an asset,
but now many of them are liabil-
ity, by reason of their low stand
ards of living which are not compat-
ible with the high race develop
ment. More people have come into
the United States in the last ten
years than ever went from one coun-
try to another in any 100 years.
Surely we cannot assimilate this
great throng; we cannot take care of
100000 new people every ten
years. There are now 100000 un-
employed men, mostly Americans,
walking the streets of our cities to-
day looking for jobs, and if we are
to add to this large number ,000,-
600 immigrants annually, where are
we to land and what is to become
of the American workingman? He
declared that the segregations of
foreigners in the large cities in a
Little Italy," Little Hungary or
Little Poland as is the case in
New York, would breed unspeaka-
BILE miseries and the immigration of
the lower class of foreign workmen
into the mining regions was worse
than the terrible invasions of Eu-
rope by the Huns and other barba-
rians; that it already had driven out
the Americans and the sturdy Irish
and English workers. He charged
the steamship companies with much
of the responsibility for inducing un-
desirable immigrants to come by cir
culating false information as to the
conditions in the United States. Mr..
Mitchell proposed as one remedy a
requirement that each immigrant
should read and write in his own
language a section from the Amer |
ican constitution.
Assuredly the conditions that al |
ready exist, particularly in the large |
cities are pregnant with disaster, and |
they are growing steadily worse |
every year. A republic is peculiar
ly susceptible to the dangers that
arise from ignorance; in fact, it is
not too much to say that the perpet-
u6ty of the American institutions |
depends upon the intelligent under
standing and appreciation of them
by the masses of the people. II the
American workingman is entitled to |
a tariff protection against foreign |
pauper labor, he has still better
title to protection against the COM
petition of such labor in this coun-
try. The remedy, Mr.. Mitchell re-
ports is fair enough If it is suffici-
emit test of desirability which is
somewhat doubtful. If more strin-
gent measures are necessary they |
should be adopted without heslta-
ton. The spectacle of 100000
Americans walking the streets, while
foreigners who do not care rap for
this republic hold their jobs, is un-
speakable and should arouse the fed
eral authorities to prompt action
both for a stricter Interpretation of
our immigration laws and for the
enactment of such future measures
as will prove effectual in putting up
the bars against undesirable for
eigners.-Kansas City Journal.
The editor of a newspaper is often !
accused of leaving out certain items |