El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1911-09-02

and in Puget sound and Alaska AS
to the fur seals, they are under the
department, and if we could protect
them fn1om the robbers who, contrary
to law, try Ito catch them on their
way to the Pribaloff islands, we could
materially increase the herd. AS it Is,
the ealskins now bring in something
like $45N, 900 a year. In the past they
have been worth a great deal"
oue Million Immigrants.
The conversation here tur-ro--.to inn
migration. of which the department. of
commerce and labor has charge, and
acter of. the new citizens we are get
ting from Europe. He replied;
'sfhe most Of them come from the
southern and eastern countries. We adj
mitted more than 100000 last year
and within the last 10 years we have
passed In between 5000, 900 and e,000,-
600. At present we are admitting more
italians than any of the others. In 1900
we had over zoo, 900 of them Next came
the Poles who numbered 12S, 600, and
then the Jews, Germans, English and
Irish.
You must remember. however, that
great many of these immigrants
stay only a few years and that there
is a steady flow back to the old coun-
try. I believe that some of them come
here with the idea of making for
tune in few years and then going
back home Some such send their saw
ings back from month to month, and
this is one reason for the hundreds of
millions Of dollars worth of money
orders which are annually forwarded
to Europe"
Keeping Ont the Scrap.
do we get many bad immigrants"
/ asked. ~
Not if this department can help 1t.
We have a force of about 1000 men who
are engaged in guarding the ports and
our boundaries, TO keep out those whom
the law forbids landing. These are, as
you know, all those who have con-
tagious diseases. all who are mentally
weak, all who have been criminals In
the countries from where they came,
and all who are paupers and unable to
support themselves. We turn about
25, 900 such immigrants back every
year. and although at times 1t seems
TO protect the people at home from
such invasion from abroad"
What causes the immigrants to
come to the United States?"
THE number increases or decreases
with good or bad times. Just now the
country Is prosperous, and foreigners
come here to get the high wages and
better conditions of living. The immi-
grafton is also largely a matter; Of
freight. It Is drummed up by the ocean
steamship companies and the railroads
in order that they may receive the
passage money for carrying the immi-
grants here"
Can you keep out the Asiatics?'
ssThe law forbids us to admit the
Chinese. and the same is true to some
extent of the japanese. During the
past year we have passed In $500 Jap
anese, and during the same time some
thing like 1900 came into Hawaii. Cali
fornia has also had something of an
Of Hindus."
What are you doing along labor
iines?"
1--WE are gathering information of all
sorts not only for the government and
the scientist but for the laboring man
himself and those who employ him.
We are getting information as to child
labor and woman labor, as to wages
and strikes and as to accidents and
how the laborer may be protected from
Them
investigating the Corporations.
II suppose that great part of your
work Is connected with the corpora
tions?"
yes, that was one of the main rea-
sons for founding this department It
was TO promote the best business in
terests of the country and to give in
formation which would lead to the
Of the honesty and sta
bility Of the vast machinery of our
and commerce. The bureau
of corporations gathers information
for the use of the administration and
others as to corporations Of all kinds.
So far, we have been dealing chiefly
with the great corporations or trusts.
and we have investigated a number Of
them, such as the beef trust and the
steel trust. We have about completed
our work on the steel trust"
IT should think such report would
be very extensive?"
TT is so. 1t would take several vol
umes to contain tt"
''Will it have as many words as a
big family Bibie?"
81 should say So"
How do You go about Investigating
a trust OF that kind?"
1--WE have to begin at the bottom.
We want first to know the purpose of
the organization. to learn what Its
charter gives 1t the right TO do and