The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1911-03-11

AM !. !. ! J !
#|SsN ter their condition by
hard work. OF these 1t
A(fXI IL not the purpose OF
NN9I this article to treat.
T]NN|tIfl|fllHfFA The remainder of the
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES yearly output from for
Observation-Disclosures eign countries come
Observation-Disclosures here because they have
been caught up and
torn away from their native homes BY
the superior power Of vast and intri-
cate machine In its main outlines
this machine may be likened to an
enormous dredging apparatus stretching
forth gigantic cranes to every port OF
Europe, catching UP and heaving back
loads of emigrants collected from every
corner of the eastern hemisphere by the
tireless efforts of no less than $4,000
steamship agents and their canvassers.
The fuel which energies this colossal
structure is an equally colossal greed for
yearly dividends, and the combined In
tellects controlling our greatest steam
ship and railroad companies may be said
to represent the engineer. The pivot
upon which the entire mechanism turns
Is fraud and evasion Of the United States
immigration law.
No large city in the United States is
without Its element OF foreign-born pur-
chasable voters, criminal cliques, BLACK
handlers anarchists, paupers, its cheap
labor" supply controlled by foreign-born
contractors, its overcrowded tenements
breeding disease, furthermore careful
estimate shows that about 80 per cent.
of the unaccompanied immigrant male
adults who enter our country are legally
ineligible.
Ouz laws are therefore an ever recnr-
rent subject of controversy. Yet, de-
spite all discussion, no person will dis
pute but that an immigrant Is desirable
from every sane standpoint, II he has a
reasonable amount of intelligence, Is
physically sound and OF good moral char
acter, liz possessed OF sufficient money
earned by himself to cover the expense
of his journey and comes here of his
own initiative, capable for work, but not
under contract to work at q wage which
will lower the American standard. But
this In plain language Is precisely what
our present immigration law requires;
1t ig the legal definition OF immigrant
desirability
To understand the real evil underly-
ing the present condition OF immigration
we must take into consideration that
while our diIettante theorists are con-
suming reams OF paper with interesting
reflections upon the problem, while
our country is In its chronic state OF OPP
timism over present conditions, whatever
they are-and while our legislators are
engaged in the passage of new, unneces
rP} 1nUe-fhnil-
sands OF foreigners exc1udable under the
laws already passed are being yearly
dumped upon our shores by various in
terests which work together as one ma
chine II is well known that the fabu-
lous profits derived from an arti1cially
stimulated immigration are participated
In by the allied interests OF the trans
atlantic steamship companies, the Ellis
Island railroad pool and the Atlantic
coastwise steamship lines. Cooperating.
as they do, they run automatically OF
their own weight, practically without
frictioa and thrive by reason OF cont1n-
uing abnormal immigrant supply. They
all combine upon single instrument
namely. the European steamship agent
to solicit trade In immigrants that VIII
appreciahly increase passenger fares. He
II la who, actuated by prospective fees
which ara dependent upon sales made,
gives impalse to the machine" by sell
ing Its through tickets" In every Euro
pean town and hamlet
The several aff1liated steamship lines,
having created their zones Of influence,
eniov what Is practically monopoly
upon the sale of steerage tickets, and by
spreading tnesr field agents over the en-.
tire European territory from which I'M
migrants are drawn they effectively sup
press competition.
AT the immigrant gateway OF Amerl
ca. all these lines converge to hand over
their immigrant cargoss to the other par
Elephants In the machine.
From the vantage poirss at Ellis Island
the railroad "pool'-knomn. as the I'm
migrant Clearing House, Ehich is
combination Of thirteen OF aur larges1
railroads, together with one OF tie consol
tdated steamship companies--takes the
immigrants in hand to tag and forward
them to every point In the country al
special third-class rates.
The railroad pool finds 1t profitable
To nay to the United States an an5sua
rental Of $4,000 for Its headQuarters or
government ground, where 1t sells spe
cial tickets for the benefit of shsp i'm
migrants only, for rail transportation
from New York, Boston Philadelphia ane
Baltimore to about 1000 selected places
In the Interior of the United States Since
these tickets, sold either In Europe or q
Ellis Island, are cheaper In price thar
can be obtained by our citizens, thu
plain intent of congress to close ever.
avenue against railroad rate discrimina
ton, as expressed in the laws relating 7
Interstate commerce, Is clearly def1ed
Further, the committee BY which thi
pool IL managed restricts its privat