The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1911-12-31

eyes are doctorcd and the lanc arc
taught 10 walk without limpinr as
they pass by the Inspectors. Lies in
Vulnerable are told by the inmiglants
ana every trick Is played to pass
| through tho registry hall. Just now
an especial care Is taken as TO girls
who might be brought in as white
slaves The lone immigrant msidcn
Is detained. and II there is any suspic-
ion concerning her she goes busk to
Europe Any one suspected of disease
is examined by several doctors. anu
II takes the .. h. of three of them ~
let him go through.
To show how important these re-
strtctions are, more than $4,000 immi-
grants were shut out OF the United
states last year. upon this ground. and
of these almost 10000 were hampers
| and likely TO become public charges.
More than 1000 had loathsomc or con-
tagious diseases. $50 were criminals
more than 800 were prostitutes ana
about l,S00 were laborcrs who came
TO work under contract
Ono Million New Brothers and Sisters.
Ana now let us look at the million
new brothers and sisters who get in.
We have adopted them all into our nat
lonnl family. Who arc they and where
40 they come from wish you could
have tramped over Ellis Island with me
and taken a look for yourselves at
thr sawcdon, nncmic, unintclligcnt
; classes who passed through the doors
At the same time ] did. There were
1000 or them altogether. and the ma :.
Jority were understood and uneducated
they came from southeastern Europe
and we're composed largely of Hun
gartans. Slavs, Italians. gypsies and
Polish and Russian Jews. They were
In about the same proportion as those
we imported last year, only the num-
her this year Will be greater In 1910
we admitted l,0t1.000 Immigrants, and
OF these more than 100000 were shipped
here from Europe. We had more than
a quarter of Il million from Austria
Hungary: we had over 100000 from
Italy and 10000 from the Russian
| Empir. and Finland.
There was only bugatellc from
North Europe. and the bulk of the
whole came from the Southeastern
countries of that continent where from
20 to 90 per cent. OF the peopla are
illfteratc and where in some places
more than the majority can neither
read nor write. This holds true of the
immigrants We are now getting, and
IL is in striking contrast to those who
came in in the past
For many years our adopted broth
crs and sisters were from England.
Scotland, Ireland, Germany and Scan
dinavia. Among these the percentage
OF education was high. Only about 4
per cent. of the Germans were Hitter
ate. and ! per cent of the English
and Scotch. Only 3 per cent Of the
irish could not read and write. and
the same was true OF the Firms, while
: the illiteracy among the Swcdes and
Norwegians ran as low as one in
hundred.
The people We are bringing in now
are almost bnrbhrians in comparison
with those we had n generation ago,
and the question Is how Uncle Sam Is
to take care Of them and still main
tain the high standard of American
character.
cannot see how he Us to maintain
even the standard of American physi.
que. Uniting these pygmiee from
Southeastern Europe with our tall.
broad-shouldercd men OF the South
and the prairies is like trying to i'm
prove the Perchcron horse and the
thoroughbred by the importation of
Shetland ponies. The only difference
is that the Shctlands arc more hardy
snd sturdy in comparison than many
of the immigrants we are now bring
ing in.
The Great American Peril.
We talk OF the yellow peril and
shudder, as we think of Chinese and
Japanese immigration. believe ono
of our greatest perils to-day is from
! European immigration, and also In the
exploitation of our country by a lot
of steamship companies whose stock
: is owned in Europe, and whose only
aim is to keep up their dividends In
tho past the bulk Of the Immigrants
went to the West, and their citizenship
began on the farms. The pure, fresh
air of America and the smell of Oil
Mother Earth. part of whom was
owned by themselves for the first time.
drove tho servilhty of Europe out of
their veins, and by association with
Americans and contact with American
! problems they were finally, ground over
into good American citizens.
Congesting the Cities.
Now the immigrant comes in by tho
million. and hundreds of thousands OF
them are dropped down into New York.
Philadelphia, Chicago. Boston and 9th.
err big cities. Thoy lead there n life
much the safno as III Europe. MANY
OF them go to the sweatshops, and
| their. blood is thinncd by the dust Of
J the factory OF mine. They speak their