New-York tribune., 1912-02-03
and American
Civilization.

Cornell University; member OF the
former United States immigration CoIn- ~
mission. and w. Jett Lauck, a. o.. o..
former assistant professor OF economies
and politics Washington ana ''eS 1I,g az
vcrsitN; expert IN charge OF tht IMitcd MGiu%d
trial Investigations OF the former Iiiittv
states Immigration COmmiSSlOn, chlei
examiner United states Tarih !3aIu' !a
lgmo. DIP. xvi. i9G. The Funk N N"S-
nails Company.
Native Americans have long viewed
with alarm" the quality of the immigra-
,ion that has been coming to TINS coun-
,rv since 1889. the year that marked the
ctaroe Of the source of the migration
hitber,yard from Northern to Southeast
ern Europe. from races KIN 10 lhe
settlers of the Republic to aliens whose
previons condition and circumstances
make them far less assmilable lump
in the social. political and economic oody
nj the state. The alarm has been all TOO
often accompanied by unreasoning preJu-
dice. because a general knowledge ol
tho problem before us has been scdr'
and the data on which &c base II uhre-
liable, confused and confusing. II not
altosether unattainable Much has been
tions, in the studies of the "SiaV lmml-
grafton" for instance, published solile
time ago by the Pittsburgh survey ana
the Charities Publication Commlttee'
hut review of the whole field, emoraC-
ing all sections of the country, ana III
Guiding not cnly Chinese, Japanese ne
groes and Hindus hut also the immlgra-
ton from Mexico. has thus far peeh
lacking. Such a survey is now onered 10
the general reader interested in the pres
ent and future welfare of the Onl'eu
States in this book which is a thor
ough. able and reliable digest OF all the
information, data and statistics on inc
subject available to-day.
Both authors Of The Immigration
Problem were officially connected WIN
the immigration Commission created
and appointed by Congress and the
President in 1907. Professor jerks as
ono nf it's members Mr. Lauck as super
jntendent of it's field agents. The IN
vestigation of the commission was
carried on through four years, It's labors
eliminating in report filling forty-tour
rrinted volumes 1t is this report that
they summarize and digest in these
rages.
How does immigration affect Ameri-
can civilization now, and what IS lts
influence likely TO be in the future.
This is the problem as they state IL anu
as they seek TO answer it from the phys
ical moral and mental, the political ana
social but. above all, from the economic
point Of view They begin their inquiry
with the previous condition of these later
Immigrants and the causes of their M
Grafton. and follow them, after their ar
rival here. into the various occupations
ona, IN them under economic conditions
that often force them, generally without
reserve funds on landing, into heids that
are unfamiliar to them, as in the case
q, farm laborers. who needs must turn
TO factory work for Immediate susie
nance The wages they gladly accept
,bo conditions I'm which they are willing
10 live their segregation in slums ami
settlements. their distribution by occu-
uations. illtcracy. morals and family
life. their aims il coming here, percent
ages of crime and its nature, the pa
d.oDe system, the influence of immigrant
labor on both the labor market and in.
dustries-aIl this and much more is fully
discussed. the authors digesting the
many tables Of statistics they present
instead Of leaving their analysis to the
reader.
So far as the motive of the latter day
immigrant is concerned. the authors
state what, after all, is not neW-that'
with the exception Of the Russian Jews,
the Firms and some unorthOdOX Russian
sects it is purely economic, so that the
fine old idea of this nation as refuge
from religious and political persecution
need no longer be taken into considera-
ton In discussion of the question as
a whole And they do not omit to add
tha, the ideas Of certain religious and
political refugees have proved to be as
offensive in this country as in their own.
Liberty is not license The attitude of
foreign governments toward emigration
is briefly considered in connection with
the economic effects Of the movement
on both the country of departure and
that OF arrival. while elsewhere the
question Of the remittance of savings
10 the old country, and the return home
of the temporary immigrant and his in
nuence uuon the standard of living there
is taken up.
The statistics Of physical condition, %
disease and mental deficiency and of
crime Of the modern immigrant yield
some unexpected results. The health OF
The nation. the authors hold, is admir-
ably well protected, except in the case
OF foreign sailors, against whom proper
measures have been proposed by the
commission. The records show that
Southeastern Europeans are far less
subject to diseases that seem to be allied
with moral weakness than were the ear
ier North European immigrants, and as
for mental shortcomings the far stricter
rules of examination and observation of
the present day appear TO be efficient
and we'll enforced. The statistics Of
crime-crimes of violence and against
property-sre strangely mixed and
strongly revelatory regarding the in
clinations Of the various races. SUM
ming up the authors find that:
In most of the discussions on immigra-
tlon that have appeared during the last
few years great Importance has been at
tached TO the social effects OF immigration
arising from the personal qualities of the
immigrants The late Investigations
of the Immigration Commission show that