The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-11-05
BURNETT EXPLAINS
BILLS PROVISIONS
ON Immigration
Alabama Should Give More
encouragement to People
Who Speak Language
TURN THE TIDE AWAY
FROM GREAT CITIES
Thinks Railroads Can Do Much to
Help if They Are Not Too
Close to Big Steamship
Companies

When Congressman John L. Burnett
took the speakers stand at the afternoon
session of the land congress yesterday
he was given an unusually cordial re-
ception. He spoke on Immigration, the
Kind Alabama Needs" and was inter
rupted many times by the applause of his
hearers.
The chairman of the House immigra-
tion committee said that the advancement
made in the per acre production of all
agricultural products in Alabama within
even the last five years had been phe-
nomenal. He paid tribute to the boys
corn clubs and the government demon
stration work when Re said that these
were two prime factors in this advance
ment and to the late DIR. Knapp, he said
the south owes a debt of gratitude that
it can never pay.
One of the striking statements made by
the speaker was that in which he said
he believed that if there could be a great
reduction of the immigration from SOUTH
ern ITALY, Greece, Austria-H Hungary and
other countries of that class, there would
be a considerable increase of those that
spring from races that were the pioneers
IN this country and We're the ancestory
Of the present Americans. He said that
the inhabitants of southern Europe had
a penchant for herding and congestlng
near the cities, bringing about a condi-
tion moral and material that is most
deplorable. The people of northern and
western Europe were the class that the
United States wants for the farm he said.
and that is the people to go after. He
said:
Turn Back From City
''Mr. Chairman. the subject that you
have assigned me is, Immigration, the
Kind that Alabama Needs The best inn
migrants that we can get for our un-
titled acres, are those that we can turn
back from the city to the home of their
.hildhnnd
Not all of them would we move back
to the soil, but many of those who have
succeeded in the city, and will succeed
in the country. How can We do it? By
just such work as this congress is doing.
BY encouraging the building of good roads
and good homes; the erection of churches
.1lIa-- school houses the installation oil
telephones and rural free mails-in a
word by bringing the town to the coun-
try and the country to the town.
MANY a boy has left the old home
stead because farming has heretofore
been unprofitable. Many a girl has left
the old homestead because she saw be.
fore her a life of toll and drudgery with
not dollar that she could call her own.
All this is changing
''The farmer today and especially the
southern farmer, is the man who is
handling the sheckels, and the farmers
boy and girl are having their own inde-
pendent fields of endeavor and their owr
rapidly growing bank accounts. The ad-
vancement made in the per acre produc-
tion of all agricultural products in Ala
bama within even the last five years, has
been phenomenal.
I'm many parts of my district where a
New years ago a bale of cotton to threa
acres was a good crop farmers are
Ygrowing bale to the acre, and where
v15 bushels of corn was doing well they
1 are now gathering 40 or so.
The farm demonstration work and
boys corn clubs are responsible for much
Of this wonderful Improvement, and to
the late DR.. Knapp the south owes a
l debt of gratitude that 1t can never pay
"This part of the discussion, however,
Bproperly belongs to other speakers
only refer to il for the purpose of show
ing that Alabama is not offering immi-
grants a gold brick, but that by actual
demonstration we can show them a soil
and a climate unsurpassed by any in the
land.
.'To help develop these lands, and build
up our waste places what kind of immi-
grants do we need? Our farmers are
mainly the Anglo Saxon, the Tueton and
the Celt. They are homogeneous in lam
guage, in customs and in morals Then
1t follows that those who can at once
do the best for themselves and for us,
sre those who already know our Ian