Imperial Valley press., 1913-03-06
The Immigration Question

New York journal of Commerce and
Commercial Bulletin: Since the dis :
appearance of the Know Nothing party
! from the political field some fifty years
| '2U there has been no such persistent
| nd powerful agitation in favor Of re
Strctlng immigration as exists today.
| i might be possible to dismiss the
immigration Restriction League Of Bos-
| on. ana lis cOngenprS. as necessary
| ,afcty valves for sentiment which is
| ever entirely extinct in our country,
We're ii not for the fact that its mos
| prominent spokesman, Senator Lodge.
carries with him easily twO-thirds of
| the United states senate, and it was
| only by few votes that the president :
veto of the bill permeated by the spirit
| Of the league was sustained III the
house of representatives The fact has
been made sufficiently plain that the
whole influence which organized labor
can exert in politics is being thrown
| an the side uf restricting immigration,
| and this for no better reason than the
entirely fallaci0us one that the fewer
country the higher will be the rate OF
Wa%e> Of those already here. While
neither of the great political parties has
! II lis national platform made any in
| irlll9lble definitinD Of its position on
! ;hr question of restricting immigration,
nrmbrrS Of both have combined to
support one Of the least defensible
attempts ever made to put on the stat
| ut" book the most illibcral measure of
restriction yet presented to congress.
| ndrr such circumstances it would be
| folly to expect the rcSirictioniStS to
admit that the failure of the So-called
| dillingham; bill is a setback for their
cause. There is every evidence that
| they are ready to renew their efforts
/ n thn 10 nt
body of voters display as little interest
! IN the subject as they have done since
! the report of the immigration com
mission made it public question Of
the first Importance. il is highly prob
able that they Will succeed Some
hing will depend on the attitude of
President Wilson toward the issues in
| VOWED, and something on the possibility
IF compelling both of the great parties
Ia define their position in regard to
What are the qualifications of an immI-
grant. If the literacY test is to be an
! accepted principle of either party or
Of both, it is desirable that the dec
laration should be frankly and authOri-
| tatively made: if eligibility for natural
ization is to be held as an indispensable
qualification of every immigrant, let us
know where to place the party re
spOnsibility for so momentOus depar-
ture from all previous practice.
| The statement has been made with
apparent justice that the whole restric-
| ton movement has been artificially Gre
| ated. Such evils as have attended our
present system OF immigration exist
exclusively in the large cities, but ii
! is there we find the most determined
| opposition to restrictive measures. In
an address delivered two years ago by
Max j. Kohler on this subject, he
said that when the candidates for con-
gress in New York City at the preced-
| ing election were polled on this issue,
almost to a man they reported that
| they were opposed to additional restric-
tive measures. Similarly, when votes
were taken in Philadelphia. Baltimore
and Chicago, the representatives Of
| these cities in congress were found by
| a large majority to be against reStric-
| ton. Precisely how the literacy test
came to be adopted as the chief weapon
Of the restrictionists does not very
clearly appear. The commission mere
| ly included it among the methods of
restricting immigration which had been
Suggested" and it was dropped from
the original Dillingham; bill only to be
| introduced as a separate measure, and
| finally left as the sole provision of the
| bill adopted by the house. Even the
commissioner general of immigration,
I who like the other labor leaders who
I have filled the Office is thorough
going restrictionist, pointed out in his
annual report for 1910 that literacy