Brownsville herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1910-current, 1914-10-21
FUTURE IMMIGRATION TROUBLES
by W. II. Alburn.)



We have been gaining immigrants from
Europe at the rate "a about l,0VU.0U0 n
year. AT present the influx has almost
stopped. What viii happen when the war
j. overt l. there hope Or menac Ia the
future material for the melting potP
Ii j. hard 10 foretell the volume of after
war immigration; but in the opinion of ex-
pert~. particularly Frederick q. Howe.
United States commissioner IL immigration
at New York. there can be- little doubt n
to the change in the quality To he expected.
Physically our recruits heretofore have
always been excellent. Even under the
rigid health requirements OF the late years
not more than two per cent have been re-
iected. But il j. impossible that future
arrivals should be % sturdy and sound.
Wound alone viii cripple thou
sands of the strongest men. and injuries
seemingly slight Or exposures ably en-
durcd will bear their sad f~ruitage Vt dis
ease and disability in later years. We shall
need to be sterner and more cautious than
ever. lest W carry the physical burden ~
Europe's war harvest 81 ruined bodies.
We shall have To guard. too. against dis
ease of many sorts. The lie 81 the soldier
sap~ too often the strongest constitution.
Pestilences thrive in camps and follow
battles. And the laxity that seems inscpa-
rable still from military life -ow- the seed
Of disease that may poison unborn genera
tions.
The classes subject To such disabilities
are likely 10 seek our shore. When the
war j. over there will b. enough work at
home, presumably. in nearly MI the coun-
tries, to utilize the able bodied. Cities
must be rebuilt railroads. bridges. roads
must b. restored. Industry and trade must
be put on their feet again and al the mis-
cellaneOnS waste of resources and the
whole engincry of civilization must be r.
paired. But In this work the Inefficient are
likely to be showed aside and seek 4 ref
uge here.
There i certain to be- an abnormal
migratory movement If women and chill
dren. Hundreds Of towns and villages
will be almost depopulated Of men. Wives.
sisters, mothers and swcetheart- will flock
- hhi WHY AuV WITH NfihffifU ct
broken by hardship and grief. With them
will come children Il-born, because of the
exhaustion or malnutrition of their moth
crs. and poorly cared for after birth.
There l. moral danger, TOO. The moral
effects of military service, on the whole.
are bad. Ordinary restraints 81 society
and family are looScncd. The soldier
while giving strict obedience Ia hi sn-
pcriors IN matters military. loses respect
for the ten commandments. IL tends IN
become, IN hiS private conduct. 4 law unto
himself. Ii takes little 10 turn d~isbanded
soldiers, who are always restless, into
lvagabonds. Thousands desert their fami-
hes. Thousands never return IL ordered
life.
Some such influence. too. j. M work
among the women. Taking mems places ~
many fields Of work. they suddenly devotion
u sense of freedom, and perhaps of ire
Sponslbillty. Left unattached by the for.
tunes Of war;, they, like men. may turn W
lives Of adventure. Such women viii H.
CRATE in large numbers.
These obvious moral aspects arc bnt the
darkest side ~ the tremendous awakrnint,
The war brings to both men and women. n
takes them out of ruts. ID reveals Ia them
their own personality and power. II eiv,.
them q spirit Of self reliance and indie
Ipcndence.
War may make Democrats or Socialists
81 stohd peasants. Ii may turn human
clods into active anarchists.
In any event. the common people who
remain IN Europe are going to be- more con
cerned hereafter with their own govern
ment~; and those who come u America Are
gong Ia be more Self-assertive more sen
sltive Of their newly discovered rights.
more difficult 70 handle and aS~imilate than
ever before.
And largely because Of this overflow
from the old world maelstorm. We shaII
probably have troublesome times IN our in-
d~u~trIal and political life during the next
decade or two.