Evening star., 1914-04-05
CURB UPON ALIENS
HELD NECESSARY
Exclusion of Certain Glasses
of immigration Urged by
Former Senator.
FOREIGNERS ADMITTED
TO U. S. BY MILLIONS
Country Not Unduly Alarmed Over
Situation, He Tells Members of
University Club.

OAAsclSlIy CluU.
The contrast between the old, and
new immigration into this country
that of the first few decades following
the civil war and that of more recent
| years-was depicted. and the need of re-
s'ricuon in the ever-growing numbers
| that are seeking these shores was en-
phasized by former Senator William Hall
| Dillingham;. chairman of the Immigration.
commission, in his address before the
members of the University Club las.
night
The report of this commission. said the
former senator and Governor of Vermont
faVors the exclusion in some manner o.
| such aliens as do not intend to make this
country their home and who are least
| readily assimlated into population.
according to its report the means favored
| Is is d form or hteracy test, not so much for
us actual value, but for the reason that
IL would be the most feasible means of ex-
ciusion In that 1t would happen To aHecr
ana depiete the most undesirable ele-
ments that are finding their way hither
| Favors Another Method.
! A still better method" said the speak
er. but one which / fear the country Is
not at present educated up to. is the pro-
posal to admit in a year but ten per cent
of the total number of people o. any
country resident here in 1910 I person
ally am in favor of this method.
| Since 1860 declared Mr. Dillingham;.
We have admitted 100000 aliens, or
! almost as many as the total number ad-
| mltted before that time. No restriction
existed until 1ss2 when the present law
| providing that only those sound in body
ana mind and not liable to become public
| charges may enter was enacted and
which has worked. considering all things,
very well. In 1897 nearly 4O0n We're
turned back by the steamship companies
alone.
| During the civil war the eyes of north
| ern Europe were on this country and, at
| Its close, encouraged by the outcome,
| many foreigners came here from that re-
gton, with the result that in forty years
our farms increased from 2.JNOO0 TO
6.UONp- Those people were thoroughly
assimilated, as the names common
| throughout the country today indicate
They helped develop our manufactures
and our railroads with the result that by
1900 We had passed far ahead of Europe
| in those respects.
| Most Desirable Glass.
| These people furnished the "old i'm
| migration" a most desirable class and
| one which readily embraced the privi-
leges Of citizenship in the United States.
Stimulated by that very boom in in
dustries and manufactures. since 1872
| there has poured into our ports tho
people comprising the so-called new
| immigration-men who were nearly al
farm iaborers in the countries whence
| they came, but few of whom took vi.
farming on arrival here. They stayeS In
| the centerS of population. becoming for
the most part unskilled laborers or man
ufacturing operatives. Nest 5f them
| came ard still come from the lands OF
/ southern Europe, the Italians, Poles
| Greeks, Jews. Hungarians. etc.
They do not come here to make homes.
as the older class did. Seventy-three per
| cent of them have been males A ma
! jjority of these either unmarried or
| left their wives abroad. intending to go
| back in few years. In the decade frou,
1900 to 1910 the old immigration de-
creased per cent, while the new immf-
grafton increased 175 per cent
Sometimes a Menace.
Seventy per cent. for instance. of the
steelworkers of the country are born
abroad. according to investigations made
by the immigration commission, and 81
per cent of this number may be termed
| new immigrants. The commission
| found in many district that. while the
average weekly wage was Sl4. the aver
| age yearly wage was but 1896, where it
ought to have worked out at $50.
| An oversupply of common labor has
| been shown to exist in very large terri
| tory. Foreigners compete among them
selves to their own detriment. These peo-
| pie do not make desira Bile citizens. Only a
| very low percentage of them become nat
uralzed Americans as the older class did
In case of any depression they are thrown
| out of employment, become the prey of
| agitators and from the fact tNt they
have neither home nor political ties. are
likely to become suddenly a serious men
/ ace, as in the Lawrence strikes This is a
danger that ought to be considered very
| carefully
When YOU study the statistics thor
| oughly you will. think decide that this
country is not unduly alarmed over the
immigration question. II is a most seri-
Gus matter. il is strongly in need of cor
rective legislation. and it should make lis
| all pretty thoughtful" concluded Senate
Dillingham;.
Lectures on Russia
Following the speech of the chairman
Of the immigration commission, the
members of the club were entertained
with a lecture on Russia. profusely il
lustrated by lantern slides. by w w
Husband secretary of the same COM
mission. Mr. Husband. although speak
ing on the general topic of Russia, paid
particular attention to the immigration
question in connection Herewith, show
ing many views of the types of people
from whom our Russian immigrants are
drawn, and their mode of life
The character of the immigrants We
are receiving from Russia is changing
said Mr. Husband. When 1 accom-
panied the immigration commission on
its tour of Russia in 1907 We did not
have to penetrate far into the country
to study the types which at that time
We're coming to the United States. Most
of them came from its border lands. or
were only allied or subject races. such as
the Jews. Lithuanians. Ruthenians
Slovaks Poles. or Films. with the Jews
far in the lead. Since about 1903, how
ever the Jews are falling off in number
while the real Slavs are coming in in-
creasing numbers Russia is the greatest
source of immigration that has yet been
tapped"