Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1920-11-04
THE IMMIGRATION STREAK
By Frederic J. Haskin

ed into America during the fiscal year of 1919
as they did in 1913. Mexicans tired OF reVo-
luton swelled the proportion of their race in
the stream to about eighteen times what it
was before the
These striking facts, it should be remem-
bered, are based on proportional figures The
total immigration in 1913 was over a million,
while in the fiscal year of 1919 it was only
about 100000. In other words, we were
then receiving nearly eight times as many i'm
migrants as we did during 1919. But it is
the proportional change of the various races
that is significant
Many scientists regard the question of race
as the one Of paramount Importance IN the
effect that immigration has the future
of the country. Politicians. on the other
hand, uniformly dodge the race issue because
of it's delicacy. Only on .the Pacific coast,
where Japanese immigration has become
burning issue, is any attempt made to face the
racial factor. 1t is interesting to note that
nearly as many Japanese entered the United
States in 1919 as in 1918. which means that
they we're about nine times large a per-
centage of the total immigration last year as
they were before the war.
Certainly racial snobbishness is not to be
tolerated The theory of the essential su-
periority of the blonde races over the dark
ones, for example, has been vigorously up
held by some anthropologists; but it has now
fallen into disrepute. 1t is generally recog-
nized that the dark Mediterranean people,
for example, have certain racial traits which
the blonde Nordic strain lacks. Likewise, the
usefulness of any given man to his adopted
country does not depend primarily on his
race. negro may become valuable citi-
zen and a Swede may be rogue. But it can
not be denied that thousand extra Swedes
are to be preferred to a thousand extra
equanimity deluge of negroes, Mexicans, and
Japanese, yet that is what have been
ceiving during the year 1919.
The whole makeup of the immigration
stream has been radically altered. AS is gen
orally well known; American immigration
was made up for many years of Englishmen,
Welshmen, Irishmen, Germans and Scandi-
navians. These immigrants made up the
America which was until 1890. Then the
South italians and the East Europeans began
pouring in, while the influx of North and
West European races fell off.
| Now all is changed. With the growth of
! Japanese, negro and Mexican immigration
new factors, the east and south European i'm
migration has greatly declined. The proper
| ton of South Italians, for example, was only
about a tenth in 1919 what it was in 1918,
and the proportion of Hebrew, Magyar, Rus
sian, Slovak, Roumanian, Syrian and Turk
ish immigrants has also declined enormously
At the same time, the proportion Of English
men, Scotchmen and Frenchmen who came to
this country in 1919 each increased to about
four times lat it was in 1913.
This is the encouraging feature of the i'm
migration outlook-that Frenchmen and
|
late allies in ever-increasing numbers.
OF course, the character of post war i'm
migration is still in the making. The influx
of aliens is much greater today than it was
| in 1919, threatening to reach pre-war proper
tions. Also it is different to some extent in
character. Thu the recent Polish debacle is
;Said to have sent a horde of Poles in this
direction, while in 1919 comparatively few
of them arrived. But the important fact is
| that the character of immigration has radical
| v altered immigration DrOblem
become new one. Intelligent legislation
the subject hou1d be based on complete
new survey of the facts
new immigration bill is undoubtedly to
be part of the work of congress. The house
committee on immigration has been holding
hearings out on the Pacific coast and also in
Washington. Various bills have been draft
ed, and one of them by Johnson, of California,
the chairman of the committee, will doubt
less form the basis of legislation which the
committee will lay before congress.
It is obvious of course that nothing is more
| important to this country than the way in
which immigration is being regulated. The
whole eastern half Of the United States is
simply complex mass of the humanity
which we have chosen to import from abroad.
We have republic, which is based upon the
assumption that the individual voter has in
telligence and good Judgment. The charac-
ter of immigration is therefore everything. If
we admit hordes of aliens who have not the
intelligence to grasp the idea of Dem ocracy,
and if we neglect to teach them even the Ian
guage of their new country, we can scarcely
hope for that Intelligent body Of public opin-
ion which Is the only hope Of success for
democratic government.
| Undoubtedly during the first IL on 13 years
of this century we did admit horde Of aliens
who were of a low type. both racially and
culturally, and we did allow them to collect
in great masses of undiluted foreignness,
speaking foreign languages, reading foreign
papers, following foreign customs.
The war checked this inflow of indgestible
humanity. Now it has started again. What
are we going to do about it?
The trouble is that our immigration legis
lation, like that on so many other subjects,
is based, not on scientific study of the facts,
but on a compromise between various con-
1icting interests. Perhaps the intelligent
way to solve the problem would be to appoint
a commission of the highest scientific charac-
ter to study the question and frame legisla-
ton. We had an elaborate congressional in
vestigation of the subject once and it reach
ed the astonishing conclusion that it did no
matter much what type of man was admitted,
| because as soon as he began to breathe the
free and pussant air of America, he became
an American even the shape of his head
changing!
Legislation based on such conclusions as
that will not help much. Neither do the con-
illusions have much to do with the legislation.
Labor wants immigration restricted, because
J. immigration means cheap competition for la
Dor. The eastern manufacturing interests
want immigration unrestricted for the same
reason. The far west wants immigration re-
stricted in any way that will keep the Orient
ais out, and the west in general is in favor
of keeping America for Americans. These
various forces will fight it out again as they
/ 49, IoA1 1,0I