The New York herald. [volume] (New York, N.Y.) 1920-1924, 1920-12-11
SATURDAY. DECEMBER IL. 1920.
Uncle Sam Needs Immigrants.

The anti-immigration hue and cry
about 25,0O0,000 Europeans already
swarming down and ready TO swarm
down upon us in one swoOp is moth
ing less than cheerful idiocy. There
Is not a single bit of solid statistics
in the United States TO show we are
being overwhelmed with immigrants
or that immigrants, good, bad or in
different. are arriving in as large
numbers as they have in year after
year before the war. There is not Il
single bit of solid statistics to show
there are 25.O00,000 or 100000, or
any given number of people in
Europe all packed up to start for these
shores.
If there were 25,O00000 Europeans
ready to come down upon US there
aren't available ships on the seven
seas to transport so many voyagers to
our shores next year or for many Il
year. While we we're in the war we
used everything that would float. Great
Britain and Canada used everything
that would float, all the Allies used
everything that would float, and we all
bent every energy that we possessed
TO get our soldiers across to the fight
ing front in the most desperate emer-
gency the world ever has known.
With every mind and every ship and
every hand and every means concen-
trated on that transportation prob
lem the best we could do in much
more than a year was to get 100000
American soldiers across the Allan
tic Ocean.
If there We're ships enough to ferry
25,000.0O0 people from all the regions
Of Europe to all the ports of the
United States there wouldn't be ready
money to pay the 25,0000OO passages
and meet the financial requirements
Of our admittance terms. 4 per cap
tia ship cost and entrance fund of
only 5000 for 25.00O0O0 immigrants
would take five billions of dollars in
real money, cold cash. All Continental
Europe raked from end to end anu
scraped clean couldn't produce the five
billions of dollars in real money and
cold cash.
The clamor about the unreasonable
hordes of criminals. cripples paupers,
lunatics and degenerates awaiting
shipment to our shores is just as alb
surd. To exclude such undeslrnbles
there is no need TO build a Chinese
wall around our seaboard. Under
statutes and regulations now i'm ex-
iStence, If the Government authorities
will get on their jobs and enforce the
laws, every one of the criminals, luna
tics. paupers, &c. can be kept out.
AS matter of fact the prohbitive
legislation proposed by Representa-
tive JOHNSON Of Washington would
let into this country by COLLISION aud
cooperation among relatives who ol-
ready are here and are American
citizens more criminals, cripples, pau
pers. lunatics and degenerates than
this country ever ought to let i'm for
hundred years.
And the English, Irish and Scotch
who want to come here are not of the
undesirable class. They are In the
main of the very desirable and very
essential class. So are the Scandi-
navians. So are the Italians. So are
the Germans They are lmperatively
needed to do our farm work, some
thing our own wage earners will not
DO They are imperatively needed to
d. our day labor, something our own
wage earners will not do. They arc
imperatively needed to put In good,
hard ticks at this, that and the other
unpleasant, burdensome and back
bending work, something our own
wage earners will not do.
Prohibition Of hard working immi.
grants, when there Is so much hard
work to be done in this country aud
nobody willing to do It, is n disgrace
10 American politics and n menace TO
American Industrial supremacy.