The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1920-11-03
TOPEKA STATE JOURNAL
Information Bureau
FREDERIC .. HAsKN. Director.
WAshington, d. C.
THE IMMIGRATION STREAM.

THE IMMIGRATION STREAM.
washington, Oct. 80. - African
negroes made up about seven times as
large a part of the stream of inmi-
grants that flowed into America dur
ing the fiscal year of 1919 as they did
| in 1913. Mexicans tired of revolution
swelled the proportion of their race in
the stream to about 19 times what it
| was before the war.
These striking facts, it should be re-
membered, are based on proportional
figures. The total immigration in
1918 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 immigrants 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 inn
portance in the effect that immigra-
ton has on the future of the country.
Politicians, on the other hand, uni
! fOrmly dodge the race issue because
Of it's delioacyy Only on the Pacific
| coast. where Japanese immigration
| has become burning issue, is any at
| tempt 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 were about nine times as
| large q percentage of the total immi-
| grafton last year as they were before
| the war.
Certainly racial snobbishness is not
to be tolerated. The theory of the
| essential superiority of the blonde
races over the dark ones, for example,
has been vigorously upheld by some
anthropologists; but it has now fallen
| into disrepute. 1t is generally recog-
nixed that the dark Mediterranean
people, for example, have certain
/ IT. ~ T.
| strain lacks. Likewise, the usefulness
of any given man to his adopted coun-
try does not depend primarily on his
race. A negro may become a valuable
| citizen and a Swede may be a rogue.
But it cannot be denied that a thousand
| extra SWedes are to be preferred to
thousand extra negroes. 1t is hard
! to contemplate with equanimity a
| deluge of negroes, Mexicans and Jap
panese; yet that is what we have been
receiving during the year 1919.
| Great Changes.
The whole makeup of the immigra-
| ton stream has been radically altered.
| AS is generally we'll known, American
| immigration was made up for many
years of Englishmen, Welshmen, Irish
| men, Germans and Scandinavians.
| These immigrants made up the Amer
| lea 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 Mexi-
can immigration as new factors, the
East and South European immigra-
ton has greatly declined. The proper
ton of South Italians, for example,
was only about a tenth in 1919 what
Hebrew, Magyar. Russian, Slovak,
! Rumanian, Syrian and Turkish inn
migrants has also declined enormously.
At the same time, the proportion of
| Englishmen, Scotchmen and French
men who came to this country in 1919
| each increased to about four times
what it was in 1913.
| This is the eneourag ing feature of
the immigration outleok-that French
men and Englishmen are seeking the
home OF their late allies in ever-in-
| creasing numbers.
| OF course, the character of post
war immigration is still in the making
The influx of aliens is much greater
today than 1t was in 1919, threatening
to reach pre-war proportions. Also it
| is different to some extent in eharac-
| ter. Thus the recent Polish debacle
| is said to have sent a horde of Poles
in this direction, while in 1919 com
| paratively few of them arrived. But
the important fact is that the eharac-
ter of immigration has radically al
| tered. The old immigration problem
| has become a new one. Intelligent
legislation on the subject should be
based on a complete new survey of the
| facts.
| A new immigration bill is undoubt-
| eddy to be a part of the work of con-
gress. The house committee on imni-
grafton has been holding hearings out
on the Pacific coast and also in Wash
| ington. Various bills have been draft
| ed, and one of them by Johnson of
| California, the chairman of the COM
nnittee, will doubtless form the basis
of legislation which the committee will
| lay before congress.
Importance of Regulation.
| 1t is obvious, of course, that moth
| ing 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 a
| complex mass of the humanity which
we have chosen to import from
| abroad. We have a republic, which is
| based upon the assumption that the
| individual voter has intelligence and
| good judgment. The character of i'm
migration is therefore everything. If
| We admit hofdes of aliens who have
not the intelligence to grasp the idea
of democracy, and if we neglect to
teach them even the language of their
| new country, we can scarcely hope
| for that intelligent body of public
opinion which is the only hope of sue
cess for a democratic government.
| Undoubtedly during the first twelve
or thirteen years of this century we
did admit horde of aliens who were
fNa low type, both racially and Gull
turally, and we did allow them to col
leet in great masses of undiluted for
eignness, speaking foreign languages,
reading foreign papers. following for
eign customs.
/ The war checked this inflow of in
digestible humanity. Now it has
started again. What are we going to
do about it?
| The trouble is that our immigration
legislation, like that on so many other
subjects, is based, net on scientific
study of the facts, but on a compro-
mise between various conflicting in