The New York herald., 1922-05-14
By MRS. ALEXANDER MOORE.
(LilIixn RusselI.)


(Lillixn RusselI.)
Copyright, 1893, By THE New YORK HRALp
When President Harding gave me
the assignment to study immigrants
in Europe and the problem the United
States is trying to solve in relation to
the hundreds of thousands of persons
eager to start life anew in this country
it seemed a rather large order. On the
other hand / have always been inter-
ested in the subject and after my
marriage to Mr.. Moore and after COM
ing to Pittsburgh to live I have seen
more or these transplanted European
laborers at home and in the various
plants and shops surrounding Pitts
bugh than the average citizen has. +
migrants after they have lived in this
country.
Since my trip abroad for the pur-
pose of making report to the Secre-
tary Of Labor and to offer whatever
suggestions l could to the department
/ am strongly in favor of continued
limitation of immigrants, of medical
examination at the port of embarka-
tion Of all immigrants and a movement
to awaken in our women an interest
in this question to the end that they
may help either directly to curb the
influx Of undesirable foreigners or
send to the House and the Senate men
who stand for America for Americans
as far as this is possible, and for clean.
decent and useful newcomers.
hA
Davis after my return from a survey
Of European immigrants in England,
France, Switzerland, Austria and Italy,
through which countries I travelled,
and OF various other central European
countries which / studied from author
itative reports, contained thousands
OF words. 1t was lengthy. but it con-
tanned nothing that / could not prove.
did not rely on hearsay or a POSSIBLY
inaccurate statement of an individual
L had affidavits to prove every state
ment therein set forth. 1 obtained
these affidavits personally. It's the
only way. Then you can be sure of
your premises upon which you base a
statement of conclusion.
Travelled By Automobile.
travelled by automobile most of the
way from the north coast OF France
down TO Rome. My first stop before
going across the Channel to France
was at Plymouth. where 1 met Mr..
Skinner. the consul. With him went
over the situation thoroughly. He ex-
planned to me the utter heIplessness
or American consuls in European n
countries to curb immigration or help
improve conditions in any way. The
steamship companies are not RESPONSE
Die for the type of passenger they
carry. And so long as an immigrant
has a passport and this passport has
been vised there Is no ground upon
winch any country from which he
sails or individual in that country can
refuse to permit the immigrant to
leave. He may be mentally deficient.
he may be diseased or he may have a
criminal record, but his passport en-
titles him to leave his native country
FOR America. If he is unfit to enter
our ports then he is sent back from
Ellis Island after he has been thor
oughly examined.
RMS Is one phase Of the immigration
problem which touched me deeply.
saw and heard of numerous really
pitiable cases where a man or a
woman or an entire family had sold
their home and everything they Dos
sessed but the clothes they had on
and few articles slowed away in a
bag or telescope case and had started
for America. only to be told here that
they could not enter. heard of, MANY
cases like this and some among them
which could have been prevented II
our laws permitted us to examine the
immigrant at the port of embarkation
Conditions Are Discourasins.
In England the country folk are get
ting along fairly well. they are cheer
full and hardworking. In France they
are not quite so cheerful but are maxi
ing the best OF 1t working on their
devastated farms. But in Italy they
are morose. Earning a living on a
farm Is hard in any OF these countries,
ana the Italians are having a par
ticularly dih1cuIt time. did not travel
through Czecho-S -Slovakia or Jugo-
Slavia or some Of the other countries