Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1925-02-21
WORKING WELL

Senator Reed Of Pennsylvania ad-
dressed the Senate, Monday. on the
operation of the new immigration
law. His remarks were Of unusual
interest and called attention to re-
suits of this law, not all of which had
been generally appreciated.
When the new law went into effect
the percentage of reflections. with all
the hardships implied, the turning
back of would-be immigrants, whose
savings had been vainly spent in
their effort to get into this country.
was s percent, now reduced to 2.
From July / to December 81, 1924
the gross arrivals of immigrant aliens
from Europe amounted to 67,3O3, the
departures of emigrant aliens going
abroad to stay amounted to 4S,l2O, SO
the net gain from Europe was only
19,2OS. The departures Of southeast
, and eastern Europeans far exceeded
the arrivals" the senator said. our
net loss to Italy was nearly 10000.
Our net loss to Poland was very
considerable. We lost to all those
countries that had sent us this great
unassimilable body Of immigration
before, and the only reason there Is
a net gain Of $4,000 from Europe, is
that from Germany. from France,
from Sweden, from Great Britain.
came much larger numbers than went
away.
I think that we can fairly say, for
the first time in IS years. that the
problem of European immigration to
America. has been settled. with a net
gain at the rate less than 10000 an
nually, and all of that net gain conn
ing from northern and western Eu-
rope, mostly people who speak our
language before they get here, mostly
people who have inherited from their
forbsars a capacity for lf-govern-
meut. I think we can say that for
once and all the problem Of European
immigration is settled.
In what have been saying. have
not meant to make any comparison
that the American is finer man than
the iuhabitant of this or that Euro
pean country.
In many ways there is much We
ought to learn from them. But do
say this: That they are unlike US:
that they have not learned by 10
centuries of struggle how to govern
themselves by our methods; and say
that that type Of immigration does
not mix in America, and that was the
reason why we had an immigration
~psoblem. Those people came here
with alien customs, alien Ian
guage. alien habits Of government,
and they were increasingly unassim.
liable. I hail with great JOY the fact
that that proelsT% ow Is ws at tus an to sn the
other continents. and we need not
them. It IL enough to say that
Asiatio immigration no longer is a
question. We lost to Asia more i'm
migrants than came in. and the
number is only few hundred either
way. The same Is true of Africa.
The total immigration from the con-
tinsnt Of Africa was only 218 persons.
The net gain was less than 100"
The senator stated that from the
whole western hemisphere except
Canada and Mexico, immigration was
less than the emigration. The immi-
grafton from Canada for the cur
rent year has fallen off about one.
third, compared with last year. For
the hrst six months Of the current
fiscal year this country received from
Mexico only 11,701 Mexicans, re-
duction Of Is percent. which he at
-tributed in part to the opening up
Of business in Mexico.
Referring to the character Of some
OF the immigrants we were receiving
under the old law the senator told
what he saw in Cherbourg when last
there. That city had endeavored to re-
lieve the body Of immigrants who had
started for America but were strand
ed there. by making work for them.
The immigrants proceeded to organ
ize a soviet and terrorize the town.
He regard the smuggling of immi-
grants not a serious menace. Last
year 444s were deported. II the
smuggled immigrant applies for cit
izenship he is discovered. II he takes
another's Job he is likely to be re-
ported to the authorities. The senator
thinks we better not attempt to
amend the law for the present; that
it is working well. This is hardly
in accord with the reports made of
large numbers being smuggled into
the country. We all know that 1t is
impossible adequately to guard our
frontiers on Canada and Mexico. We
sometimes wonder whythe immigrant
should not be obliged to register.
There IL sense. however, in the
senator's suggestion that before we
accept all the reports about the
smuggling Of immigrants we investi-
gate ana discover of how much i'm
portance the actual smuggling may
be.