Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-03-02


| -S458,780.
! Besides wise on passports, all tour
lists must also have passports certify
| ing their citizenship of the United
States, in order to travel in foreign
lands.
The increase in the number of pass
ports issued by the National Govern
ment Is astounding The World War
sold" Europe to American tourists as
1t had never before been appreciated
here. Americans have been charged
with having profited by war conditions
Envlous Europeans accuse all American
prosperity of being due to our taking
advantage of Europe'S distreSs-a charge
so repeatedly refuted that it is absurd
to consider it.
But the result of the turning OF
American eyes upon Europe by our par
! ticipation in the World War, particu-
larly by our sending more than 2,000,-
600 inquisitive Americans there, to fight
and to bring back descriptions of what
they saw lover there" has increased
the subsequent travel of Americans to
Europe six or nine times what 1t was
before the war.
In 1918 the passport bureau issued
23,453 passports; in 1914 it issued only
20,32O passports, for the outbreak of
the war affected the popularity of go
ing to Europe. In 1919, the first year
after the armistice, the number of pass
ports was 1892. which was explained
by the aroused interest In the battle
fields where American soldiers had
fought. Europe no longer seemed so
far away, after 100000 Americans had
been writing letters from there to the
circles who had kept the home fires
burning"
AS the subsequent years of American
activity have increased our prosperity.
the number of passports to tourists has
increased from 81 1862 in 1919 to 176, O33
in 1925, 182,425 IN 1927 and 189,308 in
1923.
1t must not be assumed that 189. 3o8
means the total number of American
globe trotters. for each passport may
include a whole family or even whole
party under a guide, with no limit to
the number in the party. Until June
4, 1920, the fee for passport was only
enue only" Since then the admins
tration has used its good Offices toward
reciprocal reductions of the cost.
Nor do the passport records indicate
how many tourists went to any par
ticular part of the globe; passports are
not issued to a particular country, but
are general certificates of American
citizenship. At present there are no
statistics available as to where our
travellers go. Nor is there any charge
to Americans for returning to their
homeland.
We do not know how many Ameri-
cans are living more or less permanently
abroad. Complaint has often been
made that American capital goes abroad
for investment, which might benefit
American prosperity more if invested
In American enterprises at home. But
American managers and employees go
with 1t, and some eventually cease to
care for the hyphen and cease to sing
periodically "Blest Be the Tie That
Binds" So they cease to use even
the American hyphen.
Nevertheless the United States Is the
only country in the world which finds
the immigration restriction problem
acutely troublesome. France has had
some embarrassment by the incoming
of Italians and Poles, who stay only
through the Summers while rehabilita-
ton work in the devastated regions gives
unusual employment to labor, but that
is temporary condition, now practical
ly ended. Without the help of these
transients France would not today be
rebuilt as she is But there has been no
unemployment in France since the war,
a state of prosperity Of which even the
United States could not boast. We have
had at times since the war more than
four million men. out of employment,
and the situation would have quickly
become tragic if immigration restriction
had not been reSorted to almost imne-
way for the millions of refugees and re-
leased soldiers of the war countries to
flock into this country.
Copyright, 1929, by Paul v. coluns.1