The Three Stairs of Separation
All this time you have been guided. Now you are directed to a desk where your railroad ticket-order is stamped; next to a banker's desk, where your money is exchanged for American money; and finally you are motioned to the right stairway of three, this leading to the railroad barge room. Here your baggage is checked and your ticket provided, a bag of food is offered you, and then you are taken on board a barge which will convey you to the railroad station. You have left your fellow-voyagers abruptly, all save the railroad-ticketed like yourself. Had you been destined for New York, you would have gone down the left stairway and been free to take the ferryboat for the Battery. If you had expected friends to meet you, the central stairway would have led you to the waiting room for that purpose. Those three stairways are called "TheStairs of Separation," and there families are sometimes ruthlessly separated without warning, when bound for different destinations.
Careful Supervision
The officers, who have treated you courteously, in strong contrast to the steamship and dock employees, keep track of you until you are safely on board an immigrant car, bound for the place where your relatives are. Your ideas of great New York are limited, but you have been saved by this official supervision from being swindled by sharpers or enticed into evil. You are practically in charge of the railway company, as you have been of the steamship company, until you are deposited at the station where you expect to make your home. You are ready to believe, by this time, that America is at least a spacious country, with room enough in it for all who want to come. At the same time you will admit, as you recall some of your fellow-passengers in the steerage, that there should not be room in the country for those who ought not to come—not only the diseased and insane, crippled and consumptive, who are shut out by the law, but also the delinquent and depraved, whose presence means added ignorance and crime. You only wish the inspectors could have seen some of those shameless men on shipboard, so that in spite of their smooth answers they might have been sent back whence they came, to prey upon the innocent there instead of here. Now that it is allover, you shudder for a long time at night as memory recalls the steerage scenes, through which your faith in God and your constant prayers preserved you.[18]
The Alien's Chance
In such manner the alien gains his chance to become an American. What he will make of that chance is a matter of grave importance to the land that has opened to him the doors of opportunity and liberty. Having seen how the immigrants get into the United States, let us now see how they are kept out. When we know what the restrictive laws are, and how they are enforced or evaded, we shall be in a position to judge as to their sufficiency, and the need of further legislation.
Evasion and Violation
The United States has some excellent immigration laws, the best and most extensive of any nation, as one would expect, since this is the nation to which nearly all immigrants come. The trouble is that every attempt is made to evade these laws, and where they cannot be evaded they are violated. The laws are of twoclasses: 1. Protective, in favor of the immigrant; and 2. Restrictive, in favor of the country.
Protection for the Immigrant
There is a law against overcrowding on shipboard, going back as far as 1819, but overcrowding has gone on ever since.[19]There seems to be no doubt that even on the best steamships of the best lines there is ready disregard of the law when it interferes with the profits to be made out of the steerage. Strong evidence to this effect is given by Mr. Brandenburg. Here is a condensed leaf from his own experience which shows how much regard is paid to the comfort and health of the steerage passengers:[20]
Steerage Horrors
"In a compartment from nine to ten feet high and having a space no larger than six ordinary rooms, were beds for 195 persons, and 214 women and children occupied them. The ventilation was merely what was to be had from the companionway that opened into the alleyway and not on the deck, the few ports in the ship's sides, and the scanty ventilating shafts. The beds were double-tiered affairs in blocks of from ten to twenty, constructed of iron framework, with iron slats in checker fashion to support the burlap-covered bag of straw, grass, or waste which served as a mattress. Pillows there werenone, only cork jacket life-preservers stuck under one end of the mattress to give the elevation of a pillow. One blanket served the purpose of all bedclothing; it was a mixture of wool, cotton, and jute, predominantly jute; the length of a man's body and a yard and a half wide. For such quarters and accommodations the emigrant pays half the sum that would buy a first-class passage. A comparison of the two classes shows where the steamship company makes the most money.
Feeding Like Animals
"Enrolled in the blanket each person found a fork, spoon, pint tin cup, and a flaring six-inch-wide, two-inch-deep pan out of which to eat. The passengers were instructed to form groups of six and choose a mess-manager, who was supposed to take the big pan and bucket, get the dinner and drinkables, and distribute the portions to his group. After the meal, some member was supposed to collect the tin utensils and wash them ready for next time. But the crowd in the wash-room was so great that about one third of the people chose to rinse off the things with a dash of drinking water, others never washed their cups and pans. Yet the emigrant pays half the first-cabin rate for fighting for his food, serving it himself, and washing his own dishes. The food was in its quality good, but the manner in which it was messed into one heap in the big pan was nothing short of nauseating. After thefirst meal the emigrants began throwing the refuse on the deck instead of over the side or into the scuppers. The result can be imagined. It was an extremely hot night, and the air in the crowded compartment was so foul I could not sleep. The men and boys about me lay for the most part like logs, hats, coats, and shoes off, and no more, sleeping the sleep of the tired.
Remedy Proposed
"My wife said the babies in her compartment were crying in relays of six, the women had scattered bits of macaroni, meat, and potatoes all over the beds and on the floor, and added dishwater as a final discomfort. Two thirds of the emigrants were as clean as circumstances would permit, but the other third kept all in a reign of uncleanliness. The worst could not be put into print. The remedy for the whole matter is to pack fewer people in the same ship's space, and a regular service at tables. The big emigrant-carriers should be forced to give up a part of their enormous profits in order that sanitary conditions at least may prevail."
Laws Rigidly Enforced
This certainly is not an unreasonable demand, and proper laws with regard to the steerage rigidly enforced would tend to discourage immigration, instead of the reverse, since the rates would doubtless be raised as the numbers were lowered. Cruel treatment of the helpless aliens by the stewards and ship's officers should be stopped. Mr Brandenburg's description, whichby no means tells the whole story of steerage horrors, should serve to institute reform through the creation of a public sentiment that will demand it.Steerage Reforms NeededThere is no other way to reach such conditions; and here is where the young people can exert their influence powerfully for good. Money greed should not be allowed to make the steerage a disgrace to Christian civilization and an offense to common decency. Of course it is difficult to detect what goes on in the hold of a great steamship, and when immigrants make complaint they frequently suffer for it. It is possible, however, to provide government inspectors, and inspectors who will inspect and remain proof against bribes. The one essential is a sufficiently strong and insistent public opinion.
Protection for the Country
The need of some regulation and restriction of immigration was felt early in our national life. The fathers of the Republic did not agree about the matter, and in this their descendants have been like them. Washington questioned the advisability of letting any more immigrants come, except those belonging to certain skilled trades that were needed to develop the new country. Madison favored a policy of liberality and inducement, so that population might increase more rapidly. Jefferson, on the other hand, wished "there were an ocean of fire between thiscountry and Europe, so that it might be impossible for any more immigrants to come hither." We can only conjecture what his thoughts would be if he were to return and study present conditions. Franklin, certainly one of the wisest and most far-seeing of the earlier statesmen, feared that immigration would tend to destroy the homogeneity essential to a democracy with ideals. Equally great and good men in our history have taken one or the other side of this question, from the extreme of open gates to that of prohibition, while the people generally have gone on about their business with the comfortable feeling that matters come out pretty well if they are not too much interfered with.
First State Law in 1824
While statesmen were theorizing and differing, conditions made the need of some actual regulations and restrictions felt as early as 1824, although the total immigration of that year was only 7,912, or less than that of a single day at present. The first law resulted from abuse of free admission. It was found that some foreign governments were shipping their paupers, diseased persons, and criminals to America as the easiest and most economical way to get rid of them. This it undoubtedly was for them; but the people of New York did not see where the ease and economy came in on their side of the ledger, and in self-defense, therefore, the state passed the first law, with intent to shut out undesirables.[21]This state legislation was the genesis of national enactment. The history of federal laws concerning aliens is covered compactly by Mr. Hall, and those interested in the details of this important phase of the subject are referred to his book.[22]A comprehensive table, by means of which all the significant legislation can be seen at a glance, will be found in Appendix B.
Government Control
In 1882 there came a tremendous wave of immigration, with effects upon the labor market that largely induced the passage in that year of the first general immigration law. The Federal Government now assumed entire control of the ports of entry, as it was manifestly essential to have a national policy and supervision. Since 1862, when the Chinese coolies were excluded, under popular pressure, Congress has passed eight Acts of more or less importance, culminating in the Act of 1903,[23]which is said by Mr. Whelpley, who has collected all the immigration laws of all countries, and is therefore competentto judge, to be "up to the present time the most far-reaching measure of its kind in force in any country; and the principles underlying it must serve as the foundation for all immigration restriction." Under this law we have practically unrestricted immigration, with the important exceptions that the Chinese laborers are not admitted, and that persons suffering from obvious contagious diseases, insane persons, known anarchists and criminals, and a certain small percentage likely to become public charges are debarred. The law does not fix a property, income, or educational qualification, does not insist upon a knowledge of a trade, nor impose a tax. In other words, we have at present a more or less effective police regulation of immigration, but we are not pursuing a policy of restriction or limitation.
Un-American Discrimination
As to the Chinese, we have made an exception, and one that fails to commend itself to many. Grant that there is much to be said in favor of the proper restriction of Chinese immigration, especially on the ground that the immigrants would come only to earn money and return home, not to become Americans; that there can be no race assimilation between Chinese and Americans; and that such bird-of-passage cheap male labor is a detriment to the best interests of the country. All the force in these arguments applies equally to a large proportion ofthe immigration from southeastern Europe which is admitted. The laws should be uniform. The right to shut out the Chinese coolies is not questioned; but if these be debarred, why not debar the illiterate and unskilled laboring class that comes from Ireland, Italy, and Austria-Hungary? The Chinese certainly can fill a place in our industries which the other races do not fill equally well. Their presence in the kitchen would tend to alleviate domestic conditions that are responsible in large measure for the breaking up of American home life. It is a ludicrous error to suppose that all the Chinese who come to America are laundrymen at home. Let Mrs. S. L. Baldwin, a returned missionary who labored in China for eighteen years and knows the people she pleads for, bear her witness:
A Missionary's Plea for the Chinese
"The Chinese are exactly the same class as the immigrants from other lands. The needy poor, with few exceptions, must ever be the immigrant class. Those who come to us across the Pacific are largely from the respectable farming class, who fall into laundry work, shoemaking, etc., because these branches of industry are chiefly open to them. I have no fear of the Chinese immigrants suffering in comparison with those who come across the Atlantic. It is not the Chinaman who is too lazy to work, and goes to the almshouse or jail. It is not he who reels through our streets, defies our Sabbath laws,deluges our country with beer, and opposes all work for temperance and the salvation of our sons from the liquor curse. It is not the man from across the Pacific who commits the fearful crimes, and who is longing to put his hand to our political wheel and rule the United States. There are no healthier immigrants coming to this country. It is with difficulty, and only under pressure of necessity they are induced to leave China, so that the bugbear of millions of coolies overrunning America is absurd."
Call for Fair Play
Workers in the Chinese missions and Sunday-schools in this country will assent to Mrs. Baldwin's words. And Americans will appreciate her sense of the ludicrous when an Irish washerwoman in San Francisco, indignant that a Chinese servant had been brought to America by the missionary, said to her, "We have a right here and they haven't." As for the Chinese, the time will come when the injustice of discriminating against a single nation will be recognized and the wrong be righted. There are no more stable converts to Christianity, no more generous givers and zealous missionaries, than the Chinese converts. Let us have American fair play, about which President Roosevelt says so much, in our treatment of them. Recent developments prove that the United States is unwilling to imperil the relations of friendship which have existed with China.
Intelligence of Inspectors
At Ellis Island one may see what is aptly termed "the tragedy of the excluded."[24]The enforcement of the laws comes into operation at the ports of entry. Practically everything depends upon the intelligence and faithfulness of the inspectors, who are charged with grave responsibility. Immigrant and country are equally at their mercy. Necessarily a large margin must be left to their judgment when it comes to the question, Will the applicant now before me probably become a public charge—that is, fall into the pauper or criminal class—or is he of the right stuff to make a respectable and desirable American citizen? In cases of plain insanity or idiocy or disease the decision is easy; but when it comes to the moral and economic sphere an expert opinion is required.Trickeries AttemptedThen, the inspectors have to be constantly on the lookout for deception and fraud. Immigrants who belong to the excluded classes have been carefully coached by agents interested in getting them through the examination. Diseased eyes have been doctored up for the occasion; lame persons have been trained to avoid the fatal limp during that walk between the two surgeons. Lies have been put into innocent mouths and the beginnings of falsehood into the heart. Mr. Adams gives this instance showing how themind of the inspector works. The line is passing steadily, ceaselessly. A flashily dressed French girl has plenty of money but unsatisfactory references and destination, and back she is turned.
Detained for Special ExaminationDetained for Special Examination
Discretion
"Next comes a bookkeeper, so he says. His father gave him money and he was coming here to make his fortune. The inspector is not satisfied and he is turned over to the 'S. I.' Board. But his papers, money, and statements are clear and he is admitted; they give him the benefit of the doubt as they always do. But next in line comes a well built stocky Pole, with nothing in the world but a carpet bag, a few bundles, and a small showing of money. Ambition is written all over his face and he is admitted. 'Now,' says the recorder, pausing for a moment, 'see the difference between these two gents. The first duffer will look around for a job, spend time and money to get something to suit him, and keep his job for a short time; then he will give it up, run through his money, borrow from his friends, and then give them all the cold hand. He won't wear well, and his dad knew it when he sent him over, but he was glad to get rid of him. So lots of them are.Picking the Winning ManNow look at the difference between him and that Pole. He knows nothing but work. Look at his eyes, mild but good. He has been brought up next to mother earth; turn him loose from the train when he reaches his destinationand he will dig. He won't hang around looking for a job, but he will till the soil and before you or I know it he will have crops and that is what he will live on. He comes from a hard country, is tough, and when you and I are going around shivering in an overcoat, he will be going around in his shirt sleeves. That is the stuff we want here, not the first kind, with flabby hands and sapped vitality.' Sure enough the bookkeeper did not wear well, and falling into the hands of the police, some months later, he was deported under the three-year limitation law, and the country was better for it."
Wise Partiality, and Work Praised
The inspectors are wise in showing partiality to the men who have plenty of days' work in them, even if they have less money. It is not at all safe to judge the immigrants as desirable or otherwise according to the amount of money per capita they bring. It is the head and not the head-money that should be looked at. Think of the responsibility. More than 300,000 women passed through the "moral wicket" at Ellis Island last year. Of course many of bad quality, men and women both, get through, for inspectors on too meager salaries are not omniscient, but a good word should be said for these public servants, who in the main are conscientiously performing a delicate and difficult task.[25]Let us see someof the results of their work. This will give an idea of the large numbers who ought never to have been allowed to leave home.
Record of the DebarredThe following table shows the principal classes of excluded for the past fourteen years, with the total debarred for each year, and the percentage:
Right of Appeal
The debarred have the right of appeal, from the Special Inquiry Board which excludes them, to the Commissioner of the Port, then to the Commissioner-General, and finally to the Secretary[26]of Commerce and Labor. The steamship lines that brought them have to pay costs of detention and deportation, which is one means of making these lines careful.
Exclusion by Races
A second table, which shows the exclusion by races, will repay study. It is given in Appendix A. It not only shows where the bulk of the excluded belong, but reveals not a little concerning the character of those admitted who come from the same races. The intention of the present Commissioner-General is to enforce the laws strictly, yet in a humane spirit. Comparing the figures for the two years 1903-1904, he says:
Increase of Undesirable
"The most significant feature of this statement is the large increase in the number of idiots, insane persons, and paupers during 1905, which, coupled with an increase of twenty-five per cent. in the number of diseased aliens, justifies the Bureau in directing attention to the flagrant and wilful disregard by the ocean carriers of the laws for the regulation of their business of securing alien passengers destined for the United States."[27]
Fraud of Transportation Companies
This brings up a point of vast importance in more ways than one. The official reports charge wholesale deception, evasion, and fraud upon the great transportation companies. The fact stands for itself that in 1904 they were fined more than$31,000 under the section of the law imposing a $100 penalty for bringing a diseased alien whose disease might have been detected by a competent medical examination at the port of departure. For many years these companies have in doubtful cases demanded double passage money, so that they might make a profit both ways if the alien were rejected. The Italian government has passed an Act giving an alien right to recover the money illegally retained in this way, showing the practice, and the government opinion of it.
Artificial Swelling of Passage Fees
The truth is, the transportation agent has become a figure of international consequence and concern. The artificial cause behind the present unprecedented exodus from Europe, according to Whelpley, is the abnormal activity of the transportation companies in their effort to secure new and profitable cargo for their ships. In 1900 over $118,000,000 was invested in trans-atlantic steamship lines, which are largely owned by foreigners. New lines to the Mediterranean have been put on with distinct purpose to swell the Italian and Slav immigration. Rate cutting has at times made it possible for the steerage passenger to go from Liverpool to New York for as low as $8.75. The average rate is not high enough to deter anyone who really wants to come. An English line, in return for establishing a line direct from a Mediterranean port, has secured from the Hungarian government a guarantee of 30,000 immigrants a year from its territory.
Solicitation Law Violated
The law forbids transportation companies or the owners of vessels to "directly or through agents, either by written, printed, or oral solicitations, solicit, invite, or encourage the immigration of any aliens into the United States except by ordinary commercial letters, circulars, advertisements, or oral representations, stating the sailings of their vessels and terms and facilities of transportation therein." That this restrictive provision is persistently evaded is made plain by the reports of government inspectors sent abroad to investigate. The annual migration involves more than a hundred millions of dollars, and where money is to be made law is easily disobeyed.
The Ubiquitous and Unscrupulous "Runner"
One of the inspectors says the chief evil in this solicitation business is the so-called "runner." Here is his description of this mischievousgenus homo. "It is he who goes around in eastern and southern Europe from city to city and village to village telling fairy tales about the prosperity of many immigrants in America and the opportunities offered by the United States for aliens. The runner does not know of anyone who is undesirable; he claims to be all-powerful, that he has representatives in every port who can 'open the door' of America to anyone. It is he who induces many a diseased person to attempt the journey,and it is also he and his associates who do their best to have the undesirables admitted. The steamship companies, as a rule, do not deal with these runners directly and disclaim all responsibility for their nefarious practices. But the official agents of the steamship companies do pay their runners commissions for every immigrant referred to them. I have especially studied this problem along the borders of Germany, Russia, and Austrian Galicia. Here most of the emigrants are smuggled across the frontiers by these runners and robbed of the greater part of their cash possessions. When they arrive at the 'control station' it is remarkable that most emigrants have cards with the address of a certain steamship ticket agent, and the agent, on the other hand, has a list of all the individuals who were smuggled across the frontiers. When I asked one of these representatives how this was done, he told me that he paid 'good commissions' to the runner on the other side of the frontier for each case. When steamship companies and their agents stop paying commissions to runners for emigrants referred to them, individuals will only by their own initiative attempt to come to the United States, and most of those considered undesirable will remain at their native homes."[28]
Law in Contempt
Violations of law abound. Smuggling persons is regarded with much the same moral leniencyas smuggling goods. The law forbids importation of persons under contract to work. In April last two Italian steamships carried back to Europe more than 1,000 laborers, who had been brought over in violation of the contract-labor laws. Commissioner Watchorn had word from his special investigators abroad that the men had been collected in the Balkan States to work for padrones in this country. So back went the thousand Slavs; but it was a chance discovery. The men admitted that the padrones had paid their passage and agreed to furnish them work. They said the rosiest conditions had been painted before their eyes, and they believed "big money" was to be made here. The steamship companies had to bear the expense of taking them back, but the padrones have not suffered any penalty, and will go on with their unlawful work.
How the Laborers are Engaged
Mr. Brandenburg learned from an Italian woman that her husband had been commissioned by a contractor in Pittsburg to go into the Italian provinces of Austria and engage 200 good stonemasons, 200 good carpenters, and an indefinite number of unskilled laborers. These people were to be put in touch with sub-agents of lines sailing from Hamburg, Fiume, and Bremen, and these agents were to be accountable for these contract laborers being got safely into the United States. This woman said many of her neighbors in Pittsburg had come into the country as contractlaborers and held the law in great contempt, as it was merely a matter of being sufficiently instructed and prepared, and no official at Boston or Ellis Island could tell the difference.[29]Why should not the law be held in contempt, not only this one but all law, by the immigrant who is introduced to America through its violation, and trained to perjure himself at the outset of his new career? Does not the Commissioner-General sound a note of warning when he says:
The Christian Duty
"It is not reasonable to anticipate that if the great transportation lines do not respect the laws of this country their alien passengers will do so, nor can it be conceded that those aliens whose entrance to the United States is effected in spite of the law are desirable or even safe additions to our population."[30]
Remedy Demanded
It is painful to think that such conditions can exist in connection with so vital a matter as immigration. But it is better to have the facts known, in order that a remedy may be found. Publicity is the safety of republics and communities. And the disclosures of the lengths to which men will go in order to make money should give new and mighty impulse to those who believe in righteousness and have not bowed to the god mammon. If the work of Christianizing the aliens is made harder by the experiences through which theypass and the examples they have set before them by unscrupulous persons, it must be undertaken with so much the more zeal. Respect for law must be preserved, and one of the best ways to accomplish this is to see to it that the laws are enforced and the violators of them punished, even though they represent giant corporations and vast capital.
I.Method of Admission.
1. What proportion of the immigrants now coming land at New York?2. What is Ellis Island like—materially—spiritually?3. Suppose yourself an immigrant: what steps would you take to reach New York? What processes would you undergo on landing? How would you be directed?
1. What proportion of the immigrants now coming land at New York?
2. What is Ellis Island like—materially—spiritually?
3. Suppose yourself an immigrant: what steps would you take to reach New York? What processes would you undergo on landing? How would you be directed?
II.Governmental Regulation.
4. What two kinds of government regulation are practicable? Are both in force?5. Do the steamship companies obey the law? with regard to its letter? to its real intent?
4. What two kinds of government regulation are practicable? Are both in force?
5. Do the steamship companies obey the law? with regard to its letter? to its real intent?
III.Restriction.
6. * Do you think unrestricted immigration is best for our country?7. Why is the present discrimination against the Chinese not just?8. When and to what extent was control over immigration assumed by the United States Government?9. What measures were passed in 1903? Has there been any action since?10. What classes of immigrants are excluded as unfit? Who decides in case of doubt?11. Are many immigrants sent back? Why do the steamship companies bring the unfit?
6. * Do you think unrestricted immigration is best for our country?
7. Why is the present discrimination against the Chinese not just?
8. When and to what extent was control over immigration assumed by the United States Government?
9. What measures were passed in 1903? Has there been any action since?
10. What classes of immigrants are excluded as unfit? Who decides in case of doubt?
11. Are many immigrants sent back? Why do the steamship companies bring the unfit?
IV.Violation.
12. How is immigration solicited? How is it coerced?13. What is the purpose and what the actual working of the "Contract-Labor Law"?
12. How is immigration solicited? How is it coerced?
13. What is the purpose and what the actual working of the "Contract-Labor Law"?
V.What Can the Christian Public do to Improve Conditions?
14. * Can we expect immigrants to obey our laws, if they are started in such ways? Why not?15. Has Christian public opinion any special duty in this matter? What is it?
14. * Can we expect immigrants to obey our laws, if they are started in such ways? Why not?
15. Has Christian public opinion any special duty in this matter? What is it?
I. Visit and inspect if possible, some receiving station for immigrants, and report; or else consult the statements and charts of Reports of the Commissioner of Immigration, for the year ending June 30, 1905.II. Describe the Brandenburgs during life among Italians, and journey to this country as immigrants; their aims, and the results achieved. Brandenburg: Imported Americans, IV, XIII, XV, XXII.III. The present regulation of immigrants, with special reference to "The Excluded." Laws for 1903. Hall: Immigration, 216-231. Brandenburg: Imported Americans, 248-274.IV. Is there need for further restriction? Hall: Immigration, XI, XII. Hunter: Poverty, VI. Charities and The Commons, issue for March 31, 1906.
I. Visit and inspect if possible, some receiving station for immigrants, and report; or else consult the statements and charts of Reports of the Commissioner of Immigration, for the year ending June 30, 1905.
II. Describe the Brandenburgs during life among Italians, and journey to this country as immigrants; their aims, and the results achieved. Brandenburg: Imported Americans, IV, XIII, XV, XXII.
III. The present regulation of immigrants, with special reference to "The Excluded." Laws for 1903. Hall: Immigration, 216-231. Brandenburg: Imported Americans, 248-274.
IV. Is there need for further restriction? Hall: Immigration, XI, XII. Hunter: Poverty, VI. Charities and The Commons, issue for March 31, 1906.
The evils attendant upon unrestricted immigration are not theoretical but actual. Emigration from one place becomes immigration into another. It is an international affair of greatest importance, and should be speedily recognized as such.—J. D. Whelpley.
The evils attendant upon unrestricted immigration are not theoretical but actual. Emigration from one place becomes immigration into another. It is an international affair of greatest importance, and should be speedily recognized as such.—J. D. Whelpley.
The immigration question in this country has never had the attention to which its importance entitles it. It has sometimes been the scapegoat of religious and racial prejudices, and always, in recent years, an annual sacrifice to the gods of transportation.—Prescott F. Hall.
It is exasperating to any patriotic American to have brought convincingly before him the proofs of a wholesale evasion of a very carefully planned code of laws which he fain would think is a sufficient protection of his country's best interests. It is more annoying to realize that the successful evaders are for the most part foreigners, and those, too, of commonly despised races. The conclusion is plain: Seek the grounds on which to deny passage to undesirable emigrants who wish to come to the United States, in the villages from which they emanate. In the communes of their nativity the truth is known and cannot be hidden.—Broughton Brandenburg.
The mesh of the law needs to be stiffened rather than relaxed. The benefit of the doubt belongs to the United States rather than to the alien who clamors for admittance.—Commissioner-General Sargent.
Distribution, rather than wholesale restriction, is being more and more recognized as the real way out of the difficulties presented by our immense unassimilated immigration.—Gino C. Speranza.
The need is to devise some system by which undesirable immigrants shall be kept out entirely, while desirable immigrants are properly distributed throughout the country.—President Roosevelt.
Difficulties in the Way
There is a growing conviction that something ought to be done to check the present enormous inflow of immigrants. But when it comes to what that something is, difficulties at once arise. There are so many foreigners already in America, and so many children of foreign-born parents, that it is impossible to touch the stream at any point without protest from some source. As some one says, "You do not have to go very far back in the family line of any of us to find an immigrant. Scratch an American and you find a foreigner." And not a few of these foreigners sympathize with the Irishman who said to a lady against whom he had a grievance because she insisted on having a Chinese servant, "We have a right here that those who are here by the mere accident of birth have not." On the other hand, it was a foreigner of wide vision who said: "I do not believe there is any peculiar virtue in American birth, or that Americans are (per se) superior to all other nations; but I do believe that they are better fitted than all others to governtheir own country. They made the country what it is, and ought to have the first voice in determining what it is to be. In this alone consists their superiority."[31]
The Immigration Conference of 1905
It is significant and hopeful that men are thinking upon the subject. What we want is full and fair discussion and thorough information. Nothing is so perilous in a democracy as ignorance and indifference. It is far better for men to disagree thoughtfully than to agree thoughtlessly. What all patriotic and Christian men seek is the best good of this country, which means so much to the whole world as the supreme experiment of self-government. That the people are awakening was shown by the Immigration Conference in New York in December of 1905, when five hundred men, most of them appointed by their state governors, gathered under the auspices of the National Civic Federation to discuss the whole question of immigration. The immigration experts of the country were present, and the company included United States Senators and Representatives, college presidents and professors, leading editors, lawyers and clergymen, and prominent labor leaders.