after long and careful study of all the many and complex phases of the immigration question, i have formed a clear and definite idea of what should be done with the immigrant. the first suggestion of it came to me when i saw how grossly i, in common with other americans of the class that is informed on the average concerning these things, misunderstood the aliens who come to our shores, and when i perceived the first indications of preparation of lies to be told at naples and at ellis island, in order to evade the laws of the united states. slowly it was demonstrated to me that any system which makes inspection dependent on the word of the immigrant or his friends is radically wrong. only a conscientious analysis of the whole system allowed me to formulate the proposition i am about to state, and i do it without prejudice, but with strong conviction that it is the correct solution of the gigantic problem.
immigration must be either controlled and directed or it must be abolished, and the last-named alternative is eliminated by common sense and considerations of a humane nature. we need the immigrants. our nation owes its strength to-day to those who have crossed the ocean in other years. our great industries need their brawn, our undeveloped regions need their toil, and we can easily accept 150,000,000 more human beings as raw material; but they must come as raw 298material,—good raw material. that given, our civic atmosphere, our conditions, our national spirit must do the rest, and patriots must look to the children of the immigrants for the best results rather than to the immigrants themselves.
diseased, deformed, or physically insufficient persons are not and never can be good raw material, and should not be allowed to leave their homes, nor should any members of their families on whom they are, or are likely to be, dependent.
convicts, prostitutes, persons engaged in questionable pursuits, anarchists, radical socialists, and political agitators are a menace to the body politic, though reasonable inability to make a livelihood should be considered a mark of pauperism rather than failure to accumulate any property whatsoever under european conditions.
the true conditions of all such persons is readily ascertainable from the civic, police, and military records in the communes of their residence, to which can be added the supplemental evidence of their neighbors and the local officials of the communes. in the communes of their nativity the truth is known and cannot be hidden. at the ports of embarkation combined influences can deceive the best officials. at the ports of arrival the hand of the inspector is still weaker, no matter how thorough the examination or how excellent the system.
the conclusion is plain: seek the grounds on which to deny passage to emigrants who wish to come to the united states, in the villages from which they emanate.
what seems to me to be the best plan to do this, to keep the expense below that which it is at present, and to avoid the opportunities which are sure to be presented for wholesale corruption of american officials 299by the transportation interests and by the emigrants themselves, is this:
select emigrants before itinerant boards of two, three, or more native-born americans who speak fluently and understand thoroughly the language and dialects of the people who come before them,—these boards to be on a civil-service basis.
the long diplomatic delays and ensuing red tape of incorporating the privileges of these boards in treaties with the several european governments can be avoided by temporary operation under the present consular system of the united states, and little objection would be met with from any of the governments from whose domains the immigrants come.
in districts from which the emigration is profuse at present, a smaller number of communes and a more frequent visitation should be the regulation. the sittings of the boards should be announced by advertisements a sufficient length of time in advance to allow all persons contemplating emigration to prepare to appear for examination. examiners should be prepared to furnish information as to destinations and opportunities, and could, with care, prevent an increase of the congestion in the cities of the east. in extremity, regulations could be made which would allow them to deny clearance and passage to persons desirous of going to districts already over-populated with aliens.
as to the requirements for admission to the united states, our present code of laws has them well defined except in the matter of illiteracy, and my personal observation has been that illiteracy does not interfere either with the value of an immigrant to the civic body or with the rapidity of his absorption among us; in fact, the educated class cling more tenaciously to all 300that is old worldly, and are more inclined to hold political views that are at variance with our system of government. that a man cannot read or write his native tongue does not make him any the worse piece of raw material here.
when a party of emigrants has been passed and given papers with photographic identification as well as detailed physical description, with a time limit of use of thirty days, it should be instructed as to baggage so as to minimize this aggravating feature, and should depart under the charge of a courier, going to the nearest port of transatlantic departure. this would work a great change in emigrant-carrying lines, but is plainly the most convenient and economical procedure for all concerned. the party could be delivered directly on board on the day of sailing, and thus all the frauds and grafting schemes would be avoided. the saving to emigrants by this method would more than pay for the expenses of the examination.
it is easy to see how these visiting boards could promote emigration among the classes which are most desirable in northern and central europe, and are now so chary of coming. families which have something to lose by being turned back from the united states are loath to dispose of their property and make the venture. if they knew they were certain of admission before they left their homes, a year’s time would see the level of the grade of emigrants greatly elevated.
of reforms in transportation, little need be said. closed cabins and service of food for groups of six or eight, with an american marine hospital service surgeon in charge of each ship, would bring about all that is needed, with a few minor regulations.
ellis island and the smaller immigrant stations should 301continue their functions much as they are now, only that little hospital room and deportation quarters would be needed; the registry feature would be decreased to an examination of papers for admittance and to the maintenance of the excellent card-index system. the distribution and detention features would necessarily be continued.
to the card-index system should be added a regulation compelling all aliens to report, at regular intervals, their whereabouts and pursuits, to federal officials in federal judicial districts, until such time as they become citizens of the country or are ready to depart. a most important feature of this should be the indexing and tabulation of the hundreds of thousands of able-bodied men who have had the excellent military training of the armies of europe, and would, if properly organized, constitute a fine reserve force in america of at least 2,000,000 men.
deportation is the severest punishment which can fall on an alien in comparison with anything less than several years’ imprisonment, and all admissions to the country should be made probationary; the commission of any crime or crimes, and conviction therefor, to be followed by punishment and then by deportation. many of the minor crimes committed by aliens are done with the intention of getting two or three years in prison in which to learn to read and write english and acquire a trade.
the practical statesman will at once object to this programme on the ground of the terrific expense of maintaining thousands of men in europe to constitute these boards of examiners. by careful computation i have ascertained that it would cost approximately two dollars per head to examine and admit each immigrant, 302whereas at this time it costs each immigrant nearly five dollars to be examined, inasmuch as the extra expense to which the steamship company goes is added to the price of his ticket. over and above this the money he relinquishes to grafters, subagents, advisers, etc., totals a sum that is beyond reckoning.
summing up, this plan would achieve in simple fashion the following things:
undesirable emigrants would be prevented from leaving their homes.
ruin and suffering would not fall on those now sent back.
desirable immigration would be wonderfully stimulated.
practices of officials of foreign governments in dumping into this country criminals, foundlings, agitators, etc., would be ended.
emigrants would be protected and great economy in travel would be effected.
smuggling and underground methods would be disconcerted and contract-labor frauds prevented.
naturalization frauds would cease to avail, and legal naturalization would be greatly increased.
custom-house officers would be greatly assisted, revenues increased, and goods-smuggling minimized.
the proper distribution of the flood of immigration would be at all times under the control of the american government.
immigration would cease to be affected, to its detriment, by the business competition of transportation companies interested solely in conveying as many aliens to america and back and forth again as often as possible, without any regard whatsoever to the class of people carried, so long as they have the money 303to pay the fares and swell the enormous profits that emigrant-carriers realize at present.
when these things are achieved, there is no one to deny that the immigration problem will have been solved, unless it be those who are ignorant and prejudiced in the matter, or who profit by the continued depression of the grade coupled with the increase in volume of immigration which mark the present condition in a way to cause every true american, who has the best interests of his country at heart, to look to the future with uncertainty and dread.
