Newspapers / The Charlotte Observer (Charlotte, … / June 3, 1906, edition 1 / Page 9
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') ' S4 f 1 v CHARLOTTE DAILY OBSERVER, JUNE 3, 190(3. i v v.-. j.--.--" , -v: :X UBGES EDTOATIONAI; TEST 1 IJtEGTXATJON OF ' UIMiGIlATION V ; :.f trr--- "' " jV- V (ipMH-h of Senator F, If. Elmmon in . tha United Slate) Senate A Bound , i Argniurnt for the improvement, of .'-.- ho Law ItMuectlii-r Uien Immijmi- tton of Allen . Into tlie , United State Fact and 1-lguro to 6up- port in Argument, . ,.'.-,.v.;" v . "FoUowlng Ut the speech of Hon. F, M. Simmon, in tb Benat of th United , i State, delivered Wednesday, MayrlS,. on !-.: !Th Regulation f Immigration," - i,: ' The ftenate, In ooronilttee of : the .. whole,. . naving unaer consideration the a 1 ? bill (8. - MM) to amend an act antltlad ,; if ' vhfk aot to-regulate tb Immigration of 'n-L nana-Into th UplUd Statea," approved V." Slmmona said: V i a r v.-..; ;.f 1 , : , .., Praaldanti Th proposition eon ;. talned Is) the .amendment juat read ara iy -, not new proposition, and especially the v i I nrat proposition, which provide an adu. i,t:i cations! test or Immigrant. , When-w 3 . reach aVotft, I shall asx to divide tha j t question and ,vt upon each propoettlon 5-t aenaaateiyi i: . , '. -: ' 1 " I.-'- '-' Tha propoilttbn to requlra an educatlon- ' ' al teat fow Iranrfaranta tea heretofore re- . oelved dlaouaalor? and Indoraement from ' both Houaea of Contra, from Prealdent McjCinley.rPraaldantt Rooaevalt, and more . than once' from tha Commlaaloner of Im. V mlaraMon: ' ' In tha Fifty-fourth Conrree ' propoaiuon to apply tha educational teat to immlrranta waa naaaed by tooth ' Houaea. -t In the House tha vote In favor . af that bill waa 116 to to. In tha Benate It waapaased by tha declaiva'vote of (2 ; to M, That bill did not become a law Jby reason of tha. veto of Prealdent Cleveland. It. wa passed In .the Houaa over his .veto by a vote of IM to SI, but falling to re- eelv the TeUalte two-third vote In the Benate, It did not become a law. Again, In the Fifty-fifth Confreea a bill embodying an. educational teet passed the 8enata by a vote of 46 to 28; and, again. In the Flfty-eeventh Congres a bill ap plying an educational test In the form of an amendment' to House- bill 131(1 waa adopted by a vote of 117 to 7. 'H cannot therefore be aald that this amendment propoaea a new principle in legislation; It having four tlmea received the emphatic' Indorsement of one or the other branchea of Congress. The Republi can . national platform for the year 1896 aeoiarea in positive ana emphatic term In favar of excluding Immigrant who could . not read and write. I read from that platform: "For the protection of the quality of our American citteenshlp and of the wages or our workingmen gatnst the ratal competition of low-priced labor, we de mand that the Immigration law be thoroughly enforced, and so extended as to exclude from entrance to the United Btatea those who cannot read nor write." Not only that, Mr. Tresldenti but Preal dent Mckinley, who waa elected upon that platform. In bis Inaugural addresa delivered March 4, 1897. recognlced and Indorsed, In the broadest and most com- firthenslve terms, the principle Involved n this amendment. I quota from that address: ' "Our naturalisation and Immigration laws should be further Improved to tha constant promotion of a aafe, a better, and a higher eltisenshlp. A grave peril to the repuMlo would be a cltlsenahlp too Ignorant to understand or too vicious to appreciate the great value and bene ficence of our Instltutlona and law, and against all who come here for war upon them oo r gatea muat be promptly and tightly closed.- Not only President McKlnley, but our rtreaent Chief Executive, Mr. Roosevelt, n his message to Congreas' December 8, 1P01, indorsed the educational teat propos ed In my amendment In the most positive language. Hera la what he aaya upon thla aubject: "Our yimmt Immigration law are un satisfactory. We need every honest and efficient immigrant fitted to become an American cltlsen every Immigrant wbo cornea here toatay, who brings here a '' strong body, a atout heart, a good head, and - a resolute purpose to do bis . dutpr well In every Way and to bring up hf children us law-abiding and God-fearing members of the community. But there ahould be- a comprehensive law enacted, with tha object of working a threefold Improvement over our .present rystam. The eoond object. '. . . Saya President Roosevelt Iq tola mea af e - "of a proper Immigration law ought to be to secure by a careful and not merely perfunctory educational . teat some Intel ligent capacity to appreciate American Institution and act sanely as American cltlsen. . "Thla would not keep . out all anarch ists, for many of them belong to the Intel ligent criminal classes. But It would do what la slso in point that la, tend to de , rreaae the sum of Ignorance, so potent la producing the envy, suspicion, malig nant pHMion. and hatred of order, out of which anarchlstlo sentiment springs." Again, during the same Congress, In a second message, aent to tha Senate De cember 1, 102. Prealdent Rooeevelt reit erated the recommendation made bv him In his message of Deo em bed S, ItOl. In this mexsage the President aald: "I agnln call your attention to the need of passing a proper Immigration law, covering the points outlined In my mes sage to you at the first aesalon of tha present Congres." Continuing the President says: "Substantially such a bill has already passed the House." ' I have here tha bill referred to by the Prealdent. Tha Prealdent calls it a "bill" In hla message, but, as a mutter of fact, it was sn 'amendment to the Immigration bill which nassed the Houee at thanee- slpn of Congress, Introduced by one of me Representatives irora aiiui tub, air. Vnderwood, and It - Is In substance and effect almost Identlcsl with the amend ment which I have offered. I will read tha .amendment thus specially recom mended snd Indorsed by President Roosevelt.- It I In these words: "That Irt addition to the persons exclud ed tinder the foregoing section, ndmlsslon Into the United Plate ahall be denied to all persons over II years of age and phy leallv csoable of reading who cannot read the English language os some other language." The bill with thla amendment Incorpor ated passed the House of Representative on the 27th day of May. 191)1, but on, ac count of the failure In the Benate did' not become a law. . ... . This amendment thus specially approved by Presliiont Rooset-elt goea further than my amendment, Itf thut It requires thut every Immigrant over 15 years ef age shall n required as a condition to en j ; -; I ; "21 SQUARE DEAL TO EVERY MAN" a square deal to every mm , ' Br ., ; XW Seal . of Public 'Approval; i ) i . t. , ". A V J. I . 1 ' ".'- . trance to be able to read and writ. That, of course, 'would - eubjact women' ana ohlldreq . of. both eesee to the. teat' pre scribed. ' My amendment ia-not quite ao drastic." It merely exclude adult malea who cannot read or write, k exempting the. wife and children of the alien from the test. '-' - Again, Mr. President, tha Commissioner Oeneral of 1 Immigration haa repeatedly recoramenaea inis (legislation a. tne oniy adequate means ef efficiently treatriotlng Immigration and keeping out the undesir able elements of tKuroDsan and i Amis. tie Immigration, which ta . to-day flooding the uvunnjr. rwiu'ino: wmi tne v.vmmia sloner Oeneral aald in hi report of June to, iusr ...'.,., ,. . .. "A tv means) of preventing a further Increase of 'alien Immigration it , will be necessary. It such a policy is deemed ex pedient, either to enlarge. the prohibited classes by addlng'fhersto those who are itinerate; loose- waoae aga or- stent enees renders Incapable of self-support, If at all, but . .temporarily . and . under .the moat favorable conditions; those who have not brought a sufficient sum f . money 'to enable , them to 'maintain themselves for a reasonable time In the event -of -sickness or temporary lack of employment; or' else to adoptredequate ; mean, 'enforced by sufflolsnC. penalties, to compel steamship companlea engaged -fn tha passenger busi ness to observe In arood faith- tha law which' forbldsthem to encourag or solicit immigration to the United Btatea." - The alternative of the Commissioner's proposition our experience, .1 - think, prove to be an Illusion. No prohibition or penalties against a steemahlp company engaged In bringing Immigrant to thl country haa or Hill prove effective to ex clude theaa undealrable classes. Bo the recommendation of . the Commissioner Oeneral would be,' ao far aa practical re sults are concerned, reduced to hi first ftroposltlon, to wit,, a law excluding lllteratea. Mr. Prealdent, there he been a very marked change In the character of the Immigration to -this country during the laat thirty year. In let, 71.8 per cent., and as late a 1880 4.1 per cent., -of the entire Immigration to thla country came from northern and western Europe. They came chiefly from England, Scotland, Ireland, uermany, Norway, Sweden, and Denmark. They were an Intelligent, sturdy. Indus trious, and thrifty people. The rate of Illiteracy among' them was less than that which to-day obtains In this country. They represented the beet and hardiest element of the nationalities from which' they came. They war not adventurers, but men who sought better conditions and higher opportunities under more lib eral Institutions and laws. They were In large part descendants of the people who originally settled this country, and who, since the close .of tha civil war, have conquered the wilderness of the great West and Northwest and made that sec tion of our country ao great and powerful and rich. The governments under which J hey had been reared, while monarchical In form, were In substance In the main represen tative. By heredity and training they under stood the principles of freedom and of government by the people. iThey were Atted to become good cltlsen of the re public Those of them who did not speak our language quickly learned to speak It. They came with the purpose of finding and making a permanent home for them selves and their children. They readily adjusted themselves to our habits and customs, threw -off and dismissed forever all thought of their old allegiance, came under our flag, fell In love with our In stitutions, mingled and Intermarried with our people, and were rapidly assimilated and Americanised. In 1869, of the entire Immigration to this country only nine-tenths of 1 per cent, came from southern and eastern Europe. In tha year 1XS0 only 8.1 per cent of the entire Immigration to this country came from southern and eastern Europe. Mr. Prealdent, this situation has chang ed, and the change has brought u fare to face with a danger which we cannot afford longer to Ignore, and which calls for prompt and efficient attention on the pai't of Congress. Let us compare the present Immigration situation with that which I have Just discussed. In 1901 only 2I.S per cent and In 19O0 only ti l per cent of all the immigrants landed upon our ahorea came from northern or western Europe, while In 1901 68.4 per oent and In 1900 (W.7 per cent of this Immigra tion came from eastern and southern Europe. I have not been' able to get the exact figures for the last four years, but the proportion of Immigrants representing the hardy races of northern and western Europe has been gradually decreasing, while the proportion of Immigrant rep resenting the eastern and southern races of Europe has been rapidly Increasing. The broad fact, then, Is that about two thirds of all the Immigration to this country to-day and during recent years has come from southern and eastern Eu rope, made up largely of Greeks, Poles. Hungarians, Italians. Portuguese. Syr ians, Magyars, etc. They are a alTerent people from those who are to-day In the forefront of world progress. They belong. In the main, to a different civlllsntlnn from that represented by the Anglo-Saxon race. Their surroundings. In the main, have not been calculated to trnln or fit them for the standard of eltisenshlp which obtained In this country, and which i we must maintain If we are to safeguard and perpetuate our free Institutions. In the main they are unfitted not only by heredity and training for the high duties and responsibilities of American eltisen shlp, but the majority of them are so Ig norant, not te say sinister, as to preclude the hope of their becoming good and de- siranie citisens in the ruture. I wish to direct the sttention of the Senate briefly to the startling percentage of Illiteracy among that part of the Immi gration to this country from the countriea of southern and eastern Europe. Out of 1.O2S.O0O Immigrants who came to this country laat year, 230.8K2 could neither read nor write. I have not the statistics showing the relative percentage nf Ig norance between Immigrants from south ern and eastern Europe for the year 196, but I have a table here, which I have found In tha very valuable book on Immi gration recently published by Mr. Pres ent! P. Hall, showing the Illiteracy of Immigrants of the different races con tributing more than 2,000 Immigrants each during year 1902. 1901 and MH. Tha average Illiteracy, a shown by this tshle, among these groups taken from southern and eastern Europe whs In 1904 41 per cent, but taking the Immi grants from the onuntrle of the sections of Europe from which the hulk of Immi gration ram the rat of Illiteracy is much higher than thla general average. One hundred and elghty-lx thousand of them i L?r As I ( X! r - y-.y--' - - -Jv r .,..y t i ... i ' came from ou"thr Italy. 102,000 war Pole, 14,000' Rutbenlana, eS.OW Magyar, 1 Aftfl . n...b. . mtn TkA U. Jk IlllferSCV ef immigrants from southern Italy in 1904 was M.8 per cent.; or Pol is n immigrants, M.1; of Greek Immigrants, Z3.; of Ruth enian Immigrants. 64. Without going furl her.' Mr. President, it Will anoear from these statistics that the greater part of the Immense mas or Ignorano wnion i being annually dumped Into thl country I represented by Immigration of a few nationalities, corning chiefly ftora eastern Euro ite. - v. .,' .,- -' i ' The percentage of Illiteracy. In the group of immigrants from northern and western Europe In 1901 waa 4.4 per oent; In 1901, I per cent.t In 1904. 4 per oent., while the percentage of Illiteracy of those from southern and eastern EurOD In 190".' was 44.1; Is 1308, 39.7 per cent.; In 1904. 44.1 rtr cent. ? I have a table her showing th number of Illiterate- among the Itllans, Pole. Syrians, and Rutbenlana which arrived m New York during th year 1901. It ap pears from thl table, taken .from tha book by Hall, to which I have before re ferred, that of the southern Italians 61 per' cent." of th male and 74 par cent.. of the' females who arrived In that city In that veer did not know a letter in the book; ef the Pole so arriving that M perj cent, ot me maies ana par ceni. oi m females Were Illiterate; of the Lithuanians It wa found that (4 per cent, of tha male and 78 pep cent, of the femalea war utter ly uneducated, and of the Syrians 66 per cent, of th male and 81 per cent, of the femalea could not read and write. Mr. President, this is the character of Immigrant who are coming to our coun try at thla time, or at least 44 1-8 per cent of the Immigration thut la flowing into thl country tg-day la made up of thl class of people. I do not want to be understood a mean ing that an uneducated man an unletter ed man may not, under certain circum stances and condition, make a good cltl sen; that he may not make In some case, among the best of citisens. I know, a a matter of fact coming within my own knowledge ana experience, that some ot the best cltlsen in thl country, . certain ly some of the beat in my State, some of the thriftiest, some of the most honest, some of the most Intelligent, It you filease. ore men who do not know a letter n the book. It Is not true of tin Ameri can that because he happen to be unlet tered he is ignorant. Happily under our system of government, with our churches opfn to all, with our courts, with our hustings dlscuislons and debates, with the absence of class distinctions, bringing the unlettered ms.h In constant contact and association with the beat Intelligence Of his community, by association and ab sorption, the American cltlsen, without being educated, without school advanta ges, becomes an intelligent cltlsen, not only capable of the hlahest thrift, but capable of understanding the dutlea and responsibilities snd of exercising tha pri vileges of eltisenshlp In a country where (he people govern. But. Mr. President, these Illiterates coming to us frtmi southern Italy, from Poland,', and parts ot Austria-Hungary, these Ignorant Syrians, Poles, and Arme nians thut are pouring in upon ua year after year, have been brought up under no such environments, with no such ad vantages. From the beginning of their live up -to th time they come to the shore their association have been those of ignorance; their surroundings have been such that they could not by associa tion ahd absorption acquire sufficient knowledge or understanding to become In virtue of character are Intelligence good and oompetent citisens of a republic where every, man Is a sovereign. Coming to us, as they do, steeped in Ignorance, without any conception of the principles or iiDer ty or freedom, without any knowledge of the principles of self-government, In many Instances with their beclouded minds and depraved hearts filled with hatred toward all law 'and government, they gain noth ing by way of absorption in that knowl edite which goes toward making good and useful citizenship. -They gain- nothing after arriving by .association and contact with our people, because they do not, like the immigrants from northern and western Europe. -distribute- themselves among our people, but huddled together In mining or railroad camps or in tn slums of the' great cities, and working, when engaged In regular employment -under the padrone system, they seldom, learn to understand or speak our language, or only so far-aa may be neceseary to com municate their want or aa may be Indis pensable In the business employment or trafllo in wnicn tney may oe engagea. i repeat, living after they arrive here large ly In the slums of the great cities, or working in the railroad camps, or huddled together In the great factories generally under the paurone system, they remain to the end ot their Uvea, If they remain here that long, in a state of dense ignor ranoe, the firus of hatred toward law and order kindled In the wretched environ ment of thejr old home la never extin guished and they form the nucleus under the leadership and Incitement of a wick ed but higher Intelligence of the disor ders and riots, which are becoming a dis grace to our civilisation and a handicap to our indtistriul progress and develop ment. Mr. Prealdent, in this connection I want to read a short extract that appeared a few day ago in an editorial In the Waah Ington Post gn this subject. 1t waa an editorial intended to warn the South. In their eagerness to secure labor to supply the demand which at present exists in that section, against the class of Immi gration which I have just been discuss ing and feebly - attempting to deacrlbe. It Is as follows: "There Is no belter agricultural laboring class In the wosid than the real Latin peasantry of Italy and Spain, but they are not greatly given to Immigration, and wa see very few of them In the United States. The great bulk of the so-called 'Italians' who come over here to cut throats, throw dynamite, and conduct la bor riots and axsasslnatlon fraternities are nothing more than the degenerate progeny of the Aslatio hordes which, long centuries ago, overran the shores of the Mediterranean and were the pirates, the spoliators, and the mercenaries of those bloody ages. They have taken the language of the countries upon whose seaboard they swarm; but they are aa different In nature. In principles, In Ideals In all essential qualities from the real people as black Is from whit, or aa wick edness la from virtue. Here and there. In certain localities, one finds a colony of genuine Itnllans and la Impress id with their industry, their thrift. tblr law abiding tendencies, and their amiaol dis position. These, however, constitute but a drop. In the stream of tha immigration wo receive in the jiume of Italy. They are a clan not prone to . leave- their home. Nine-tenth ot the riff raff .array msm HE average man is not given ixnr-M ha v-t for flrnitnnlfltfnty -gnrnfthintr atralnnf th be sure, there are investments Insurance and protection' should be Life Insurance is superior to It affordi Maximum Protection at BuUtonthe 'rqw fThe One With the 7X ... . .,... J. , :,r,,.'-!J... that descend upon tbas ahore are the pawn of th Phoenician curse, expedited fervently by our great and good friend of th Quirlnal, who are only too anx lous to be rid of them," The Post further say It "I not especial ly oonoerned In the trouble ef 4ha great Northern corporations .that deliberately noouraga thla alnlster and vicious Im migration merely In order to speed their fight against organised labor;" but from the South, In whose welfare It Is pro foundly Interested, it would. If possible avert thl blight Th Post continue: -."It I not only that w know th negro to be the beat, the most faithful, and de sirable laborer for th South; it I also that w would keep th section free from the turmoil, the anarchy, and the social disaster which will surely follow hug ao cumulationa of the human garbage ship ped from southern Europe and dumped In that aa yet unpotooned air. The South la th appointed atronghold of th free institution ' for which our forefather shed their blood Let us nurse and shield It against the hour of tribulation." Again I hav here a atatement coming from one of our officials, Mr. Kraun, who was sent abroad by our own Government a short tlm ago to la vestige te question growing out of Immigration to this coun try and to report the condition In for' elgn countries with reference to emigra tion to America, to aid u In' the enact ment ef suitable and wife luws and regu lation, to the effect that "In several of th European countries It 1 th custom vto promise convicted criminal Immunity from punishment if they will Immigrate to this country or If their relative Will nd them there." I know th Senator from Vermont (Mr. Dillingham), wbo haa this bill in charge, cited statistic yeaterday to show that a large per cent. something over 90 per cent., t believe of the immigration that come here cornea with a definite location In view. That may be true, Mr. Presi dent but If you take the statistics you will find that 45.8 per cent, of them laat year came here with the definite pur pose of settling In the State of New York, which meant to them the city of New York, or in th State of Pennsylvania, which meant to them the cities of Pitts burg or Philadelphia: or In Massachu setts! which meant to them the city ot Boston; or Illinois, which meant to them Chicago; for th Ignorant portion of these Immigrant, and many of them not alto gether Ignorant oome here without hav ing heard of any part of the I'nlted State except a, few of Its great titles. When they land and are asked aa to their destination, having heard only of New York where friends who have preceded them are. they nnawr giving their des tination aa New York, or those who have only heard of Boston through their mends or Kinspeopi uy iney are going to Boston: those whose frlendn are In Philadelphia ay they are going to Phil adelphia. That la all that it means, Mr. Prealdent In moat Instances they have heard of no other place except th places where sum ot their people have gone and re residing. In connection With th present Immi gration to this country as compared with that of 90 and 80 year ago, two facts aro snaclellv noticeable: First, the disposition of that part ef thl Immigration coming from Northern ana western r.ump io distribute themselves throughout the country. x These sturdy and enterprising Immi grants when they arrive In this country act just like their predecessors linve done from the beginning or tne settlement oi this country. They come, as I said be fore, to become citisens of this country; they come to stay and to raise their child ren here, and, aa Boon as they land upon our shores they begin to distribute them selves throughout this country- Some of them go into manufacturing; some of them Into mining; some of them into farming: but they distribute themselves. But that is not true, Mr. President, with respect tn the population coming here from southern and eastern Europe, espe cially the Italian, the Pole, and the Hun garian. As atatistlca will show, those people have, aa a general tning. ennnneo themselves largely to the Atlantic sea board, and to a very few cities upon the Atlantic seaboard at that. The second specially noticeable fact with reference to this Immigration Is th strong tenden cy of Immigrants from southern and east ern Europe to congregate In the cities. And thl characteristic Is stronger In th" illiterate portion than th morer'intellt gent portion of the newcomers. The per cent, of tpe total Immigration destined for tlfe four Btatea of Illinois, Massachusetts. New York, and Pennsyl vania In the year 19T6 waa m per cent, of the toul Immigration to this country In that year, and they settled chleflv In the great cities which are located In trx-sc Statea. I find a very pertinent comment on this Immigration In the book to which I hove before referred, edited by Mr. Prescott K. Hall. Mr. Hall says: "The local congestion of the nationali ties coming fo us In the largest numbers In recent years Is another significant feat ure of immigration distribution. That this congestion Is Increasing Is snown by the following table of the Increase of na tives of certain nationalities from IK90 to 1900 In the several geographical divisions: ."Hungary North Atlantic. 78 0; South Atlantic. 1.7- North Central, 17.8: South Central. I.J; "Western. .7." "Italy North Atlantic, 77.4; South At lantic. 1.9; North Central, . 11.0; South Central. 44; Western. 8.1. "Poland-North Atlantic. 69.1: Smith Atlantic. 1.7; North Central, 1.:; West em, .7.' From this table It appears that the North Atlantlo States thus received ap proximately three-fourths of the Increase of Hungarians nod Italians, as welt as nearly three-fifths of the Poles, and most of these located lnNw York City. Phil adelphia, Brooklyn, Boston, and Balti more These races, Mr. President, as I aald before, do not distribute themselves. The do not go to the farm of the South or th farms of the West. I knew, aa a mattter of fact, that some of th South ern Statea. acting. In my judgment, upon a false and misguided notion with, refer ence to the fitness of these people to -come agricultural laborers and ultimately good cltlsen. have made an earnest effort to secure Italian immigration i but" with the exception possibly of Louisiana and that State has one of the great cltlee of th country, on of the two or three only great cltlea we have In the Southr-and, to a limited extent. Texas, the South has been unsuccessful In Its effort to Induce thes penpl to go and enter Into the agricultural pursuits of thst section of the country. I hav here another very significant tabl. which I wish to read. It Is a table showing that In 1W0 out of 147,710 persons ID) to saving, and of the few who that pay higher interest rates, but there is no investment what you are looking for. .. all other.forms of investment, Minimum Cost" and embodies ' v Easv Name9" ..'SMITH HOMANS, 'Actuary, X; t'r, l,.: l.i '....-: i " ." In y 'thla " country born In Poland about 9,000 wore living In. the ; cities of .New York d Brooklyn, and about t.000 In th -city of Buffalo, out Of a total Polish population In the Stat of New York of 12.718. So that the whole of the Polish population of that State, with th exception of llttl over 4.000, lived In th due ot Nw York. Brooklyn and Buffalo. There were In th am year. Mr. Preal dent, In the State of Illlnol 28.878 pec on of Polish birth. Of that number 26. 838 lived In the city of Chicago. It show that tha ame wo true or th Polish pop ulation of Pennsylvania, of Wisconsin, and of Michigan, and that more than 80 per cent, of all person of Polish birth In those great State live In their big cltlea "In 1890 there were 182.680 Italians In this country. Of these there were In Mas sachusetts 8.066. snd 4.799' In Suffolk county (Boston). In New York, 44,141. of which 89,961 were In New York county (city of New Yofk); Kings county (Brooklyn). 4.789. In Pennsylvania. 24.4S!, of which 6,799 were In Philadelphia count ty; Allegheny oounty (PltUburg). 8.498. In New Jeney. 12,989, of which S.698 wer In Essex county; Hudson county (Jersey City), 8.0J9. In Illinois. 8,36, of which 6.734 were In Cook county (Chicago). In Louisiana, 7,767, of which 8,822 were in Orleans county (New Orleans). In Cali fornia. 16,486, of which 6,212 were In Ban Francisco." Thla -element of the nationalities of which I am speaking not only gravitates to the great cities of which I have spoken and a few others, but they make up largely what la known aa the slum popu lation of these cities. I have here the seventh peclnl report of the United State Commissioner of Ijtbor. for 1894. in which the atatement Is made: , "That the proportion of those of foreign birth or parentage to the total population In the slums of Baltimore was 77 per cent.. In Chicago 90 per cent.. In New York 96 per cent., and In Philadel phia 91 per cent. The figures for the foreign born alone sre correspondingly striking. It ppear from the same re port (pp. l0-ltiS that of every lrt) alien 40 were Illiterate in the slum of Haiti more. 47 In Chicago, K In New York, and 81 tn Philadelphia, and that of every 100 of thes illiterate aliens there are 87 males of voting age In Baltimore. 77 in Chicago, and 78 In New York, and 6 In Philadelphia. "The proportion In which the literate and Illiterate nationalities contribute to the slum population Is shown by the fol lowing table." I now read that part of these table re ferring to the Immigrants from Austria Hungary. Italy. Poland, and Russia, the Illiterates of which races I content ought to be excluded from thla country, because ss a rule thev cannot become good citi sens of the Republic; cannot attain to the measure and standard of eltisenshlp under n self-governing system like our: Per cent, of Per cent, of Intal pop- slum pop ulation, ulntlon. Baltimore 197 12.72 Chicago 6.41 44.41 New York 4 45 61.11 Philadelphia 1 96 60S T now read from tha aame tables part referring to Immigrant from the United Kingdom. France, Oermany. and Scandi navia: Per lent, of Per cent, of total pop- slum-population, illation. , Paltlmore 18.62 Chicago 80.70 1 4 ! New York 8071 M I Philadelphia 22.95 K 44 I go that It will be een. Mr President, from these table that "southeastern i Europe furnishes three times ns many Inhabitants aa northwestern Kurope to the ' slums of Baltimore, nineteen times as , many to the alums of New York, twenty times ns many to the alums of Chicago, land seventy-one times as ninny to the slums of Philadelphia." I Mr. President. I submit thst nn element so largely Ignorant as that represented by Russian. Italian, Polish, and Austro ' Hungarian immigration, thst aii element which, when It comes to this country, seeks not tha open air and open country, but th citie and drift Into the slums ! and constitutes chiefly thst too often vl i clous and dangerous element of every I great American city, Is not a proper ele I ment for us to invite and to encourage, I to come to our shorts and to enter Into I our body politic. 1 am going to detain the Senate but a moment longer. I recognise the fact thst we have been now two days upon this bill and that the Senate is Impatient to have u vote, but before I conclude I want to s.iy Just a few words about this ques tion in connection with conditions which 'exist to-duv In the South. It has been siiid. and said truthfully, thst through out the South to-day there Is great scarc ity of labor. In my own State and I think condition there are typical of con ditions in nearly every other Btnte In the S. nth there Is what 1 might properly term a "labor famine." That has been brought about by the phenomenal develop-1 ment wbl h haa taken place In that Stnlo : during the last 26 yeurs. Twenty-live year g North Curollmi was a distinctly agricultural State Near ly her entire population were engagcl Ir, ngrlculture. At that period, with an 1 iirrji of K.tmO square miles, we hsd n population of only about l.fm.Otrt), mnnl j ft-iily an Inadequate uiulatton for so lntge an urea, even when nearly all the (people were engaged In agriculture. To day there are In North Carolina something over 7. Win separate snd distinct manufar i turlng establishments, giving employment j to over KHflOO laborers, which represents I a population of between 300,000 and 4tO. I mm. Nearly all of this army of employes I representlnx. as 1 ssy. a population of i nl-oiii 4'0.i. came fiom the farms, while ' (here has been practically no no-cessions to this population In supply this drain I except that of natural Increase. I We have had no foreign Immigration In 'North Carolina. I.ee than one-half of 1 I per mil of the people of that State are of foreign extraction. inm weiu m North Carolina last year only 182 foreign ers, and the average of the laat 26 years In a much smaller number. Nor havs we had. except to a very slight degree, immigration from other part of this ri.unlry. Ho that practlclly the whole number of these MU.OUO laliorars. represent Ing Jco.OuO or 4UO.O00 people thst huva gone Into the factories, have lieen drawn from the farms; while there have been, as I have said Before, nn accessions fiom the outside to replenish this drain Mani festly. Mr. President, from these condl. Hons there has grown up a a;tclty of labor not only on ih farm, but In the factory. As m result wa have n depleted country population nn the one timid, and on the other hund our factories have do save, only a small percentage become wealthy. The thrifty man finds it eas- iiatlon , Ufe Insurance is the most satisfactory system the "ralnv ddv" that mmet' to 1 T so is tne superb INCOME iiMUUMim y ruia-x superior more attractive features than GREENbHUKU M V. 4 ' '( ;.k. : --.-;..v about exhausted tha source from which thsy hav heretofore drawn their aupply, Thl haa brought about a labor acramble between th farmer and the manufactur er, and -tha resulting condition is .that aelther one of theee great eeeuo&Uon san continue much longer to enlarge and ex- fiand It operation without proportionate y contracting the operation of tha other, W need more labor In the South.- W need more labor In North Carolina, and I want to aay here to-day that th door of North Carolina are open to any Intelli gent and honest cltlsen of this country who may-wish to go there and cast Ms lot with our people. They are wide open to any foreigner of the white race who may desire to go there, Just so he bring with him a good character and sufficient Intelligence and conscience to discharge well the duties ot eltisenshlp- Just ao he Is willing when he come to become one of our people and to make that hla home, adopt our custom and habits, and be assimilated Into our population. Let him oome with sufficient Intelligence and character and disposition to understand and comprehend tha principles, of our government and to make a good cltlten, and our doors will be open to him. But, Mr. President, I think I know the people of my State well enough to say that thev would rether move along handi capped as they are In th devlopme of tnclr area i reNouice by Inadequate la bor than to see Injected Into our popula tion the element that I have deacrlbed and who constitute to-day such a large per cent, ot th alum population of the great cities ot th country and forment trouble and discord wherever they go. I hav ranvaaaed thl thing thoroughly with the people of my State. Durtng the laat eighteen months I have agitated In North Carolina In favor of Immigration to the State. With this end In view, 1 Introduced a bill In the last Congress al most Identical with th provisions wdilrh are Incorporated In th present bill, pro vldins for a bureau of display and In foe mutlon at Elll Island, with a view to give the agents of tho State cces to th Immigrants as they land at that Is land. I have gone before the people of my Slate, and I have aald: "You have to supply this demand for more labor from outside of the State. There Is difficulty In getting It here In the United States. The mnln chance and the best chance Is scross the water. Iet us go sfter thra.' Whenever I have, said It and wherever I have said It. I have been met with the nswer. "That I alright, provided there I due discrimination In the (election be tween the representative southern Italian western and those from southern and eastern Kurope who are coming to this country; but we do not went the Ignorant and vicious and undesirable, th scum and riffraff of Kurope. dumped upon ua" I know they do not want and will not ha -e. if they can prevent k. th Pole. Hungarians, Byrtan. and that cla of Italian hirh crns'.ltut so large a part of the Immigration to this country to ar.y. Mr President, I distinguish between the outhern Italian and the northern Imhsn and bo do the people of my HtUx The northern Italian Is largely of a dif ferent race. H Is generally of pure Lat in extraction. He is docile; he Is law abiding: he Is Industrious: he Is thrifty; The southern Italians, whll they bear the name Italian, are really, except In rare Instance, of different extraction. They represent largely a different rae. a different nationality. They repreeent races that overran that eountry agea ago and settled on Its seaboard. They hav acquired the language of the country and taken Its nsme, but they sre. in th main, sprung from races that have never attained! to the highest Italian standards. Again. Mr President, I distinguish be tween the representstlve southern Italln and the riffraff being recruited by greedy steamship lines and certain othr surrep titious influences both In this country and in Italy and brought across th seas and dumped uonn us. and so do the people of my Btate. They do not represent the best lement of southern Italy. They are largely the undesirables many of them the scum of that unhappy and unfortu nate country. The real peasant farmers of southern Italy possess many excellent trails and they would not. In the main, be undesirable. But hese do not com here They remain In their own country. It la the Ignorant element, the unde slrable element, the scum element, not only of southern Italy, but of all aouthern ONE REASON WHY There 1 on eapeclally practical reaaori why you should send your Dyeing and Cleaning to us. That reason 1b the fact that we have successfully demonatrated our ability to produce the highest grade of work a fact that cannot be overlooked by tntendanf patrons. Th strongest guarantee of satisfaction that wa can of fer Is th customer w have pleased ak your neighbor. Out equipment 1 second to none, and coupled with more than ordinary pains and skill, bespeaks for you work of the highest class, Onr French Process of Dry Cleaning la especially recommended for ladles' Gowns, Olnves, Slippers, Pnrago and Household Draperies, CHARLOTTE STEAM LAUNDRY j LAUNDERERS. DYERS. CLEANERS.. I 219 South Tryon , Street Rflrirrtfnrnriniwn nnnuu over 00 oer cent Of American business men. To on earth that can give the1 protection afforded by Life - ' - . . any other Life Insurance contract on-'Wmaim. , , - . . X X.yXX? xompahy: and eastern Europe,, that I k Tr tm amendment to exclude. '' ' Mr. President, we hav to-hv om standard to. exclude .thee element. V w us. It ..-. devlc based, hcwvr. : on. . principle .fundamental In th affair tf men and eevernment to accomplish s gpaclno end and . food purpoaa. -.' , -. ' ' I do ndt believe that ahybody la Inter ested In bringing1 thla Ignorant horde here except the great corporation, who want cheap labor, and "oftentimes ar Indlffer ent as to where', tney. get 'it and . th steamship companies,, . wha want the . profit accruing . from their transporta tion and do not car What ar th conse quence to thl country: These ar large- ; ly responsible for their coming, profit la th motive on their part for bringing -them. The motives' of the' average Imml- .', , grant of tK nationalltiea I hav referred to In coming here. are not th motive . . that prompted th men who ettld -and '.r; have helped to make thla country treat , snd rich and powerful. Their- motive tn . -coming la not to become ctUsena. They -. . come with th fixed purpose and the;:'' reservation of g-olng back. . They come , for sordid gain. They come for tn frur-:.- -,: pose of competition with American labor, and the competition which follows their-., coming- Is 'a competition which tend, to y , reduce, the scale of American wage add '...- the standard of American living - -. I trust. Mr. President, the Senate' Witt ,, see this matter ea I see It. and that thlg amendment msy be .adopted; "t :'--- , , yr .'-' Should Prrarrve Onr Blatory, ." Sonford Kxprese. ' North Carc-Unn. haa tnnd a hlgtory ' , f . that her people should be proud- of, v but they ara not as careful about . preserving; It as they ahould b. Much , . hUtory that we have preserved I call- .f , ed into nuestlon bv other Statea. The Charlottes. Observer haa proven ltaelfr "" e champion of State history and . haa from time to time had to defend ' the Meckljtnburg Declaration of In- ' . dependencxi. It seem that Prealdent !, Rooevclt believes the Mecklenburg , -' Dclaratlon. genuine when he aent th 'f Marine Bakd and troops to help ob .. , serve It anniversary. The Obaervef has also had to champion the claim""."?'.,'" that' Andrew Jackson wa born tlx v North Carolina. He waa born nar ' , J the line In thla State. rtn vmir best for vouv haaa ar ha mar do without yon. I FOR ARTISTIC WAll PAPERS j SEE T Paint&Wall Paper Co. J0 N. Tryon. w au jUi r;,;; ORRENCE r i- .'-1 - r-t ':i i , ... j J. " I -,'."' . V '.'
The Charlotte Observer (Charlotte, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
June 3, 1906, edition 1
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