Speech #590091388

An increased head tax means a larger immigrant fund and more effective administration of existing laws and better care of immigrants. It helps also to keep the steerage passage rate to the United States at a figure which brings it somewhere near the rate to other countries to which immigrants are likely to go. The head tax is generally paid by the steamship companies. who. by their agents. solicit immigrants to come to our country. When warm steamship rivalry occurs the steerage rates may be dropped to $10. or even less. as they did in the summer of 1904. and such reductions bring a large influx of very poor and generally undesirable aliens. as was the case last year. The increased head tax also keeps the steerage passage above the level of pauper rates. and is one of the few practical methods of reducing or limiting the rush of undesirable immigrants. While the head tax would not prevent all undesirable immigrants from coming to our country. it would doubtless prevent many of the incompetent and undesirable immigrants from coming. and it is believed that it will deter shipment of paupers and criminals as has been done in violation of law with the connivance of certain authorities abroad. and for the purposes of aiding immigration ship companies. In the pending bill the classes of aliens excluded from admission into the United States have been increased by excluding imbeciles and feebleminded persons. The two classes just named are not in the act of 1903. and have never before been in any of our immigration laws. The act of March 3. 1903. which is the existing law. excludes idiots. but does not exclude imbeciles and feebleminded persons. There are a good many immigrants who are certified by medical Inspectors as being feebleminded. and who should certainly be debarred by law. No distinction should be made between the idiotic and the feebleminded. The latter are as undesirable an addition to our population as the former. and it is as injurious and as improper to add to the American race the children of feebleminded parents as of idiotic parents. We should therefore exclude imbeciles and feebleminded persons as well as idiots. The pending bill also excludes persons who are found to be and are certified by the examining surgeons as being mentally or physi.cally defective to an extent that will affect the ability of such alien to earn a living. That is a very important amendment. and one which I think will reach a very large class of immigrants who seek to come to our country. Indeed. when we exclude Imbeciles and feebleminded persons. and when we exclude also those who are certified by the examining surgeon to be mentally or physically defective to an extent that will affect the ability of such alien to earn a living. we will exclude a large number. Thousands of aliens are recorded annually as being mentally or physically so defective that their ability to earn a living is thereby interfered with. yet most of them have been admitted because there is no specific clause in our existing law which excludes them. The mental or physical condition of an immigrant is a matter of great importance both as regards his ability. to earn a living and also the health of and future of his descendants. The aliens who are mentally or physically defective usually shun the country. where they will be required to perform manual labor. and crowd into the city tenements. where they contract and disseminate diseases. One of the great dangers to our country from alien immigrants is that a large class of immigrants have been coming to our country in the last few years whose physique is much below American standards. Our best insurance against race decadence is to be found in good laws. which will give us only honest. industrious. healthy. and fit immigrants who appreciate our institutions and who will. like the immigrants who came to our country for so many years. quickly assimilate with our customs. aspirations. and interests. We pay especial attention in our country to Improvement In the breeding of our live stock of every description. and it would be just as unreasonable to claim that we will not lower American standards by admitting to our country immigrants that are of lower standards than ours as it is to assert that the breeding of the thoroughbred Kentucky horses will not be injured by breeding them with Texas mustangs. One of the most important provisions in the pending bill. and one that will accomplish great good. is that provision which makes it a misdemeanor for any person. company. partnership. or corporation in any manner whatever to prepay the transportation. or to in any way assist or encourage the importation or migration of any alien into the United States in pursuance of an offer. solicitation. or agreement made previous to the importation of such alien to perform labor or service of any kind in the United States. and the transportation companies or owner or owners of vessels. or others engaged In transporting aliens into the United States. are not allowed directly or indirectly. either by writing. printing. or oral representations. to solicit or encourage the immigration of aliens into the United States. and transportation companies are only permitted to Issue circulars or advertisements stating the sailings of their vessels and terms and facilities of transportation. and for a violation of the foregoing provisions any such transportation company and any owner or owners of vessels engaged in transporting aliens into the United States shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor. and shall. on conviction. be punished by a fine of not less than $100 nor more than $1.000 for each and every offense. or by imprisonment for a term of not less than three months nor more than two years. or by both such fine and imprisonment. and every master. agent. owner or consignee of any vessel who shall bring into the United States by vessel or otherwise any allen not duly admitted by an immigrant inspector. or not lawfully entitled to enter the United States. shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be subject to the same penalties as just stated. One of the distressing results of our present immigration system is the large number of aliens who are denied admission after they have made their journey across the ocean.. During the last year. according to the statement of Hon. Frank P. Sargent. United States CommissionerGeneral of Immigration. 11.879 immigrants were denied admission to our country out of over 1.000.000 that arrived. and were returned to the country whence they came. These persons were paupers. convicts. immoral characters. diseased persons. and persons who came in violation of the alien contractlabor law. and the United States CommissionerGeneral of Immigration also says: Of the number that were landed. there were many who were afterwards found to be undesirable and here in violation of law. The immigration conference recently held at New York heartily Indorsed the excellent method of reducing the number of the debarred aliens when it recommended that a fine be imposed on the steamship companies for each immigrant who is inspected and rejected in our country under existing law after arrival. It is believed that the provisions of the pending bill to which I have referred. will go very far toward forcing the steamship companies to cease their solicitation of immigrants. and cause thousands of undesirable or doubtful aliens. who otherwise could have been brought to our country in grdat numbers. to be debarred. In this connection I wish to say the substitute of the Senator from Massachusetts for the amendment of the Senator from South Carolina Is meritorious and seems to be unanimously indorsed. It provides that admission into the United States shall be denied to all immigrants over 16 years of age. who can not read the English language or some other language. The last section of the pending bill to which I refer Is the section which was prepared with much care and which. I think. is needed by the people of all the States and Territories in the UnIon..and especially by the people in the Southern States. It Is as follows: Authority Is hereby given the CommissionerGeneral of Immlgration to establish. under the direction and control of the Secretary of Commerce and Labor. a division of Information in the Bureau of Immigration. The Secretary of Commerce and Labor shall appoint a chief of such division and such clerical assistants as may be necessary. It shall be the duty of said division to promote a beneficial distribution of aliens admitted into the United States among the several States and Territories desiring Immigration. Correspondence shall be had with the proper officials of the States and Territories. and said division shall gather from all available sources useful information regarding the resources. products. and physical characteristics of each State and Territory. the character of the climate and soil. the prices of lands. the routes of travel and cost of transportation. the opportunities of employment In skilled and unskilled occupations. the prevailing rates of wages. the cost of living. and all other information that may tend to aid aliens in selecting a place of residence. and shall publish such information In different languages and distribute the same among all admitted aliens at the immigrant stations of the United States and to such other persons and societies as may desire the same. When any State or Territory appoints and maintains at Its own expense an agent to represent it at any of the immigrant stations of the United States. such agent shall. under regulations prescribed by the CommissionerGeneral of Immigration. subject to the approval of the Secretary of Commerce fnd Labor. have access to aliens who have been admitted to the United States for the purposes of presenting. either orally or in writing. the special inducements offered by such State or Territory to aliens to settle therein. and the CommissionerGeneral of Immigralion may. when practicable. provide space at the various immigrant stations for displays by such agents of the resources and products of their respective States and Territories. While on duty at any immigrant station. such agent shall be subject to all the regulations prescribed by the CommissionerGeneral of Immigration. who. with the approval of the Secretary of Commerce and Labor. may. for violation of any such regulations. deny to the agent guilty of such violation any of the privileges herein granted. The expense of carrying the provisions of this section into effect shall be paid out of the "Immigrant fund." I call the attention of the Senator from New Jersey to that section of the proposed law which I have just read. and which relates to the question he asked me.