Speech #600006397

They come. find employment at what seems to them fabulous wages. write letters home: and so the process goes on and on. until some of the rural districts of such countries as Italy and Hungary are almost depopulated. Now Greece and Turkey are becoming involved in the same influences. and even the fastnesses of the mountainous districts of Bulgaria. Servia. and Montenegro are beginning to respond. all of which is exemplified by figures showing increases in immigration from those countries during the past yearItaly sending 12.611. AustriaHungary. 73.314. Greece. 17.091. Turkey (European and Asiatic). 12.956. and Bulgaria. Servia. and Montenegro (combined). 6.693 more than in 1906. This is an influence which it is difficult. if not impossible. to reckon. That it is a telling. If not the most important. factor in the production of immigration there can be no doubt. The worst of it Is that there are evidences that this endlesschainletter scheme is seized upon by the promoters and money lenders to further their interests. and no opportunity lost to encourage both the writing and the extensive disseinnation of such missives. When this is done the line is passed between natural and forced immigration. and the machinations of the promoter and usurer become a menace to the alien directly and to the welfare of this country incidentally. Our Government has recently taken some further steps to check the immigration of undesirable classes. The act of February 20. 1907. has drawn more closely the lines in regard to contract labor. In his annual report the Secretary of Commerce and Labor says on this point: Both the act of March 3. 1903. and the new act contain an exception to the aliencontractlabor provisions permitting States and Territories to advertise " the inducements they offer for Immigration." By the act of March 3. 1903. there was Included In the enumeration of excluded aliens " any person whose ticket or passage Is paid for with the money of another. or who is assisted by others to come. unless it is affirmatively and satisfactorily shown that such person does not belong to one of the foregoing excluded classes." but by the new act there has been added to the requirements concerning aliens whose passage is paid by others the burden of also showing affirmatively and satisfactorily " that said ticket or passage was not paid for by any corporation. association. society. municipality. or foreign government. either directly or indirectly." Neither in the new act nor In any of the preceding acts is there any prohibition of. or atithority for. the payment of an aliens passage by a State or. by an individual. nor has the attempt been made to definitely limit the extent to which a State may proceed in advertising the inducements such State offers for immigration. In the practical administration of the law. therefore. many ques. tions must arise to which the statutes furnish no direct. adequate answer.. *Some such questions are the following: " Is it permissible for an Individual to pay the passage of an allen? May a State pay the passage? If so. may the payment be made from funds contributed. directly or indirectly. to the State by corporations. societies. associations. or Individuals. or must such payment be made out of State funds collected through ordinary channels? May the advertisements of the State. printed and published In any foreign country. hold forth to prospective Immigrants assurances of employment? May the State. as a factor of its advertising. send representatives Into foreign countries to solicit immigration personally and by oral representations. or must the advertising in which the State Is permitted to engage be limited to advertisements printed and published in the ordinary sense-. e.. by publications in newspapers. magazines. etc.? What meaning should be attached to the expression induced or solicited to migrate to this country by offers or promises of employment? In other words. what constitutes a solicitation of immigration?" These questions indicate a few of the complicated comlinatlons of circumstances that arise to which obviously it is extremely difficult to apply obscure provisions of law that must be interpreted by deductive methods of reasoning. * * * To leave to administrative construction the application of the law to a subject of such great importance. so complicated in details. and affecting such varied and extensive Interests as this one. is but inviting discontent and criticism. and the necessity for mandatory legislation which will clarify the statutes is obvious. The law should state clearly. in terms incapable of misconception. and not leave to the uncertainties of deductive reasoning. the exact Intent of the legislature. not only as to the exception in favor of States advertising their Inducements. but also concerning the extent to which a State may proceed and the methods which it may adopt to make its advertisements productive of an increase in population by securing alien settlers. We have not done enough as yet in the way of restricting immigration. Other measures must be devised to check this influx of undesirable people. Something more will have to be done to keep the pauper labor of other countries from invading this country. The Government has in its possession irrefutable proof.that the invasion of the country by the hordes of unskilled and illiterate denizens of southern Europe is encouraged by their respective governments. and in almost every instance the object of such classes is to accumulate all they can and return to their native land. but under no circumstances to acquire American citizenship. Let me present two extracts from the reports of Inspector Marcus Braun. of the Department of Commerce and Labor.