Speech #600134597

This was an increase of over 11 per cent of the previous year (1.100.735). which was also preceded by a banner year. It is true that for the past fiscal year. ending June 30 last. Immigration decreased to 782.S70 plus 141.825 "nonimmigrant" aliens. Of this number. only 63.128 had ever been in the United States before. This would leave a new net alien addition to our population of at least 708.840 foreigners for 1908. and it is the assimilation and Americanization of these vast hordes. ever increasing in larger and larger influxes with the return of prosperous times. that constitutes our immigration problem. About 80 per cent of the present immigration comes from extremely southern and eastern Europe and western Asia. whereas a quarter of a century ago we received practically no emigrants from these sections. This immigration is composed of Slav and Iberic or Mediterranean races. far less capable of amalgamation and absorption than the kindred peoples of northwest Europe which used to come to us and made such good frontiersmen. As a matter of fact. it is the coming and comi petition of these aliens. with their low standards of living. that have caused the decline in the number of assimilative Baltic peoples. As to the percentage of ablebodied. strongminded men and women. it is difficult to speak with any statistical accuracy. The present laws are designed somewhat to keep out the weakminded and weak bodied. but under its present administration most of them either escape detection. owing to the superficial inspection. or are admitted under bond. This is well shown by the fact that at least one insane or weakminded. newly landed immigrant is picked up in two boroughs of New York City every day. and also the fact that the States of Massachusetts and New York deliver every day into the hands of immigration authorities from three to four immigrants for deportation. who have become public charges. generally within two or three months after landing. I would call attention to the last report of Theodore Bingham. police commissioner of New York. as showing the insufficiency of our present laws or their lax enforcement when it comes to dealing with the criminal immigrant: We are trying to handle medieval criminals. men In whose blood runs the spirit of the vendetta. by modern AngloSaxon procedure. It is wrong to allow these people to slip into this country. But besides allowing this we give them. once in. every chance to work their blackmail without getting caught.