Speech #610103421

I love this Republic. I love free government. based upon equality and popular suffrage. I would not allow illiterate immigrants to go to Texas or to go to the State of New York. not because I am prejudiced against them. but because I am biased in favor of free government. As an illustration of how rapidly our population is increasing by means of immigration. let me say that according to the last census there were 16 States of the Union that had a total population of 5.559.899. It will thus be seen that we have admitted to the United States in the past fifteen years more Immigrants from Italy. Russia. and AustriaHungary than the entire population of 16 sovereign States. At the taking of the last census. in 1900. there were 45 States in the -Union. The average population of these States was 1.441.932. It will thus be seen that foreign immigration Into the United States for the past ten years has been equal to five average States of the Union. with nearly a million immigrants left over. Three Territories have been admitted into the Union as States since the taking of the last census in 1900. These Territories at that time had a total population of 716.572. The coming into the Union of this population by admission of Territories to statehood met with strenuous opposition from leaders of the Republican party. For the year 1907 there were admitted into the Union from Italy. Russia. and AustriaHungary alien immigrants to the number of 883.126. and the leaders of the Republican party made no protest or objection. It will be seen that for a single year we annexed a population from Italy. Russia. and AustriaHungary as large as the population of five sovereign States of the Union. as shown by the last census. with nearly enough immigrants left over to equal the population of the Territory of Arizona. The CommissionerGeneral of Immigration in his report for the year 1907 says: It Is estimated that about 47 per cent of our population is due to Immigration since colonial times. The nationalities shown in chart would. therefore. practically represent the origins of 47 per cent of the population. It will be seen by reference to chart. however. that until very recent times immigration was almost entirely from the Teutonic and Celtic countries of northern and western Europe. principally Germany and the United Kingdom. Previous to 1820. although no immigration statistics were collected. it is known that the people who came to this country during colonial times and after were also from northern and western Europe. Thus the great mass of our population Is of Teutonic and Celtic origin. with a considerably greater proportion of the former. A change in the source of immigration. it will be seen. however. commenced about 1882 and has assumed enormous proportions during the past eight years. until now 76 per cent of our immigration comes from the Slavic and Iberic countries of southern and eastern Europe. more than 070.000 having arrived from those countries during the past year. And again this report says: What will be the effect If the present phenomenal immigration continues is a question that Is constantly being asked. With regard more particularly to quantity. the question may be answered by the following Illustration: China proper is the thickly populated portion of the Chinese Empire and Is the country popularly thought of as representing the limit of density of population. With a nct Increase to our population by immigration of 1.000.000 per annum. which is less than the present rate. and the present rate of natural increase (14.66 per cent per decade). the United States would reach the density of China proper in about four generations. or. more particularly. In one hundred and thirtyfour years. at which time we would have a population of 950.000.000. Not only is the total number of illiterates among immigrants into the United States increasing. but the percentage that illiteracy bears to the total immigration is also increasing. An analysis of the last fifteen years. for which we have complete immigration data. amply demonstrates the truth of this statement. Dividing the fifteen years into three fiveyear periods. we find that for the first period. from 1893 to 1897 inclusive. there were. on an average. 15 illiterates out of every 100 immigrants. For the fiveyear -period from 1898 to 1902. inclusive. the average for those years is 21 illiterates out of every 100 immigrants. and for the five years from 1903 to 1907 inclusive. the average illiteracy was 22 illiterates out of every 100 immigrants. In his report for the year 1907 the CommissionerGeneral of Immigration says with reference to illiteracy: Of those admitted. 337.573 could neither read nor write and 5.229 could read but not write. the corresponding figures for the year 1906 being 265.068 and 4.755. respectively. the figures being exclusive of aliens aged less than 14 years. By taking the total number of those over 14 years of age arriving during the year. 1.147.005. and comparing that number with 343.402. the total of.those who could neither read nor write and those who could read but could not write. it is found that about 30 per cent were illiteratean increase of 2 per cent over the percentage shown in 1906. viz. 28 per cent. which was an increase of 2 per cent over that of the preceding year. Mr. Chairman. the Immigration question is of the first importance to those who believe in free government and who are striving to maintain the great American Republic as a governmental fabric of liberty and equality. We ought to quarantine this Government against ignorance and vice as we do against the bubonic plague. We ought to keep out those who are incapable of selfgovernment. because it will require all the intelligence and patriotism we possess to govern ourselves without being embarrassed with an ignorant foreign population to be made the tool of the selfish rich.