Speech #630133795

Chairman. this is a good bill. and I am heartily in favor of every one of its provisions. It is said of us that we as a nation are less patriotic than of yore. that if conditions similar to those which preceded the Revolutionary War. when the hand of the oppressor was grievous and hard to bear. prevailed today. there would be no revolution. because patriotism burns but dimly in our breasts. and that day by day. as a people. we care less for our country and its institutions. A writer gives as his reason for this supposed condition the number of immigrants coming to this country. without a spark of love for the homeland and even less for the country to which they come. These alien people gather in our larger cities. and by precept and example debauch and degrade our citizens. They are here but a few years when they are allowed to vote for city officials. members of the State legislature. Members of Congress. governors. judges of our courts. and President of the United States. Their influence reaches far into the very life of our Government and is certainly not uplifting. Personally I am sure where the foreign born are not a large part of the population our people love our country and revere its flag as much or more than in the days gone by. Be this as it may. this I know: When our forefathers came here the very best and most patriotic people of Europe were coming to our shores. with zealous hearts. longing for a country in which they might find peace. prosperity. and happiness. But now conditions have changed. and of the million or more immigrants coming to our country every year at least 80 per cent are of a very low type of humanity. who care very little. or not ut all. for the welfare of this Nation. and by association and amalgamation with our people lower the standard of our LI- 172 citizenship: " The healthy. strong. intelligent foreigner I would welcome to our land. but I am opposed to making this country an asylum for the undesirables of all the world. We say within ourselves that conditions may improve. but instead they are rapidly getting worse. The deplorable political and financial conditions of the eastern and southern countries of Europe. coupled with the prosperous condition of the United States. creates a large natural emigration to our shores. The most convincing proof in the eyes of the people of these countries of the exceptional prosperity of our country is the large sums of money. almost unprecedented to them. which annually arrive from friends and relatives residing in the United States. Besides this natural emigration. however. we are burdened with a dangerous and most injurious unnatural emigration which from year to year assumes larger proportions. This unnatural emigration consists of paupers and assisted emigrants. and is induced and brought about by the unscrupulous and greedy activity displayed by a large number of agencies and subagencies having wellestablished connections in the United States and abroad. apparently unknown to the steamship companies. which activity manifests itself in the peddling of steamship tickets and prepaids on the installment plan. both here and abroad. the constant agitation and offers of inducements by subagents in Europe. occupying semipublic positions. who. in order to earn commissions. play upon the ignorance and susceptibility of the plain peasant. frequently inducing him to sell or mortgage all his belongings for the purpose of raising the necessary traveling expenses. which latter transaction is also turned to profit by such agent. In my own State the foreignborn criminal and insane cost the State of Pennsylvania. every two years. more than $4.000.000. This does not include the foreignborn poor confined in our poorhouses and jails. The Pennsylvania Legislature for the two years ending June 30. 1913..appropriated to the various State. semiState. and private institutions $15.57S.553.78. Twentyseven per cent of this amount. or about $4.000.000. were expended for the maintenance of the foreign born who were in the various institutions of our State. On December 31. 1911. there were in the eastern penitentiary 1.350 and in the western penitentiary 980 convicts. making a total of 2.330. About 28 per cent of these were foreigners.