Of the first admissions to the hospitals 2.006 out of 3.221 residents of the city were of foreign birth. that is. 64.1 per cent. although the foreignborn population is but 40.4 per cent of the whole. It will be argued by the defenders of this bill that the cause of this situation. which .has already cost the State of New York $4.000.000 to care for the alien insane. is the result of negligence in tile examination of intending imniigraits by the steamship companies. There is no question that this argument is based on fact. but I believe that even an examination by the Governments own physicians. either at the port of sailing or at the port of debarkation. will not reveal the hidden or hereditary disease in all cases. nor will it reveal the criminal tendency of the immigrant. if he has one. if the story of his past life is to be based upon his own account. without verification from those in official position who know the facts. That this is a necessary precaution is attested by the fact that on January 1. 1910. there were 20.970 foreignborn prisoners out of the 136.472 persons incarcerated in the penal institutions of the country. and during that year out of 493.434 committals to those institutions 98.532 were foreign born. This large class of criminals. hereditary or otherwise. evaded both the steamship and the Government inspectors and landed on the soil of this country principally. I believe. because the law and the practice enabled them to conceal. willfully in most cases. the fact that they were not desirables.
Keywords matched
immigrant foreign born