Chapter XII: Introduction

I. The question of further restricting immigration to the United
States by an educational test gains in importance from the
alleged impairment of American institutions and standards by
immigration.

II. The following explanations will aid in the discussion of the
question:--

A. Immigration to the United States means the migrating of people
into the United States for the purpose of permanent
residence. (Century Dictionary.)

B. The restrictive measures now in force are as follows:--

1. Idiots, insane persons, paupers, convicts, diseased
persons, anarchists, polygamists, women for immoral
purposes, assisted aliens, contract laborers, and the
Chinese are excluded. (Statutes of the United States.)

2. A head tax of four dollars is imposed. (Ibid.)

C. The proposed restrictive measure is as follows:--

1. Every immigrant to the United States between the ages of
fifteen and fifty must be able to read and write a few
sentences of some language. (Congressional Record, Vol.
XXVIII, page 5421.).

III. The points to be determined seem to be:--

A. Is there a need for further restriction of immigration?

B. If there is such a need, would the educational test accomplish
this further restriction in a proper manner?

DISCUSSION.

I. There is great need for further restriction of immigration,
because

A. The character of the immigrants since 1880 has greatly changed
for the worse, for

1. Before 1880 most of the immigrants were earnest, energetic
people from northern and western Europe. (International
Encyclopaedia, under Immigration.)

2. At the present time seventy and one-half per cent. of the
total number of immigrants are from the unenergetic
people of southern and eastern Europe. (Ibid.)

3. More immigrants have become paupers than was formerly the
case, for

a. Prior to 1880 there were comparatively few paupers among
the immigrants. (Ibid.)

b. At present the percentage of pauperism among the
foreigners here is four times as great as among the
natives. (Ibid.)

4. While the Germans, English, and other immigrants from
northern Europe who came here before 1880 were moral and
upright, the present immigrants from southern Europe have
a low code of morals, for

a. The moral degeneracy of the races of southern Europe is
well known. (Henry Rood, Forum, Vol. XIV, page 116.)

5. Crime among foreigners in this country has increased
immensely, for

a. In 1905 twenty-eight per cent, of our criminals were of
foreign birth. (Report of the Commissioner-General of
Immigration for 1905.)

6. Illiteracy among immigrants has greatly increased, for

a. In 1905 the percentage of illiterates of foreign birth
was twenty-six. (Ibid.)

b. Many of the present immigrants are illiterates from
southern Italy. (S. E. Moffett, Review of Reviews,
Vol. 28, page 55.)

B. The condition of the cities and especially of their slum
districts is alarming, for

1. The number of immigrants is increasing astonishingly,
inasmuch as,

a. 8,385 immigrants arrived in 1820.

b. 788,992 immigrants arrived in 1882.

c. 1,026,499 immigrants arrived in 1905. (Report of
Commissioner-General of Immigration, 1905. page 42.)

2. Two-thirds of the total number of immigrants in 1902
settled in the cities. (Editorial in Outlook, Vol. LXXI,
page 154.)

3. These congested districts foster unsanitary conditions,
physical degeneration, and crime. (Deputy Clerk of
Children's Court, New York City, North American Review,
Vol. CLXXIX, page 731.)

4. Charitable organizations are unable to cope with the
problems in congested districts, for

a. The number of immigrants is increasing too rapidly.
(Report of Commissioner-General of Immigration, 1905.)

C. The present immigration is politically harmful, for

1. Immigrants of the kind that are now coming in do not make
good citizens, because

a. They are indifferent to civic manners, for

1'. They cannot appreciate the spirit of American
government, as has previously been shown.

b. They are easily influenced in all political affairs by
pecuniary persuasion, for

1'. Their sole object in this country is to acquire
wealth. (Prescott F. Hall, Secretary of the
Immigration Restriction League, Annals of American
Academy, Vol. XXIV, page 172.)

D. The number of immigrants is too great to be assimilated
properly, since

1. Most of the immigrants are extremely clannish, for

a. "Little Italies," "Little Hungaries," and "Ghettos,"
exist in great numbers and size throughout the United
States. (Henry Rood, Forum, Vol. XIV, page 114.)

2. Most of the immigrants never try to learn the English
language, for

a. They have no need for it, since

1'. They seldom come in contact with English-speaking
people. (Ibid.)

3. Their tendency is not to become citizens, for

a. Thirty-one per cent. of the immigrants return home after
having been here a few years. (Report of the
Commissioner-General of Immigration, 1905.)

b. Those who remain cannot for the most part appreciate our
government, for

1'. They have been continually trodden upon in their
home countries.

2'. They have had no opportunity to interest themselves
in government. (N. S. Shaler, Atlantic Monthly,
Vol. LXXI, page 646.)

4. The argument that because we were able to assimilate the
immigrants in the past we shall be able to do so in the
future, is unsound, for

a. The character of the present immigrants has changed, as
shown previously.

b. In the future we may expect a much larger immigration.
(Prescott F. Hall, Annals of American Academy, Vol.
XXIV, page 172.)

E. Immigrants lower the standards of American labor, because

1. They create harmful competition, since

a. More immigrants are coming now than we really need, for

I'. In 1906 at least 200,000 aliens came here who were
of no use whatever. (Commissioner of Immigration
for New York, Popular Science Monthly, Vol. LXVI,
page 175.)

b. They work for lower wages than do Americans, for

1'. They are able to live more cheaply. (Henry Rood,
Ibid.)

2'. They place a lower value on their labor. (T. V.
Powderly, North American Review, Vol. CXLVII, page
165.)

2. They tend to destroy the independence of the American
laborer, for

a. They work under conditions that no American laborer will
tolerate, for

1'. They create degrading forms of employment. (W. H.
Wilkins, Nineteenth Century, Vol. XXX, page 588.)

b. Their selfish desires keep them from organizing with
American laborers for protection.

II. The educational test would accomplish the further restriction of
immigration in a proper manner, for

A. It would change the character of the immigrants for the
better, since

1. It would keep out the unenergetic races of southern and
eastern Europe, because

a. Ninety-three per cent, of illiterates come from southern
and eastern Europe. (International Encyclopaedia,
under Immigration.)

2. It would decrease the amount of pauperism, for

a. The southern Italians, who are the most illiterate,
produce the most pauperism. (Ibid.)

3. It would raise the standard of morality, since

a. Ignorance is closely coupled with immorality, for

1'. The southern Italians have a very low standard of
living in the United States. (Henry Rood, Forum,
Vol. XIV, page 116.)

b. The educational test would exclude such people.

4. It would decrease the amount of crime, for

a. It would keep out most of the immigrants from southern
Europe, for

1'. Ninety-three per cent, of the illiterates come from
this source.

b. The criminal tendencies of people from southern Europe
are well known. (Henry Rood, Ibid.)

B. The educational test would improve the condition of the
cities, for

1. They would be more sanitary and less criminal, since

a. These evils are due largely to congestion.

b. Under this test the cities would be less congested, for

1'. Immigration would be reduced twenty-two and six
tenths per cent.

2'. Educated immigrants are not likely to settle in the
slums.

c. If the cities were less congested, charitable societies
could remove more evils from the slums, and in time
even eliminate the slums.

C. The educational test would aid the country politically, for

1. We should receive only those immigrants who are
intellectually capable of becoming good citizens, for

a. Education enables a man to become interested in the
government in which he lives.

2. Bribery would cease, for

a. Greed for small amounts of money is not so strong among
the intelligent. (Prescott F. Hall, Ibid.)

D. The educational test would aid the work of assimilation, for

1. It would bar to a great extent the clannish immigrants, as

a. Clannishness is largely a result of superstition and
ignorance. (Henry Rood, Ibid.)

2. It would practically force the immigrants to learn the
English language, for

a. Their clans broken up, they would naturally come in
contact more and more with English-speaking people.

3. It would produce among the foreign-born element of the
United States a wider interest in civic affairs, for

a. Those who have some education can better appreciate our
government than those who are illiterate.

b. It would admit only those who, by reason of their
education, small though it may be, have had the
chance to study somewhat their home governments. (N.
S. Shaler, Ibid.)

E. The educational test would tend to raise the standards of
American labor, for

1. It would cut down competition, since

a. It would shut out many laborers, for

1'. Most of those affected by this test would be
common laborers.

b. It would tend to equalize the rate of wages, because

1'. Immigrants would not be willing to work for lower
wages, for

a'. The slums being gone, they would need more
money for existence.

2. It would aid the independence of American labor, for

a. Immigrants would no longer be so reluctant to cooperate
with American laborers for protection, for

1'. It is well known that, as a rule, only the most
ignorant classes refuse to join unions.

b. The low industrial competition would be removed, as
previously shown.

F. The educational test would be practical, for

1. It is not a test depending upon the representations of
immigrants or the decisions of inspectors. (Prescott F.
Hall, Forum, Vol. XXX, page 564.)

2. The educational test has worked well in Australia.
(Professor Frank Parsons, Annals of American Academy,
Vol. XXIV, page 215.)

G. It would lessen the burden of education for the government,
for

1. It would force prospective immigrants to get their
elementary education in Europe.

2. The immigrants would have some education as a foundation
for more.