OCR Text |
Show STRICTER IMMIGRATION LAWS ARE NEEDED. At no time have stricter immigration laws and stricter enforce-jiuent enforce-jiuent of these laws been, needed more than at the present. Foreign-. Foreign-. crs are coming to these shores by the tens of thonsands annually. . Some of themare all right, bnt the majority are all wrong. Those H from England, Scotland. Ireland and Wales are fewer than formerly, f bat there has been a great increase in those from Italy, Austria-Hun-f -gary and Russia. Most of them are running away from bad condi- ( i lions at their old homes and all of them expect to better their condi- tion materially by coming to America. j . There is an increasing and, indeed, alarming proportion of ignorance igno-rance and illiteracy among the newcomers. They have no adequate i idea of ojir institutions, customs or laws. Some of them are without i Jibe elements of good citizenship under the most favorable circum-V circum-V stances. They do more than their share to fIl the jails and penitentiaries, peniten-tiaries, the hospitals and asylums. A certain class of immigrants tel ways has been and always will be welcome, but the time has come -lor a great deal more restriction and restraint in this particular than jias ever before been exercised, j A feature of immigration which ought to have a great deal more attention than it does is the reception of the sick and the insane. The least this country can demand is that those who leave their old bomes for new ones should be sound in body and in mind. It is the spirit of American institutions to provide homes, hospitals and asy-i asy-i lums for those who need them, and in these institutions the ratio of ( foreign born is something appalling. Then, too, there is the criminal class, who are criminal at home and will be criminal here. Xot only li menace to good order, but a certain source of large annual exiense. The last annual reports on immigration present a startling array of figures. 'Congress 'should consider these well and take steps to safeguard safe-guard the country against the swarms from Europe's lower classes. |