secretary of commerce and labor upon the application of any person interested prior to any action in that direction by such person; such determination by the secretary of commerce and labor to be reached after a full hearing and an investigation into the facts of the case.

7. The general policy adopted by Congress in 1882 of excluding Chinese laborers should be continued.

The question of Japanese and Korean immigration should be permitted to stand without further legislation so long as the present method of restriction proves to be effective.

An understanding should be reached with the British government, whereby East Indian laborers would be effectively prevented from coming to the United States.

8. The investigations of the commission show an oversupply of unskilled labor in basic industries to an extent which indicates an oversupply of unskilled labor in the industries of the country as a whole, and therefore demand legislation which will at the present time restrict the further admission of such unskilled labor. It is desirable in making the restriction that—

(a) A sufficient number be debarred to produce a marked effect upon the present supply of unskilled labor.

(b) As far as possible, the aliens excluded should be those who come to this country with no intention to become American citizens or even to maintain a permanent residence here, but merely to save enough, by the adoption, if necessary, of low standards of living, to return permanently to their home country. Such persons are usually men unaccompanied by wives or

children.

(c) As far as possible the aliens excluded should also be those who, by reason of their personal qualities or habits, would least readily be assimilated or would make the least desirable citizens.

The following methods of restricting immigration have been suggested:

(a) The exclusion of those unable to read or write in some language.

(b) The limitation of the number of each race arriving each year to a certain percentage of the average of that race arriving during a given period of years.

(c) The exclusion of unskilled laborers unaccompanied by wives or families.

(d) The limitation of the number of immigrants arriving annually at any port.

(e) The material increase in the amount of money required to be in the possession of the immigrant at the port of arrival. (f) The material increase of the head tax.

(g) The levy of the head tax so as to make a marked discrimination in favor of men with families.

All these methods would be effective in one way or another in securing restrictions in a greater or less degree. A majority of the commission favor the reading and writing test as the most feasible single method of restricting the undesirable immigrant.'

The commission as a whole recommends restriction, as demanded by economic, moral, and social considerations, furnishes in its report reasons for such restriction, and points out methods by which Congress can attain the desired result if its judgment coincides with that of the commission.

New York (State) Report of the Commission of
Immigration, 1909

General Social Condition of Aliens

The general social condition of the alien cannot be com pletely portrayed by statistics and by formal statements, but must be shown at least partially in the more subtle effects upon him and his family by the environment into which he enters and which he also helps to create. The alien's home, his children, his daily life, his recreation, his standard of life, his inevitable segregation, his relationship to his contemporaries; in short, all the elements that promote or retard assimilation are factors in determining his general social status and should not be omitted "in an investigation into the condition, welfare and industrial opportunities of aliens within the state."

Exclusion of Aliens.-The social condition and character of aliens who come to this country are partly determined by the immigration laws of the United States which forbid the admission of those likely to become a charge upon the community, or likely to endanger its citizens by physical contagion, vice or unfair competition. The following classes are debarred: Idiots, im

1 "The educational test proposed is a selective test for which no logical argument can be based on the report."-William S. Bennet in a minority report.

beciles, feeble-minded, insane (including those who have been insane within the past five years, or who have had two attacks of insanity), persons suffering from tuberculosis in any form; those with contagious or infectious diseases, such as trachoma, favus and the like; professional beggars, paupers, persons likely to become a public charge, persons whom the surgeon certifies to as having mental or physical defects which may affect their ability to earn a living, laborers under contract, minors under sixteen years of age unaccompanied by their parents, persons assisted in their immigration, criminals, bigamists, avowed anarchists, prostitutes and females coming for any immoral purpose, or persons who procure or attempt to bring in prostitutes or females for any immoral purpose. While the total number of aliens debarred in 1908 was only 10,902 the actual number prevented from coming to the United States, as the result of the immigration law, was much larger. The steamship companies refuse passage to those manifestly likely to be debarred, and some aliens realizing the impossibility of passing the test, do not even apply for steamship tickets. These provisions of the Federal Immigration Law tend to enhance the physical, mental and moral standards of aliens coming to this country.

A further protection is afforded by the provisions relative to deportation. Aliens who enter in violation of the law, and such as become public charges from causes existing prior to landing and within three years after the date of entry may be deported. During the year ending June 30, 1908, 2,069 aliens, a large proportion of whom were residents of New York, were ordered deported by the federal authorities acting in conjunction with the various penal and charitable authorities of the state. The extent to which New York may be relieved from the cost of supporting deportable aliens depends upon the efficiency of the cooperation between state, municipal and federal officials.

Causes of Immigration.-While the restrictions of the immigration law determine the character and to a certain extent the volume of immigration, the latter is influenced to a far greater degree by the economic and social conditions in America attracting aliens, and by the conditions in the countries from which aliens come.

The expanding industries of the country in good times and the large demand for unskilled labor in mines, factories, workshops and on farms, are the main causes of the extensive migra

tion of Europeans to America. This demand is obviously not a fixed quantity and its variation is affected by the population and wealth, which the aliens themselves help to produce. Nevertheless, the resources of the country and the superiority of conditions over those of Eastern and Southern Europe act permanently and thousands of aliens who come with the intention of staying two or three years form new interests and ties in this country that keep them here. Some do return to their native country, and this number is affected by cheap transportation and increased facilities for travel, and even of these many again return to the United States.

From 1903 to 1907 inclusive, the immigration was greater than for any previous years in the history of the country. According to a rough estimate made by the Commissioner-General of Immigration, during the ten years from July, 1899, to June 30, 1908, 8,515,889 aliens arrived and 3,275,589 aliens returned, the total immigration exceeding the emigration by 5,240,300. The fiscal year 1908 was an exceptional year, during which 924,695 aliens arrived, and 714,828 returned, the total immigration exceeding emigration by 209,867. During the year ending December 31, 1908, a period of depression, the total migration of 588,447 aliens exceeded the total immigration of 557,585 by 30,862.

The earlier immigration was from Great Britain, Ireland, Germany and Scandinavian countries and was influenced by economic conditions in those countries. They no longer send so large a number of aliens because of improved conditions, or because there has been no special cause, such as the famine in Ireland. The immigration is now from the countries of Southern and Eastern Europe and Asia Minor. From Austria-Hungary come Poles, Slovaks, Magyars, Germans, Croatians, Jews, Bohemians, Ruthenians, Roumanians, Bulgarians, Dalmatians and Italians; from Russia, Jews, Poles, Ruthenians, Finns, Germans and others. From other countries, Greeks, Turks, Syrians and many other peoples.

Some of the motives influencing this immigration are the following:

In countries of Southern Europe the political disabilities of great masses of the population, the weight of taxation and compulsory military service lead to dissatisfaction and to emigration. Immigration is also stimulated by steamship agents abroad, and encouragement by relatives and friends who are already

here, and the love of adventure sends many young men to seek their fortunes in the United States.

The Jews in Russia are impelled to emigrate largely on account of religious persecution and the denial of political and civil rights. The Russian laws compel the mass of the Jewish population to live within certain prescribed areas, known as the Pale. They permit them to engage in few occupations, prohibit them from acquiring land; withold from them the privilege of freely entering schools and universities; debar them from other essential rights accorded to other sections of the population. After massacres, such as those of Kishineff, Odessa, Bialystok, Siedlice, there is a flight of emigration toward America. The withdrawal from the Finns of the right of self-government led to a rapid increase in emigration by them to the United States. Unsuccessful attempts at revolution and reform during the last few years have also brought large numbers of aliens, including many cultured and liberty-loving men and women. From the earliest days this country has been a haven of refuge for the oppressed and a sanctuary for those who have striven unsuc cessfully to better the conditions of their fellow-men. The United States has always protected the political refugees who have fled to this country, and has refused to surrender those whose extradition is sought for political offenses.

Aliens when they land are generally poor, five-sixths showing less than $50, though they frequently possess much more. The majority are not educated, since 26 per cent of all over fourteen years of age are unable to write. As a rule they are not accustomed to the exercise of full political rights, the voting privilege in their native lands being ordinarily limited by property and educational qualifications. The vast majority of aliens, coming as they do from rural districts, are unskilled workers, and the main opportunity for them is as common laborers. Yet in many of the skilled trades are found trained artisans from other lands. Often, owing to inability to secure employment in their own trades, aliens enter occupations for which they are ill adapted.

In immigration the rule is, men arrive first, and unmarried men first of all. In 1907, 72 per cent of all aliens arriving in the United States were male, and of these 89 per cent or over 64 per cent of all were above the age of fourteen. Only 4 per cent After the alien

of all aliens were above the age of forty-five.

has secured his foothold and learns something of American ways