Editorial and articles from Manufacturers Record, a weekly southern industrial, railroad, and financial newspaper, of Baltimore, Dec. 28 1911.]

ON GUARD AS TO IMMIGRATION.

Communications published on another page of this week's issue of the Manufacturers Record from Gov. Ben W. Hooper, of Tennessee; Gov. William E. Glasscock, of West Virginia; and Gov. Lee Cruce, of Oklahoma, representing different parts of the South, emphasize the valuable service rendered to the South by Gov. William Hodges Mann, of Virginia, in his clear statement made at Baltimore on the subject of immigration. Gov. Mann expressed a desire for immigration, but he made two strong points of especial timeliness-one, that we should be particular as to whom we invite to our shores and our territory, and the other, that each State should be liberal in advertising its resources as an attraction for settlers.

There have been in the past 10 years persistent attempts in one form or another, but of a common origin, to induce the South to welcome plans for immigration to that section designed, not in any spirit of hostility, to be sure, but having the welfare of the South as a matter of secondary importance. These plans, no matter how they have emerged into publicity, have sooner or later taken the form of movements to create a central agency supported from the treasuries of the respective States, and having their official indorsement. That counts for the unceasing effort to secure the attendance of governors or other officials upon the preliminary conventions, congresses, parliaments, and what nots, in the hope at least that an impression will be created that there is official sanction of them. As a matter of fact, attendance upon such gatherings, either directly or by delegation, is a purely voluntary matter, and the conclusions reached are absolutely personal and not binding upon the States in any way. Moreover, it is quite certain that the constitution and the laws of no Southern State will permit the expenditure of public funds upon any such basis as that contemplated in the central agency idea. It is well that such is the case, because no one may safely predict what ills to the South might flow from the central agency more or less removed from the immediate oversight of the State authorities and containing the possibilities of being used to the disadvantage of the South, however earnest the desire to the contrary of the original supporters of the idea considered only from its superficial point of view.

So, the question of immigration is brought back to the starting point of individual State initiative and individual State authority equipped, on the one hand, to resist effectively efforts to use some bureau of the National Government or other agency as a means of

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scattering over the country the undesirables congested in New York City and other centers and thus weakening the effect of a tremendous object lesson and warning against making it easier for more of such undesirables to be poured into the country; and, on the other hand, for liberality and intelligent, businesslike methods of making known in the right quarters the advantages offered by the States, of bringing desirable settlers into the States and of providing that they will be satisfied to remain as participants in the development of the States. Such work is already being done, with eminently satisfactory results, under State auspices in Maryland, Virginia, and Louisiana. Beginnings on the same line have been made in South Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama, and Mississippi, and some great railroad systems are sharing in the benefits of their exertions, maintained for many years, that are now coming to most of the Southern States in the way of thrifty and progressive farmers and other settlers who have migrated from other parts of the country and from abroad, not to live upon the country, but to contribute to its prosperity by work and to share in that prosperity.

Safety for the South and for the country demands that where there is official participation in the immigration movement it shall be limited to State authority, and that any additional action by the National Government shall be confined to making laws increasing the restrictions upon the advent of undesirable immigrants and relieving the separate States from restrictions upon their power to bring in from abroad the class of immigrants that they feel will suit them and be suited by them.

There never was a stronger or more determined cooperation among divers foreign influences than now to break down the safeguards in immigration for this country. There never was a better chance for the South to serve the country and to benefit itself than by presenting a solid rallying ground for the whole country against these influences, instead of becoming the unwitting agency to further their schemes.

SOUTHERN GOVERNORS ON IMMIGRATION.

THE KIND THAT IS DESIRED AND HOW TO SECURE IT.

By Gov. Ben W. HOOPER, of Tennessee.

The above subject, upon which the Manufacturers Record has requested my views, is becoming a live one in Tennessee. The "call of the West" has lured the people of both the North and South for a century, but for various economic reasons this is no longer so predominant a fact. The time has come when the "call of the South" should ring clearly in the ears of all men everywhere who are seeking a land of enlarged opportunity.

Tennessee has many millions of acres of uncultivated lands, and many millions more that are only half cultivated.

By the way, we have recently commenced the establishment of the demonstration farms, referred to in your editorial, not to train experts, but to furnish in each county a practical demonstration of what its soil it adapted to and how the farmer can get the best results from it.

To speak of the productivity and diversity of Tennessee's soils, the wide range of her products, and the happy mean of her climate, and to dilate upon her iron, coal, marble, timber, water power, and navigable streams is not permissible here. Suffice it to say that no State in the Union surpasses Tennessee in her potentialities for profitable investment and comfortable living.

In view of these facts, and the comparative sparseness of our population, it goes without saying that we want immigration. As to the kind of immigration, we want any and all kinds that will make us good citizens, and no other.

Some of the foreign immigrants would be valuable additions to our population, but it would not pay Tennessee to expend the large sum of money that would be necessary to seek and sort out the small percentage of desirable immigrants from the motley mass of humanity that is being dumped upon our shores under the present immigration laws..

We are therefore getting ready just now to make our first systematic effort to induce immigration from the North and Northwest. We go after the people of that section for two reasons:

First. Because they are the people we want to come to Tennessee. Second. Because we can prove to them that they ought to come for their own good.

They are the people we want because they have acquired the thrifty habits of a more inhospitable clime and because they will assimilate with our population and make us good citizens from the very beginning. They will aid us in our agricultural development.

How are we going to get them to come?

Two things are requisite: First, to know what we have in Tennessee; and second, to show them.

We have very active and efficient agricultural and geological departments that are busy compiling information-not guessworkas to what we have.

Our agricultural commissioner is also commissioner of immigration, but there was never any appropriation for this work until this year. The appropriation now is small. We did not want it large to begin with. We did not want to spend too much money learning how to do this work, and the commissioner is now earnestly endeavoring to make every dollar count.

In January he will start two or three exhibit cars into the Northwest each loaded with exhibits of our resources and with appropriate literature descriptive of practically every county in the State and what it contains. Each car will be accompanied by two lecturers. An advertising campaign will be conducted in advance of the coming of these exhibits. Not much printer's ink can be used now, but later it is hoped that larger appropriations will be justified by the results of this modest beginning and that more advertising can then be done.

The railroads are cooperating, and will later make rates and run excursions into Tennessee, as they have into the West. Our railroads are beginning to awaken to the fact that their policy for the last 50 years of helping the western railroads to depopulate the country along the line of southern roads has been shortsighted.

Organizations have been perfected in many counties by the Immigration Bureau to cooperate in every particular way with the efforts

of the bureau, and especially to assist in locating homeseekers that may come and to prevent them from falling into the clutches of land sharks. Reputable real estate men are members of these organizations. This is one question upon which all Tennessee newspapers are agreed, and along the lines above indicated we expect to accomplish results that will be visible in the next Federal census.

AGAINST FLOODING WITH UNDESIRABLES.

By Gov. LEE CRUCE, of Oklahoma.

It occurs to me that Gov. Mann has very tersely stated the proposition of immigration as it affects the South. It is far better for any State or any community that it have no immigration than for its immigration to be composed of undesirable people. I believe that the various States of the South and West which desire immigration should undertake to get that immigration in a sensible way. We should find the type of citizen we want and then induce them to locate in our midst. Under the system that has heretofore prevailed in the Southern States the question of who shall immigrate into our midst has been left largely with the immigrant and with the immigration agent, who has very little interest in the future development of the country. The agent's interest is usually in moving the man, and not in the development of the country into which the man is located.

Neither the South nor any other section can ever be developed by an unprogressive or criminal population. We should try to get into our Southern States men who will give something in return for what they receive. The right kind of an immigrant is the man who comes into our midst, not only to prosper himself, but to help prosper the community into which he moves. To get this kind of citizenship, it occurs to me that it is necessary for the various States in the South to begin a systematic campaign for this type of people. We certainly have everything in the way of climate and natural resources to induce men of worth to come into our midst and help develop this section of the Union.

The time is ripe when the people of the South and West should discourage the movement that seems to be afoot to send the criminal and unemployed of the great cities of the East into the rural districts of the South and West. This undoubtedly is better for the cities, and it is perhaps better for the individual, but it is certainly not best for the State into which he moves or the people among whom he locates.

Another thing that I think is hurtful to any community is the location of large masses of foreign population in restricted communities. If we are to make the best citizens out of those who come to us from other countries, it must be done by assimilation; they must learn our ways of living and methods of government. They can best do this by coming in contact with people who are in thorough sympathy with our Government; have lived under and received its benefits.

I might close by quoting from Gov. Mann, that the best interest of each State is to be obtained by inducing "good people or none to come into our midst; or, in other words, we should seek the immigrant and not have the immigrant seek us.

UNASSIMILABLE HORDES NOT DESIRABLE.

By Gov. WILLIAM E. GLASSCOCK, of West Virginia.

I do not think that it follows that because America is popularly considered the "melting pot" of the world vast hordes of people of different race, breeding, and political ideas can be assimilated without great inconvenience and possibly serious derangement of our political and social machinery. The result most desired, I take it, is the wide distribution of these immigrants where their labor is most needed, and where, with most benefit to themselves and families, they will come into least competition with our labor until they have had time to absorb some of our ideas as to standards of living and be brought to the realization of what duties devolve upon them by reason of their new citizenship and of what consideration is due to wives and children who are to be American citizens.

Unfortunately, the result desired is far from realization, as is shown by the fact that of the 9,555,673 immigrants received into this country during the last 12 years, New York State has taken 2,994,358; Pennsylvania, 1,737 059; and Illinois 722,059, making in all 5,453,476 aliens absorbed by three already thickly settled States. The effect of having about three-fifths of our enormous immigration dumped practically without money into the already congested districts has the natural effect of placing in competition with American labor in these States the labor of these foreigners, who have to work at any wage they can get in order to live at all.

When we realize that about 1 in every 10 of our population has come to this country within the last 12 years, we sometimes doubt whether the "melting pot" is going to be able to do all that is expected of it. What will the American look like and what manner of man will he be in 100 years when this conglomerate mixture (the influx of 12 years) has gone through the crucible?

Immigration in the past 12 years has been absorbed as follows: