A Word About Immigration

A WORD ABOUT IMMIGRATION By J. M. Sjodahl According to the present law, 2% of the total number of foreign- born inhabitants of the United States, as shown by the census of 1890. are admitted as "quota" immigrants, and this seems to be satisfactory. But the law also provides that from July 1, 1927, the quota is to be fixed on the basis of "national origin" instead of "foreign birth." This change, if permitted to stand, will, it is thought, cause quite a dif- ference in the complexion of our immigration, a difference which is not likely to be noted, except by expert analysis of the statistics. I have received from one of the steamship lines a non-official comparison of figures which may be of general interest. According to these figures, the total number of immigrants will be reduced from 164,667 annually, to 150,000 at most. But, while the total is reduced, the reduction happens to strike only outside of Great Britain, while the quota from that country is greatly increased. The figures are: Nationality Present Estimated Quota Quota Increase Decrease Great Britain and Ulster 34,007 85,135 51,128 German 51,227 20,028 31,119 Irish Free State 28,567 8,330 20,237 Sweden 9,561 3,072 6.489 Norway 6,453 2,053 4.400 Denmark 2,789 945 1,844 From this it appears that the quota for Great Britain and the northern part of Ireland will be increased about 150%, while for the other countries it will be decreased about 65%. That seems hardly fair. The Commissioner General of Immigration, in his annual re- port for the year ending June 30, 1925, recommends that the clause in the law that refers to the change in question be stricken out, and that the quota be retained as it is now. It is certainly necessary to have some restriction in our immigra- tion, inasmuch as, otherwise, people with imperialistic, autocratic, militaristic and bolshevistic ideas might rush in, in such numbers as to become a menace to our institutions and our traditional policy of good will towards all. But, while we realize the necessity of self-pro- tection against revolutionary elements, we also realize the undesirabil- ity of experimenting, figuratively speaking, with a Chinese wall around a nation with a Lord-given world-mission in the interest of human lib- erty under righteous laws. We cannot get too many good people from Great Britain; nor, from the other countries, from whose ranks build- ers and defenders of our Republic have come in great numbers. We need them, too. And the least we can do is to place all desirable peo- ple on a level of equality before our laws.