Page:The National Geographic Magazine Vol 16 1905.djvu/35

Rh cruel, and unnecessarily severe to the immigrants.

The alien contract-labor law, which was passed for the protection of the American workmen, to prevent the introduction of alien laborers to take the place of native labor on strike, is so well known in Europe that those desiring can violate this law with impunity, inasmuch as the only means of detecting such violations is the immigrant's own confession.

A system has grown up whereby aliens are brought to this country to work under contract, and the place of employment, the name of the employer, and all the essential facts which, if in the knowledge of the alien and ad- mitted by him to the inspecting officer, might convict him are withheld from him until after his arrival here. This system, which has been in active opera- tion for several years, is responsible for the open and flagrant violation of this law. The law needs to be strengthened ; the real danger to the American work- man, however, does not come from the aliens coming under contract, but from the class so well described in the Presi- dent's annual message as " below a cer- tain standard of economic fitness to enter our industrial fields as competi- tors with American labor."

There is more danger from a dozen aliens who are thrown on the streets of New York penniless and friendless, and compelled to take any situations that they can get, without regard to wages or conditions, or starve, than from dou- ble or treble the number of contract laborers.

The first means the lowering of all standards of living, and is beyond com- petition ; the latter at its worst can be partially kept under control, even with our present defective laws and adverse court decisions.

The intending traveler is schooled to pass every question long before sailing, and when a new scheme to evade the law is discovered and provided against, it only takes about a month for the immigrant arriving to know all about the new regulation.

Anarchists and criminals are not boasting of their record before inspection, and while the proportion of immigrants who actually possess criminal records at home is comparatively small, those that have criminal proclivities constitute a larger proportion. Many of the former class, and most of the latter, will be able to evade any form of inspection that may be devised. Their undesirability can only be demonstrated by their careers after landing in this country. It is perfectly proper to adopt any measures to prevent the coming of such people. But however well such an inspection service be organized and conducted, it must, to accomplish to any extent the desired object, be supplemented by some provision for apprehending and deporting those who gain admission to the country from lack of evidence at the time of examination to show that they are not entitled to land.

Immigration inspection, in the sense of sifting the desirable from the undesirable and deporting those not coming up to a certain standard, has only been in operation since 1890. Prior to 1857 incoming aliens landed at the docks. In that year, mostly for health reasons, Castle Garden was opened as an immigrant landing station, continuing as such until 1890.

Secretary Windom in that year took the service under federal control and moved the station to the Barge Office in New York. The building of a new wooden station at Ellis Island caused the removal there in 1892; in 1897 this was burned down, necessitating again going to the Barge Office for over three years. The new immigrant buildings on Ellis Island are especially constructed for the work of receiving, examining, detaining,