"tyrant and may be killed by the
rrt on who ran reach them.'
McKinley, the president of the
sTnlted State. U a Mason.
Should there tie trouble between
Spain and this country, any member
af the Human church could lawfully
kill him under the law of their
burt'h would be compelled to commit
that crime. j
Likewise every high officer In the
Army and navy, without, we believe, a
Mingle exception, (barring, of course, '
the pope'a warrior, Coppinger). be-1
long to the societies whose members
affiliate together under penalty of
death and con duration of their goods.
By keeping the doctrine of the
Church of Rome firmly in mind, all of
which have been re-euacted inside of
lorty-three years, you can readily see !
there is plenty of reason for believing I
that the Church of Koine is all but
ready to strike the final blow against
religious liberty.
For years she has been secretly
arming and drilling ber men.
This is and has been known to
Protestants In the larger cities for a
long time, but as the great bulk of our
population Is in email cities, towns,
villages and farming districts. Home
has denied that her men were arming
and drilling for the sole purpose of
keeping the rural population in ig
norance of her designs upon their lib
erties, their institutions, their homes
and their lives.
But 6he has thrown off the mask.
On the heels of her denials the
president of one of her numerous mil
itary organizations telegraphs the pres
ident that he has 100,000 armed and
drilled men ready to take the field
in defense of the Monroe doctrine
Before the echoes of her denials had
41ed away several friends, the business
manager of the American and this edi
tor were watching the members of the
Ancient Order of Hibernians drill in
their hall.
And hat is the A. O. II.?
The first paragraph of the pre
amble to its constitutions and by-law
contains this declaration:
"It behooves the Catholic children of
tke Irish race to enroll themselves
beneath a common standard in the
ause of CHURCH, country and mu
tual aid."
Article 9 of the constitution says:
"No person shall become a member
of this order who is not IRISH OR OP
IRISH DESCENT through either par
ent, and a PRACTICAL ROMAN
CATHOLIC."
The Hibernian Rifles are composed
of the able bodied men of the A. O. H.
Article 1 of the rules governing the
Rifles reads:
"To control and encourage the form
ation and maintenance In the A. O. H.
of the United States of America an
unlimited number of independent in
fantry companies. Its membership to
e composed of men in good standing
In our order, so as to afford to all
who may be admitted to its ranks the
opportunity of acquiring a thorough
"knowledge of military drill and dis
cipline according to Upton's tactics."
BeginH to sound like war, don't it?
And this is what their papers say:
The Golden Manuel says:
"If the pope should declare war
against the government of the Unitad
States all true Roman Catholics would
be compelled to take the side of the
pope against the government."
Brownson, in the Roman Catholic
Quarterly Review, said: "It Is the in
tention of the pope to possess this
country. In this Intention he is aided
by the Jesuits and all the Cath
olic priests and prelates. If they are
faithful to their religion."
And this is what their priests say:
The Detroit Journal of November
17, 1892, says: "Father Menard in St
Joachim's church In Detroit, Sunday,
November 6, 1892. paid: "When the
church needed armed men to enlist as
rusaders, young men of the church
shouldered the musket and sabre and
obeyed the order of the church. When
the church wanted to get rid of the
Saracens the faithful arose en masse
and exterminated them. The church
may have to call on you to defend
your rights in this country, and I
fcnow our young men will obey the
shurch again, and take up arms and
exterminate all the enemies of the
church."
The Chicago Tribune, May 3, 1896,
reports Priest Dorney as saying in his
sermon that he "believed there should
be no separation of the church and the
state," and here is the Inducement that
Rome holds out to the faithful to keep
from having them separated :
"Whoever dies In battle against the
nnbelieving, merits the kingdom of
heaveu."
Priest Bennett, of St. Patrick's Ro
man Catholic Church, Sterling, 111.,
made this bold statement to his con
gregation at the conclusion of mass
March 25:
"It was the Roman Catholics who
fought and won the Battle of Bunker
Hill, and we are NOW DRILLING
OUR BOYS TO BE PREPARED TO
FIGHT THE NEXT BUNKER HILL
ON AMERICAN SOIL."
But we think we hear you say, "Oh,
they can talk, but there is no danger.
The pope does not have the power to
make them go contrary to their con
science. The laity will be loyal to
the flag."
We say you are wrong. The pope
has the power, more than that the
moat humble priest has the power.
The most besotted, Immoral, criminal
priest in theRoman church can, accord
ing to Roman Catholic doctrine, save
or damn souls. And every Roman.
Catholic believes that, and, believing
that, would not hesitate a single In
stant to commit the most diabolical
crime If his priest told him Its com
mission would be for the glory or the
welfare of the church.
To show you how strong, how bind
ing Is the devotion of true Roman
Catholics to the will of their superiors,
we submit these two Items:
The first was an associated press
dispatch at the time the Turks were
murdering so many Christians, and
reads:
"London, April 11, 1896. A Constan
tinople special says that the Armenian
(Roman) Catholic patriarch has re
fused to resign at the command of the
Sultan. The Catholic patriarch de
clares that IT WILL BE IMPOSSIBLE
FOR HIM TO DISOBEY THE POPE'S
INJUNCTION TO REMAIN AT HIS
POST."
The other la a news Item published
in aa Omaha paper only this week:
"An Illustration of the generalship
of the Jesuit order tu shown la
Omaha recently. IT IS KNOWN that
the member of the Society of J.su
are BOUND by oath to go to the end
of the earth, if need be. at the
COMMAND of the general of
the order, but Just bow quick
ly and Implicitly tbee com
mands are obeyed is not tw well un
derstood. There was an exemplifica
tion or tun at tne nouse in omaba a
few weeks ago. Father MueffeU, the
pastor of St John' church, ha been
quite a favorite with the rongrt'gatiou
and especially with the ch.ldren. One
day he unexpectedly received notice
to hand over the church to his suc
cessor and proceed to Honduras. ith-
in twenty-four hours of the time the
order was received he bad left Omaha
and was on his way to bis uew field
of work. World-Herald, Jan. 16, '98.
Could anything more fully explain
the complete, the absolute control ex-
lereised by the church over its commu
nicants? The pope says stay in one
instance, and although death mlKht
have been his p.irtion at any moment,
the patriarch refused to obey the state
authority, because of the pope's in
junction for him to remain at his
post, thus affording a living example
that RonianUtg hold the laws of the
church above the laws of the state,
a doctrine of the church of Rome of
so long standing and of so recent pro
mulgation that no American should
be in ignorance of it.
Leo XIII. specifically said in bis en
cyclical Jan. 10, 1890, that when the
cyclical Jan. 10, 1890, that
when the laws of the state
conflict with the laws of the
church, the laws of the church are to
be unhesitatingly obeyed; and General
Ulysses S. Grant, in h.s "Personal
Memoirs," page 213, says: "No polit
ical party can, or ought to exist when
one of its cornerstones is opposition
to freedom of thought and to the
rights to worship God according to
the dictates of one's own conscience,'
or according to the creed of any re
ligious denomination whatever.
NEVERTHELESS, IF A SECT SETS
UP ITS LAWS AS BINDING ABOVE
THE STATE LAWS, WHEREVER
THE TWO COME IN CONFLICT THIS
CLAIM MUST BE RESISTED AND
SUPPRESSED AT WHATEVER
COST."
The American people believe Gen
eral Grant wrote words of wisdom
when he penned those lines and they
are ready to resist with all their power
and with all their might not only that
doctrine but those charged with put
ting it Into execution in this country.
We say with General Grant, and we
expect every man who reads this ar
ticle will say witn him, "when a sect
sets its laws up as binding above the
Btate laws it must be resisted at any
cost"
We shall go farther, and we believe
every loyal, patriotic American will go
with us: We will say that, God being
willing, no pope of Rome shall ever
make his abiding place in the land
that has been recognized as the cradle
of liberty.
We say this not without full knowl
edge that we will be branded by those
mistaken individuals, who regard Ro
manism as a religion, as intolerant and
bigoted.
But since we know Romanism, since
we love liberty, and since we fear not
to tell the truth, we shall not object
to Jesuits the murderers of Abraham
Lincoln or the Jesuit sympathizers
branding us as anything bu. a papist.
That the conflict between the lovers
of liberty and the cohorts of mental
slavery is drawing near, and will, un
less the signs of the times are mislead
ing, be In full force Immediately after
the death of the present pope, which
may occur any day, we admonish
Americans everywhere to be on their
guard.
Rome does not fight in the open.
Her first blow will be struck in the
dark. She will imitate the St. Bar
tholomew massacre.
Our leading statesmen and warriors
have always maintained that Rome
would attempt to overthrow our gov
ernment at some time in the future,
and John Ireland and other 'Roman
Catholics have declared in recent years
that in 1900 they would "take this
country and keep it."
That's what they've got their sol
diers for.
What, but Romanism, did General
Grant have in his mind when he said
to tho Army of the Tennessee in 1876:
3d AD LEADER
We probably would be less
concerned about this matter did we
secure our Information that Rome is
collecting funds In this country today
to defray the expenses of war from a
less reliable source and did we not
know of our own knowledge that Ro
man Catholic men were drilling and
were armed.
But, relying Implicitly upon those
from whom the information Is re
ceived, and upon the reports' of those
employed to get at the bottom of the
matter, we unhesitatingly declare that
Rome Is prepared to strike this coun
try to Its death.
With the knowledge of her Inten
tion In our possession we would not
be doing our duty did we not sound
the alarm and advise you to be pre
pared for the worst.
We can see, we can realize, that
Rome has gone so far that she will
never recede, and that the conflict,
though delayed for a time, will break
with added fury when least expected.
And yet It will not surprise some of
us.
It will not surprise our friend at
Atchison who said, "God speed the
crisis."
It will not surprise any student of
papal history though it may cost
them their lives.
But It is not for them we write. It
Is for those who do not know Rome
bloody, terrible Rome.
And they, poor things, will wonder
who will be their leader, and we say:
The needs of the hour always pro
duce the man!
This was true In the time of Luther,
of Husa, of Lattimer and of Collgny;
and it was true, also, when Adolphus
and Garibaldi sprang Into prominence.
It was true, too, when the world
needed the Prince of Orange, and when
it needed Oliver Cromwell. And when
the times demanded men to protest
and war against human slavery, Adam
Lovrjoy, and old John Brown Jod
bless their memories stepped forth to
take their places upon the scroll of
lime, flanked by such patriot as Uu
roin and Grant and an army of true
and loyal citizen.
A It was when Luther grand, no
ble. farles Luther nailed hi thesis
to the church door In Wittenberg, as
it was when the Prince of Orange went
forth In the defense of ProteUmtlsm;
as it waa when Garibaldi fought the
armies of the pope of Rome the man
of sin: a it was when Cromwell and
his hosts went into battle singing
psalms; when Adolphus withstood the
armies of hi pope lless"d opponents;
when John Brown left OHSowattomle.
Kansas, to liberate the slaves, and
when Abraham Lincoln by the stroke
of his pen, and Ulysses 8. Grant by
the force of his uneonquered arms.
demonstrated and settled for all time
to come that all men are created equal.
bo it will be when the pope of Romo,
fleeing from Italy and seeking an asy
lum In this country, will be met by a
man or a band of men probably no
larger than John Brown's band, yet
equally as zealous and equal'y as firm
In the belief that future ages will eay
that they were right and that man or
that band of men will have inscribed
upon their banners "No popery," and
they will have enshrined In their
hearts deep love of liberty, and In their
minds due reverenre for God.
And so we say, American freeman,
with all the glory of the past stream
ing o'er us, with all the possibilities
of the future In-fore us, we say,
"America forever! No poi"ry!"
OMAHA AM VICINITY.
The recent reorganization of the
Union l'acilic uud the proposed re
consolldatlon of the Oregon Short
Line with that road will, iu all prob
ability, have the effect to bring back
to Omaha a number of the employes
of the latter eompuuy who were
transferred from this city to Ogileu
last year, 'this new move will give
the Union Pacific company a direct
l'acilic outlet and give Omaha the
lion's share of the through trallic.
Speaking of the Uulou Pacific, we
are informed of the existence of a
condition of things in the freight
house of that company in this city,
which, if allowed to continue, will do
the company no good from a busi
ness standpoint. According to my in
formant about nine-tenths of the
freight handlers are of the Honian
lrisu extraction, and it is Impossible
for a protestant to obtaiu employ
ment at that place. Occasionally one
succeeds in getting a chance to work,
but as soon as it becomes known to
the "gang" life is made a burden to
him, and he is either forced to quit
or is discharged by the powers that
be to prevent trouble among the Roman-Irish
truckers. It is said that
this state of affairs has existed for
the past two years, and, it is also as
serted by a gentleman in position to
know, has been a detriment to the In
terest of the company. Over at the
llurlingtou freight house this state of
affairs is not allowed to exist, and
any man who is willing to work may
be sure of fair treatment, aud they
do say that "the Burlington" can
handle double the amount of freight
with the same number of employes.
It might be a pretty good scheme for
the new management of the Union
Pacific to do a general house cleaning
business for a time.
There are a number of Omaha at
torneys who are inclined to criticise
Judge Scott on account of his recent
decision in the mandamus case to
compel the mayor and city council to
appoint a new fire and police board,
claiming that the law under which
the present board acted was uncon
stitutional. Whatever may be the
opinion of the lawyers regarding that
decision the fact remains that a large
majority of Omaha citizens are in
clined to take the same view of the
case. To permit the governor or any
other state officer to name public
officers which pertain to a local or
municipal government is but a step
toward the centralization of power
and taking it out of the hands of the
people. We believe that Omaha citi
zens are entirely capable of selecting
their own officials and ought to have
the right to say by their ballots
whom they want. Judge Scott's de
cision in this case was largely in line
wij.h the old theory of states' rights
and is practically what the courts of
Indiana have held on several occa
sions. If the supreme court of Ne
braska should sustain the judge in
his opinion, it will then leave the
way open for the next legislature to
so amend the Omaha charter that
people may express by their ballots
whom they desire for the board of
fire and police commissioners, and it
might not be out of place to suggest
that the board shall be composed of
three members, with the mayor as
ex-officio chairman, who shall be
elected by the people for a term of
three years after the first two, viz:
At the first election there shall be one
commissioner elected for a term of
one year, another for two years, and
the third for three years, and annu
ally thereafter there shall be one com
missioner elected, and shall not be
eligible for re-election after having
served a term of three consecutive
years. We believe this will set at
rest the petty bickerings between the
various parties which have existed the
past few years, and give the people of
Omaha a much needed rest.
That was a bright idea of the attor
ney general in proposing that he
would bring quo warranto proceed
ings to test the constitutionality of
the Are and police law, and then step
aside and permit Omaha to take
charge and prosecute the case, "in
order that there be no delay and thus
prevent rioting and bloodshed." No
doubt the auorney general has read
the blood curdling reports published
and sent broadcast by a certain
Omaha newspaper but little more than
a year ago. Had the attorney gen
eral been familiar with supreme court
practice he would have known that
the court would refuse to hear it, and
the case would have to be dismissed,
unless the party bringing suit should
continue to act
Ta furt Conntlpatlnn Korfr.
Take Ciisearets Candy Cathartic. 10c or 2So.
It C O. C. fail to cure, drugxibW refund moner-
WHAT MENACES
OUR NATION.
Senator Fairbanks Speech ln'cUI ,niul7 bat V'" d, not ''fT
to one of the foregoing excluded
bupport of the Immi
gration Bill.
The Effects of Increased lnflu of Ig
norant, Criminal and Vicious
klcments from lluropc.
Scnatur Fairbanks of Indiana made
the following tolling speech In ad
vocacy of the Ixulgo Immigration bill
which we reproduce for the patriotic
sentiment it contains:
Mr. President, uo more important
question ran engage our attention, and
none Bhould receive more earnest and
thoughtful consideration, than one
which seeks to guard and preserve the
hiKh standard of our population uud
citizenship. No policy, however ven
erable, no mere sentimental coualdor
ations should dissuade us from deal
ing with an evil which menuces our
civilization, and in a manner com-
pntiblo with the best Interests of the
country and all its people,
The pending bill, sir, throws an ad
ditional safeguard about our popula
tion and citizenship by Imposing a
moderate and reasonable educational
tetit upon all immigrants over 16 years
of age and physically capable. The
immigrant must be able to read and
write the Constitution of the United
States in some language before admis
sion. An exception is made, however,
in the case of a person over 50 years
of age, the parent or grandparent of
a qualified immigrant above 21 years
of age aud who is capable of support
ing such parent or grandparent Al
though illiterate, such relatives may
accompany or be sent for and come to
Join the husband or parent who is
qualified and capable. The closest and
strongest ties of kinship thus remain
unbroken.
This measure does not prevent the
Immigration of the Intelligent peoplo
of every land who wish to make their
homes here, and who will become
worthy and desirable citizens of the
Republic. It is not racial in Its dis
criminating purpose; it does not for
bid the coming of any race; It pro
scribes no nationality; it is a pre
scriptive of Ignorance, and of that
only. It is founded upon the broad and
patriotic theory that to further aug
ment illiteracy In this country Is un
wise, and that illiteracy is an un
stable and undesirable foundation
upon which to rest this mighty fabric
of government.
We are not unmindful of the im
measurable contribution which our
foreign-born population has made to
the upbuilding of the republic. Its
work and influence have been felt I v'k Bm, e " i'"" "
.i,,.t .. mni, f!t onary war. There are no statistics
all that is great and splendid about
us is the fruit of its genius and in
dustry. But those who have aided
most were those who quickly blended
with the great mass of our native
born population and most readily re
nounced allegiance to their own coun
tries and assumed the duties of loyal
citizens, taking an Interest and pride
in sustaining and strengthening the
institutions of the country of their
adoption. Sir, I am pleased to say
that the native and foreign-born of
Indiana have wrought together In
raising that splendid state to her
present exalted position. They have
been zealous co-workers; sharing alike
in all the labors, anxieties and re
wards Incident to carving out of the
wilderness that majestic common
wealth. Search her muster rolls, and
there you will find thousands, born
beneath distant skies, who dared all
in the defense of the honor and In
tegrity of their chosen land. They
shared in the arduous deeds of "heroes
on many fields and their patriotic de
votion is a part of the imperishable
glory of the state.
The absorptive power of our nation !
has been great, and in the main the
aliens and the natives have easily
fused into a homogeneous people. The
rapid admixture of foreign bloods here
without the Impairment of our na
tional character has challenged the
wonder and admiration of the civilized
world.
Until recent years immigration was
invited and stimulated by liberal
homestead laws and by colonization
agencies which offered alluring In
ducements. All who sought our shores
were accepted without question or
discrimination. The educated, moral
and patriotic were welcome. The cul
prit fleeing from outraged Justice
found a refuge here. The physically,
mentally and morally disordered were
permitted to become resident and citi
zens and share with us, as though
unto the manor born, the privileges
bequeathed to us by our fathers. Our
broad, rich, unoccupied domain and
expanding industries Invited numbers.
and no heed was taken of their qual
nr. d h r..ble: dVdcSl
the subject of congratulation, that we
suffered so little from the undesirable
and positively objectionable while our
gates stood unprotected.
The encouragement of immigration
has taken the form of law but once,
that was in 1864, and was in the na
ture of a war measure. It became
necessary to supply the places of the
army which had been drawn from the
Arm 0 n was! Af rr n-rk MB ATt1 Pftrt I t
fields of productiveness and sent Into
the south. This could be done by
promoting immigration; hence, the law
mentioned. Under the stimulus It af
forded immigration was materially
Increased. At the close of the" war
the army re-entered the avocations of
peace, ana me necessity lur ino
having ceased. It was repealed four
years aiier us enactment.
o restrict-
Prior to 1875 there were no
ive laws except hose prohibiting cooly
trade. In that year more drastic
measures were enacted to suppress
this reprehensible traffle, and convicts
and women imported for immoral pur-
poses were excluded. Subsequently
acts were passed (not including acts
restricting Chinese Immigration) bar
ring Idiots, Insane persons, paupers,
or persons liable to twroroe a public
i-bargs; persons with a loirthsotna or
dangerous contagious disease; persons
who have l'B convicted of a felony
or other Infamous crime or mlndo- '
nieanor Involving moral turpitude; '
polyganilst; aslted immigrant (un-
less It Is satisfactorily shown"on iw-
etas), and contract laborer. I
The presence of these restrictive act
upon the statute books ha been bene-
flclal, though the numiter who pre
senter themselves at our ports and
were excluded Is comparatively small.
Exclusive of the Chinese, there have
been delwrred and deported during the
last six years only 14.15(5 out of a total
of 2.137.r. The unseen benefits arts-
lug from these firm measures of ex- t
rluxlon, however, are perhaps greater
than those which are disclosed by the
statistical tables, for many have born
detorrcd from coining by knowledge of
the laws aud the fear of their en- j
forcement.
It has been ohccrevd during recent
years that those Interdicted under
existing laws are not the only persons
whotie coming Is undesirable, and that
there has been a derided Increase In
the influx of people whose presence
is Injurious. These new and unwel
come accessions are from countries
which contributed but little to the
earlier Immigration. They differ from
the former in race and quality. The
very large per cent of the immigration
until quite recently came fronV the
United Kingdom, Germany, Sweden,
Norway and Denmark. It was In the
main Intelligent, Industrious, frugal,
law respecting and liberty loving. It
readily assimilated with us and
merged Into the American with mar
velous facility. It contributid to our
Btatesmanship, to our literature, to
our commerce, to our agriculture, and
to all other avenues of Industry. Be
ginning with the last decade, a change
, occurred in both the nationality and
Quality of our Immigration. Those
who were chiefly of the Slavonic coun
tries began to come In great and" In
creasing numbers. Among them were
many very undesirable acquisitions;
many from the better portions of Italy,
AuHtrla-Hungary and other oatern
and southern countries were educated,
enterprising and brave, but the larger
per cent was 111 fitted to become a part
of our population or to assumo the
privileges and responsibilities of
American citizens. They possessed a
low order of intelligence and an infer
ior standard of life, and had no ade
quate conception of the marvelous sig
nificance of our Institutions. This
fact has awakened the people to the
necessity of some protective measure.
If it be said that in further restrict
ing immigration wo are departing from
the traditional policy of our govern
ment, we answer ...at conditions have
changed, and with new conditions the
. VoMcy of the government must change
lO meei inciii. no poucy nnuuiu mouu
against the best Interests of our coun-
trymen, native and foreign born alike.
It will be Instructive to observe the
number of Immigrants and aliens ar-
prior to 1820, but it Is ewtimatcd by
generally accepted authority that the
number between the close of the war
of the revolution and 1820 was 2.r.0,000.
Since 1820 the arrivals by decennial
periods was:
Decade ending with
1830, aliens 143,439
1840, aliens 599.125
1850, aliens 1,713,251
1860, aliens to 1855; Immi
grants 1856 to 1860 2,598,214
1870, immigrants 2.314.824
1880, Immigrants 2,812.191
1890, immigrants 5,246,613
1891 to 1897 (seven years)... 2,741,399
Total immigrants and
aliens 18,169,056
The foregoing came chiefly from the
countries and in the. numbers follow
ing: Germany 4,967,776
Ireland 3.781.043
England 2.638.596
Norway and Sweden 1,182,788
Austria-Hungary 813,259
Italy 804,789
Russia and Poland 714,938
France 393,536
Scotland 367,041
Switzerland i9,246
Denmark 185, 654
The radical change which began in
1880 in the nativity of the principal
arrivals may be conveniently observed
by forming two principal groups one
embodying the western and northern
and the other the eastern and southern
parts of Europe. The per cent of Im
migration from these groups to the
total Immigration was as follows:
From
United From
Kingdom, Austria,
France, Hungary,
Germany, Italy, Po
and Scan- land and
Year. dlnavla. Russia.
1880
1890
1895
1896
64.5
57.7
51.4
37.6
36.7
8.5
340
39.7
52.1
E1.7
1897
A rise In the ratio of immigration
from eastern and southern Europe
I 0- " to .U, per cent in seventeen
years, and a fall in the ratio from the
western and northern countries from
64.5 to 36.7 per cent in the same period
may well lead us to pause and inquire
whither the change is In the national
interest
One of the most noticeable incidents
in this remarkable change in the
source and nativity of the Imm'grants
is the marked addition to our illiterate
p,.,,. The decrease in immlgra
" . ...
tion has been from countries which
have hitherto sent us but a small per
rent of illiterates, and the Increase
is from countries where the Ignorance
is greatest. Thirty-nine and -nine-tenths
per cent of those above 14 years
of age from Austria-Hungary,
Ka, pdand ani Russia last year
j .V neIther rea(3 nor ue. while
j only 3.6 per cent of those from the
United Kingdom, France, Germany and
Scandinavia were illiterate. When we
. witness this increase In the illiterate
' accessions to our population we may
recall the warning of George
j William Curtis. "It us hewaro how
, we vater our llfeblo.id." Let us not
. undulv tax our assimilative powers.
No one can view this great Invasion
of illiteracy without grave concern.
Ws should addre to otirwlves tha
qutlm, Whui will be Its tffect If tt
continues to flow with Increasing ra
tlo? The counlrbn which supply iim
greater numbr of Illiterates furnished,
Utm than 1 per cent of the Itnmlgrs.
Hon In 18'9, 8 5 per rent In 1KX0, aad.
51.7 per rent In 197. The undesirable.
T,1"" .by pnlc u,in'u
desirable Immigrants.
Mr. Bryce, with rare felicity, ob-
serves the evil which has given rlssj
to the pending bill: "The most con-
frpiruous evidence or American proa
perlty has 1mm n hitherto seen In tha
high standard of living to whichIn
native working rlusxes of the north
have risen. In the abundance of their
food and the quality of their clothing.
In the neatness and comforts of their
holm's. In the decent orderliness of
their lives, and the fondmss for read
ing of thlr women. The settlers of
the lat half century, though at-first
far behind the native Americans la
all thesa respects, have tended to rise
to their level, and except In a few of
the larger cities, have, after "Tufteea
years, pracllcally adopted America.
standards of comfort But with ths
last dorado new swarms of Kuropea
immigrants have Invaded America,
drawn from their homes li the east
ern part of central Europe by ths con
slant rhonpcnlng of ocean transit fid
by that more thorough drainage, so
to speak, of the Island regions of
Europe which Is duo to the ex ensloB
of railways. These Immigrants, large
ly of the Slavonic rare, come from ft
inwer sTrnta of civilization than tho
German Immigrants of the past and.
since they speak foreign tongues, f rt
less amenable to American Influences
There seems to be a danger
that if they continue to come In larga
numbers they may retain their own
low standard of decency and comfort
and menace the continuance among ths
working class generally of that far
higher standard which has hitherto
prevailed In all but a few spots in this
country. Alroady the United States,
which twenty years ago rejoiced ta
lmlgratlon, begins to regard It wlta
dsqulet"
A study of the last census leads to
the conclusion that our foreign popu
lation contributes a large number
our almshomes, penitentiaries, Insano
asylums, and reformatories which
would bo excluded under the provi
sions of the pending bill. There wero
in the almshoUHCS In 1890 73,045 pau
pers, of whom 27,648 were foreign
born and 36,656 were native whites.
The nationality of 2,274 whites was)
undisclosed; the residue wore colored.
It Is thus seen that the foreign-bora
whites constituted 43 per cent and tha
native whites 57 per cent of the whlt
pauper element whose parentage was)
known. The full significance of this
Is realized when we bear in mind ths
disparity In the respective number
of our nallvo and foreign population.
Dr. Wines, In his bulletin upon Con
victs in Penitentiaries in the United
States at the Eleventh census, saya
that
The foreign population of this coun
try contributes, directly or Indirectly,
In the persons of the foreign-born or
their Immediate descendants, very
nearly three-firths of all the paupers
supported in almshouses. Thla dis
proportion between the two elements
In respect of the burden of pauperism
is even greater than that In respect
of crime.
The exhibit with respect to the crim
inal calendar Is equally Important.
There were 67,310 white criminals,
28.25 per cent of whom were foreigik
born Bind 71.75 per cent were natlvt.
But those who were of foreign blrta
or foreign parentage It appears" com
mitted 57.56 per cent of the crime.
We may pursue the record further
as to Juvenile offenders and the insane
with substantially similar result
The foreign element Is shown to hava
contributed an undue proportion ta
each class.
The educational test will have a
very direct effect in reducing the num
ber of contributions to the foregolnf
unfortunate and objectionable classes.
It appears that 20.56 per cent of tht
foreign-born criminals and .30.11 per
cent of the foreign-born white pauper
were Illiterate. A large number of
these could not have secured admis
sion to this country under i.ie pro
visions of the pending bill, and to
that extent we would have been re
lieved of the burden which their com
ing Imposed.
The gravitation of undesirable im
migrants into the large c.es and their
reinforcement of the slum districts la
one of the pronounced evils. These
slum districts make their ample con
tribution to the police courts, tha
workhouses, the penitentiaries, and are
a burdensome tax upon the benevo
lence and thrift of the community.
They are the hotbeds of vice, where
American customs and Institutions)
are foreign, and where in many In
stances the banner of the republic to
not the emblem most honored.
In Baltimore 77 per cent of the total
slum population Is of foreign birth
or parentage; in Chicago, 90 per cent;
in New York, 95 per cent, and in Phil
adelphia, 91 per cent
It will be seen that nationalities)
which constitute the larger pef cent
of the slum elements are those from
which our least desirable foreicn pop
ulation has been drawn recently with
increasing ratio; much the greater per
cent of it is from the eastern smd
southern European countries, which
contribute most liberally to foreign
illiterates. Twenty-three and one
tenth per cent of the illiterates in the
slums of the cities named were of
Scandinavia, Great Britain, trance,
Crermany and Ireland, while more than
twice that number, or 53.6 per cent.
were of Austria-Hungary, Russia, Po
land and Italy. In striking contrast
with this is the fact that only 7.4 per
cent was composed of native Ameri
cans. The more recent immigration is less
devoted to home building than ths
former. There is a disproportion' In
the number of the males and females
j whicn t3 noticeable. The arr. als from
! tne United Kingdom, Germany,
Sweden, Norway ana seouana navs
been composed of substantially an
equal number of males and females,
while the equilibrium between ths
sexes from other countries Is not ob
served. They send us 58 per cent of
males and only 42 per cent of females.
Continued on Page 8.
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