IMMIGRATION. 165 



And then there is the restless emigrant who desires simply to better 

 his financial condition. He recognizes no patriotic obligation to the 

 new country which treats him kindly, and has no quarrel with the coun- 

 try of his birth, but intends returning to his native land when he has 

 acquired a competence in the United States. 



Many of the existing conditions in Europe act strongly as contrib- 

 uting causes of emigration — the price of land in many countries is pro- 

 hibitive, especially when the poverty of the mass of the people is con- 

 sidered. In other countries, systems of land tenure obtain which make 

 it impossible for the tenant to become an owner. 



In parts of Europe discrimination against certain races or religions 

 is carried to the extent of debarring any one of the proscribed race or 

 religion from owning land. This same discrimination against race or 

 religion imposes educational barriers in some countries which prevent 

 the elevation of the poor because of their race or religion in the social 

 scale. 



Many emigrants, therefore, leave Europe because they know that 

 in the United States their children will enjoy educational advantages 

 denied them at home, and without which they can not hope to better 

 their condition. 



Great density of population and the accompanying excessive compe- 

 tition in the struggle for existence explain emigration from some parts 

 of Europe, and emigration is further stimulated in many of these con- 

 gested areas by the pressure of militarism. 



When some of the contributing causes originating in Europe are 

 accentuated, when militarism exists with its concomitant evils of grind- 

 ing taxation and compulsory military service, when persecution and 

 over-crowding make the struggle for existence hopeless, emigration 

 becomes the alternative of starvation, and the instinct of self-preserva- 

 tion forces these unfortunate creatures to flee at the first opportunity to 

 some new country. 



Convicts, paupers, cripples and diseased persons have many times 

 been shipped to America 'to be rid of them,' by individuals, societies, 

 municipal corporations or even by government agents. 



Of the third class of extraneous causes operating from America or 

 other countries, the most important is the prosperity of the United 

 States. 



During periods of great prosperity the wave of immigration attains 

 its greatest height, and reaches its lowest ebb during periods of indus- 

 trial and commercial depression. Thus during 1882 and 1903, the total 

 of our immigration reached its maximum, while following 1873 and 

 1893 a rapid falling off is noticeable. The people in Europe are in- 

 formed of our wonderful industrial growth and general prosperity by 

 letters from friends and relatives in this country. These letters con- 

 trast conditions of life in America with the poverty or oppression of the 



