\\'ard: Immigration and Restrictive Law 



325 



number of aliens of each nationality 

 in this country, or a somewhat larger 

 percentage, say 5% or 10%, based on 

 the numbers of each nationality who 

 have become citizens, is relatively 

 immaterial. The latter, on the whole, 

 seems the more consistent and more 

 rational plan. 



Second : Heavy fines of at least $200 

 should be imposed upon the transporta- 

 tion companies in the case of every 

 alien who is brought here in excess of 

 the quota, and in violation of the 

 general immigration laws. Such fines 

 would immediately put an end to most 

 of the cases of hardship and suffering 

 which have occurred during the past 

 few months because the present law 

 has "no teeth." It is a very strong 

 argument in favor of heavy fines that, 

 by this means, we can force the steam- 

 ship companies, without expense to us 

 and with the minimum of hardship to 

 the intending immigrant, to make a 

 careful examination and count of their 

 passengers on the other side, and thus 

 to prevent the embarkation of all aliens 

 in excess of the quotas, and of those 

 who are inadmissible, for any other 

 reason, under our laws. 



Third : Every prospective immigrant 

 should have a passport, vised by an 

 American consul after the alien has 

 been "passed" by an immigration 

 inspector and a medical oflficer of the 

 U. S. Public Health Service attached, as 

 Vice Consuls, to various consular 

 oiBces abroad. This provision is em- 

 bodied in a bill introduced by Hon. 

 Albert Johnson, of Washington, on 

 July 16, 1921 (H.R. 7804). Such 

 foreign inspection would obviously be a 

 wise and humane way of stopping most 

 of the inadmissible aliens before they 

 started on their voyage. This plan 

 would be to the advantage of the pro- 

 spective immigrant, and it wotild also 

 be better for the steamship companies, 

 for it would mean that very few 

 rejected aliens would have to be taken 

 back at the companies' expense. Can- 

 ada has for years eliminated her unde- 



sirable immigrants "at the source." 

 Passports would not give the alien the 

 right to land if, after a second examina- 

 tion at our own ports, he were found to 

 be inadmissible. Cases of this sort 

 would, however, be rare. Furthermore, 

 the number of passports issued in each 

 foreign country should not exceed the 

 of^cial percentage quota of that 

 country. 



Fourth : Some plan of registration of 

 arriving aliens such as that suggested 

 by Secretary Davis might well be 

 inaugurated. This would not in any 

 way constitute the alien a suspected or 

 an undesirable person, but it would 

 help us in our task of Americanization 

 and of exercising a sort of watchful 

 supervision over our new arrivals. 



The logical thing to do is to plan our 

 new legislation along existing lines. 

 Experience has shown that these are 

 on the whole wise, sane and reasonable. 

 (Canada, for example, has, in her 

 immigration laws, closely followed our 

 general immigration law, although she 

 has added many additional restric- 

 tions.) With the changes and additions 

 above suggested, certain perfectly defi- 

 nite results would follow, viz., (1) a 

 reasonable restriction, to something 

 like an assimilable quantity, of the 

 number of immigrants; (2) a far more 

 careful selection, and a more effective 

 elimination of the unfit ; (3) a very great 

 reduction in the number of cases of 

 hardship now arising when aliens 

 reach our shores only to be deported. 



In the light of all available facts, it 

 would seem in the highest degree 

 unwise, illogical and dangerous to 

 embark upon any new and untried 

 schemes of immigration legislation, 

 such as those of putting almost unlimi- 

 ted discretionary powers in the hands of 

 a Commission; of repealing any portion 

 of our general immigration Act of 1917, 

 and of superseding the Chinese Exclu- 

 sion Act and the "Gentlemen's Agree- 

 ment" with Japan by a plan for 

 admitting Orientals on any percentage 

 basis. 



