136 JOHN R. COMMONS 



on a problem of political and economic equality with material 

 marked by extreme racial inequality. 



Prior to the year 1875 the laws of the United States im- 

 posed no prohibition upon the immigration of paupers from 

 foreign countries, and not until the federal government took 

 from the states the administration of the law in 1S91 did the 

 prohibitions of the existing law become reasonably effective. 

 Since that year there have been anually debarred as hkely to 

 become public charges 431 to 5,812 arrivals, the latter number 

 being debarred in the year 1903. In addition to those de- 

 barred at landing, there have been annually returned within 

 one year after landing, 177 to 637 immigrants, who had mean- 

 time become public charges. From these statements it will be 

 seen that, prior to 1891, it was possible and quite probable that 

 many thousand paupers and prospective paupers were ad- 

 mitted by the immigration authorities, and consequently the 

 proportion of paupers among the foreign born, as shown by the 

 census of 1890 (the latest census covering the subject), was 

 probably larger than that which will be shown by succeeding 

 censuses. In the earlier years systematic arrangements were 

 in force in foreign countries, especially Great Britain, to assist 

 in the deportation of paupers to the IJnited States, and there- 

 fore it is not surprising that, apart from race characteristics, 

 there should have come to this country larger numbers of Irish 

 paupers than those from any other nationaUty. The Irish in 

 the United States, and, in a lesser degree the English and 

 Scotch, have incurred an undeserved obloquy through their 

 preeminence in the pauper records, because, during the period 

 of their greatest migration, our laws had not yet been enacted 

 and enforced for the exclusion of paupers. Taking, however, 

 the census reports for 1890, and confining our attention to the 

 north Atlantic states, where children are generally provided 

 for in separate estabhshments, we have the following as the 

 relative extent of pauperism among males. 



Per milhon voting population, north Atlantic states, 1890. 



Native white, native parents 2,096 



Native white, foreign parents 1,782 



Foreign white 4,653 



Colored 5,067 



