IMMIGRATION AXD THE PUBLIC HEALTH 



3 2 7 



immigrants on a thoroughly adequate basis will cost money in large 

 amount. But it is not only a good and economic investment, it is 

 absolutely essential in order to conserve our national mental health and 

 to ensure a normal mentality to coming generations. 



Among the important agencies operating directly to promote mental 

 public health is the present mental hygiene movement. This is a care- 

 fully organized effort of national scope, which is being directed and 

 promoted by the National Committee for Mental Hygiene with head- 

 quarters in New York City. The field activities of this committee are 

 under the direction of Dr. Thomas "W. Salmon, of the IT. S. Public 

 Health Service. The object of the committee is to popularize the cor- 

 rect knowledge of the causes of mental impairment, to supply agencies 

 for furnishing advice to persons threatened with, or actually suffering 

 from mental breakdown, and to furnish preventive social service for 

 such cases. Insanity is a disease and a large proportion of the cases 

 are due to preventable causes. The National Committee is also making 

 a medical survey of the country with reference to methods of caring for 

 the 200,000 insane of the country. At present there is a lamentable 

 lack of uniformity in the different states, in the facilities and methods 

 employed in insane hospitals, and the standards of care are very low 

 in manv. 



III. Importance of the Immigration Station for the 



Public Health 

 An}- discussion of the relation of immigration to the public health 

 must take cognizance not alone of the mental and physical effect of 

 incoming immigrants on the present population, but must concern itself 

 very particularly with the selection and enforcement of the best methods 

 of excluding the unfit. The relative importance of the leading ports 

 of entry in number of immigrants examined is shown in the following 

 table : 





1909 



1910 



1911 



1912 



New York (Ellis Island) 



724,757 

 47,895 

 20,510 

 15,083 



896,015 

 62,075 

 31,245 

 39,671 



1,198,037 



749,642 

 54,759 

 23.543 

 46,857 



1,093,809 



726,040 

 59,893 

 22,667 



47,742 





Philadelphia 



Total for U. S 



944,235 



1,143,234 



It is seen that Ellis Island, the immigration station for New York, 



is by far the largest port of entry. Hence it is the most representative 



place to study practical methods of immigrant examination. These 



methods have been described elsewhere in detail. 1 Certain features 



only need mention at this time. 



1 Alfred C. Keed, "The Medical Side of Immigration," The Popular 

 Science Monthly, April, 1912; and "Going through Ellis Island," The Pop- 

 ular Science Monthly, January, 1913. 



