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grants came to the United States from all parts of the island, but these people presented no difficulties of assimilation, and were a valuable addition to the population. Later came Germans and Scandinavians whose blending with the people of the United States was merely the reunion of kindred stocks. Then came FrenchCanadians, a valuable element, but these have been, in a broad sense, Americans for generations, and their coming to the United States was merely a movement of Americans from one part of America to another.

But since 1890 there has been a great change in the proportion of the various nationalities emigrating from Europe to America. The growth in recent years in our immigration has been from Italy, Poland, Hungary, and Russia, from subjects of the Sultan, and is now extending to Asia Minor. With the exception of the Italians, these people have never been amalgamated with the races which have built up the United States.

The only restrictive legislation in regard to immigration into the United States relates to Mongolians. All the rest of such legislation, although somewhat restrictive in effect, is purely selective in character. The criminal, the diseased, all laborers under contract, and all "assisted immigrants" are excluded. There is a growing and active demand for more restrictive legislation.

Late reports give the total number of aliens admitted into the United States during 1907 as 1,285,349, while 13,064 aliens were rejected. Of those admitted, 1,100,771 ranged in age from 14 years to 44 years, 138,344 were under 14 years old, while only 46,234 were over 44 years of age. About thirty per cent of the total number could not read or write. Concerning the financial condition of the immigrants, 873,923 brought less than $50.00, while 107,502 showed more than that amount. The total amount brought into the country by immigrants was $25,599,893, an average of about $20.00 for each person. Ch. XXVI.

Keeping the Nation's Gates. Two recent official utterances concerning the regulation of immigration at New York are de

serving of attention and will be regarded with approval by thought. ful men. The right and the duty of deporting objectionable aliens, even after they have been domiciled here for some time, are not to be denied or neglected. But the prior and superior rights and duties are those of strict scrutiny and inexorable rejection of unfit applicants for entrance to these shores. We are not unmindful of the fact that some benevolently disposed persons disapprove such exclusion, and urge that the gates of this nation should be opened freely to the poor and oppressed of all lands. But there is such a thing as carrying the idea of asylum too far.

Ch. XXVI.

Coolies Still Evade the Laws.-Chinese immigration has long been a subject presenting many difficulties to the Government and to Congress. In the early days, when there were no restrictions, tens of thousands of Celestials poured into the country, mostly remaining on the Pacific coast, although gradually going into almost all other sections, until the situation in California became practically intolerable and there was a cry for legislation which could not remain unheeded.

In 1881 a treaty was concluded with China,—the government of which has always asserted a desire to keep her coolie class at home, which restricted but did not wholly prohibit the immigration of laborers, and admitted teachers, students, merchants, and travelers. This was not satisfactory, and in 1884 the coming of Chinese laborers was absolutely suspended for ten years, the law being extended indefinitely in 1902.

In order to prevent evasions, the law of 1893 defined Chinese laborers to be all skilled and unskilled manual laborers, miners, fishers, hucksters, peddlers, and laundrymen. A merchant was defined as a person who is engaged in buying and selling merchandise at a fixed place of business, and who does not engage in any kind of manual labor. All laborers who had been here prior to the passage of the law were compelled to take out certificates of identification, giving all physical peculiarities, and with a photograph of the applicant affixed. If any of these

laborers desired to return to China and then come back to the United States, permission could be obtained only on the ground, which had to be established by sworn testimony, that he had a wife, minor child, or parent here, or property to the value of $1,000, or debts to the amount of $1,000 due him and pending settlement.

Under these rigid regulations Chinese immigration has been restricted, so far as legal entries are concerned, to practically a minimum. For the year 1907 the total entries were 3,255, and there were deported, as coming under the excluded classes, the small number of 259. Of the entries nearly 1,000 were United States citizens, that is, Chinese born in this country; 765 were returning laborers, 733 returning merchants, the latter with their wives and families composing about one half of the total immigration. There were 122 students, 10 travelers, and 6 teachers. There is no doubt that very many of those entering as American citizens" were not entitled to admission.

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Very many Chinese, knowing that they have not the necessary credentials to admit them at a port of entry, go to Canada or Mexico and get across the border. There are, on both the Canadian and Mexican borders, white men who engage in the business of smuggling Chinamen into the United States and in securing the testimony necessary to secure their admission if they are arrested.

While the perpetration of frauds along the Canadian border has largely decreased within recent years because of the head tax of $500 imposed by the Dominion on all Chinese immigrants, many are being smuggled across from Mexico. Statistics show that more than 45,000 Chinamen have come to Mexico, 5,000 during 1906, and yet in 1909 there were not over 15,000 Chinese in that republic. The only, and the legitimate, conclusion is that they have found their way across the boundary into the United States. It may be said in this connection that the same is true of the Japanese. About 8,000 Japanese entered Mexico in 1905 and 1906, and yet in 1909 there were only about 2,000 there. An

Am. Cit.-26

inspector in the Bureau of Immigration, after thorough investigation, reports that fully 15,000 aliens from Europe and Asia enter the United States annually from Mexico. Chinese immigration, prohibited as it is, presents many curious difficulties. Ch. XXVI.

The Commerce Court.-Congress further exercised its creative power by the formation of the Commerce Court June 18, 1910. This is a court of record composed of five judges assigned from time to time by the Chief Justice of the United States from among the circuit judges of the United States for a period of five years. In the first instance, however, the court is composed of the five additional circuit judges recently appointed (1910) by President Taft, by and with the consent of the Senate. The jurisdiction of the court covers cases relating to the enforcement, suspension, or annulment of any orders of the Interstate Commerce Commission. The court, for instance, will settle disputes between railroads and shippers. In the opinion of many, this court will dominate the activities of the Interstate Commerce Commission. Ch. XXVI.

Great Naval Base at Pearl Harbor.-Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, is beyond question one of the best, if not the best, natural harbors in the world. It has a depth of water of over sixty feet and an area of over ten square miles, and is capable of floating the combined navies of the world. It is not only landlocked, but, by reason of the topography of the surrounding ground, ships lying in this harbor are out of view from the open sea. It is the only really good site for a naval base in the Pacific ocean, and is the recognized key to naval supremacy in those waters. Its equipment as an operating base is essential to the most successful operation of our fleets whether offensive or defensive.

For over sixty-six years the United States Government has recognized the strategic importance of the Hawaiian Islands. In 1842, President Tyler gave notice to all European nations that the United States would never consent to their occupying Hawaii or establishing any naval base there. This "Monroe doctrine of the

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