Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 18, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 23 January 1917 — Restrictive Measures Needed to Check Flood of Immigration When War Ends [ARTICLE]

Restrictive Measures Needed to Check Flood of Immigration When War Ends

By R. F. FOERSTER

Professor of Economics of Harvard University

The highest market for labor after the war will be undoubtedly in the I'ntted-States. Prices will be high here; toff.r-ne doubt, and wages probably will liof lietso high as they are now. Nevertheless, the U nited ►States will be the. best country in whieh to make a living and the Euro-jn-an countries will be the worst— So immigration at the rate of. something more than a hrrWton a year is a reasonable thing to expect. TfriFitow wilLlcome To Us witere the work of reconstruction is not going to be a material factor in holding the laborers. It is a mistake to think of the upbuilding of San Francisco after her 1 earthquake, <»r of the reconstruction of Baltimore after her fire, tfs a sample of the things that are, going to happen in Europe. San Francisco and Baltimore were rich cities in a rich country, and reconstruction of something better than that whieh had been destroyed came quickly and as a matter of course. For a symbol of-what is coming in Europe it is better to look to Messina, wliieh'was destroyed eight years ago, and is still in ruins because -of the wniparative-povtu+y of the people of that city and of Italy, they will be much poorer at the end of the war than they were at the time of the Sicilian earthquakes. and the same will be true of Poland and to h gfaMFjuteni of Serlh'imirl Ahw mhl of the Balkuuw<~ Of course any increase in immigration is going to put emphasis once more on the question of whether <>r no the United States should adopt restrictive measures. Personally 1 believe that we shouldr- —That max sound selfish. Butrin a broad way, we cannot in the -United States to raise the tone of our citizenship without its reacting favorably on the other countries of the world. People would simply stay at home until they were better prepared to come, and be the sort of citizens that we ought to haxe. and their home countries would see to it that they were bo prepared. With permanent improvement in Europe, -they would be less likelyto want- to come. — —Z We should tell the: rest of the wprld what-knid of raw material we want for the making of .American citizens and then we will get it.