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PAGE TWO
Does the South Need Foreign Immigration ?
Note: The above article was written by me
for another publication two years ago. The
recent Convention of Governors at Washington
and the panic of 1907, both prove that my
contention was sound, when written, and it is
sound now. —Bernard Suttler.
In answer to a vital question, I must say
that I think the South does not need the for
eign immigration she can get. Assuming the
negative, it falls upon me to prove my case.
I make no apology for using figures to some
extent, as they are necessary to the develop
ment of this argument.
Let us take Georgia as the subject of inves
tigation, it being an absolutely fair example.
In 1790 my maternal grandfather was born.
In that year Georgia contained 82,548 people.
In 1900, I, in the third generation, saw in
Georgia, a population of 2,210,331, or an in
crease of, say, 2,600 per cent in 110 years, or
three generations! Let us analyze the figures
a little closer. The increase from 1790 to
1800 was 80,138, nearly 400 per cent. Evi
dently a heavy immigration was coming in;
1800 to 1810 increase was 98,750, about 55
per cent, still receiving immigrants; 1810 to
1820 the increase was 88,553, or about 36 per
cent, still getting some immigration; 1820 to
1830 increase about 175,834, or about 52 per
cent; immigration evidently increasing.; 1830
to 1840 increase was 174,569, or about 34 per
cent, still getting immigrants; 1840 to 1850
increase was 209,793, or about 30 per cent, im
migration decreasing. From 1850 to 1900 the
increase was about 120 per cent, or 24 per cent
to the decade, a normal growth without immi
gration.
How Georgians Did Immigrate.
Now, I find that the absolute gain from
1700 to 1850 was 818,637. Let us assume that
one-half of this was immigration (and it is
a liberal estimate) and we have 409,318 peo
ple; but I find that, according to the census
of 1900, there were living in other states
410,000 people who were born in Georgia,
hence it is easily apparent that Georgia has
contributed as many people to other sections
as she has received from without her borders.
Let us now take another step. The growth of
fifty years, practically without immigration,
was about 123 per cent or a little more than
24 per cent to the decade. Let us assume that
20 per cent to the decade, or 2 per cent a
year, was natural growth, or excess of births
over deaths, and let us see where this natural
growth of 2 per cent will lead us.
In 1950, Georgia will have 5,500,000 peo
ple, in 1970 nearly 8,000,000 people, in 2000
nearly 14,000,000 people, and this will come in
three generations, barring some great calam
ity. Let us see what this means. In 1790
the density of population per square mile was
1.4, or say 450 acres per capita ; in 1900 the
density per square mile was 37.6, or say 17
acres per capita; in 2000, with 14,000,000 peo
ple the density per capita would be about 235
per square mile, or say 2 3-4 acres per capita.
In figuring the density of population, no
THE JEFFERSONIAN.
allowance is made for waste lands, cities, high
ways, etc., and with this allowance made,
Georgia, with a population of 14,000,000,
would be more densely populated than Ger
many now is, and would have about 1 1-2
acres of actually tillable Land per capita. All
this in three generations without any immi
gration.
Germany is the home of socialism. Why?
Too many people. Germany has sent us sev
eral millions of immigrants. Why? Too
many people. One of our consuls in a recent
report gives figures on the wages paid in his
dictrict which are absolutely horrifying. The
wonder is that people can sustain life at all
on such pittances.
Another phase: The great progress of the
modern world is due to the Teutonic race. This
Teutonic race, an industrious, pushing mas
terful people may be said to be fairly repre
sented by Germany, England, Sweden, Nor
way, Denmark, Belgium, Holland, Switzerland,
and France (for France in its origin was Teu
tonic and not Latin). All the immigration
from these countries has been -readily assim
ilated by the United States, because we are of
the same stock and they come to us already
imbued with our ideas. The newer immigra
tion is coming from Russia, Hungary, Croa
tia, Greece, Poland. These are alien races, far
removed from us and our ways, knowing lit
tle of our ideas, and caring less, confusing
liberty with license, intent only on the mate
rial things of life, contributing nothing to the
uplift of the national life, but putting upon us
the heavy burden of trying to raise our stand
ards with this additional dead weight added
to our load.
I do not hesitate to say that the welfare of
the people of the United States would be
greatly advanced if another immigrant did
not cross our borders in twenty years. In
making such a statement I do not mean to re
flect upon the many good people who in the
past have cast their lot with us, but merely to
state what I believe to be true under the
present conditions. Who is raising the cla
mor? Let ub consider whence comes all this
clamor for immigrants.
Activities of Steamship Companies.
It is unquestionably true that the great
steamship lines have promoted the movement
from Europe by every means in their power
for the sake of the money paid for transpor
tation, nor do they care anything about qual
ity. A “fare is a far\” These concerns
will beyond question maintain their foreign
agencies and do all they can to keep up the
steady inflow of people. But who are the men
in the South who are clamoring for us to
pitch our tents on the dumping ground for the
steamship lines, with a view to directing the
human current this way? They are the care
less, the unthinking, the greedy. They may
occupy high position, they may have made
money, they may be authorities in certain
lines, but every man jack of them will on
analysis fall under one of the classifications
of the careless, the unthinking, the greedy.
Every Southern newspaper is thundering
forth in stentorian tones the great prosperity
of the South. If this be true, why try to
force matters? Why not let the normal prog
ress move along for a time without getting
crazy to double up at once? The railroads are
naturally eager for any additional impetus
that will make more business for them. They
are corporations without souls, and the man
agers take no cognizance of anything but the
material side of things; they would not care
if the South became as a choice section of
Gehenna, provided it doubles the tariff. They
are not safe guides, and they belong to both
the careless and the greedy classes. Then
there are the manufacturers, who are pros
pering greatly, and because of that great pros
perity are clamoring for more and cheaper la
bor in order to have a still greater prosperity.
I know of one cotton mill with 25,000 spindles
which has prospered so far beyond the expec
tations of its stockholders that they are now
eagerly building a second one of over 30,000
spindles. Not that the country is suffering
for this second mill, but merely to gratify the
aroused avarice of a little bunch of stock
holders. The greedy class is very much in
evidence in this cry for immigrants. The
unthinking class is represented by a large
number of men, who, while competent in their
own pursuits, do no careful thinking about
anything outside their own special callings,-
and these men are caught by any scheme pro
mulgated in the name of progress.
Wealth for Few; Pauperism for Many.
Dividends, Progress. These are the shib
boleths with which we are to be conjured to
our deadly injury. Providence bestowed up
on the inhabitants of the United States a
natural bank of wonderful resources, and we
are doing our -best to see how quick we can
exhaust it and bring about the conditions of
congested and pauperized Europe, all in order
to increase the profits of the few. For that is
what it spells. A somewhat close observation
extending over a good many years has satis
fied me that all special efforts to quicken in
dustrial life result not so much in the diffu
sion of an increased prosperity to the many as
in the enrichment of a few. Our bank of
natural resource is being drawn upon quite
fast enough. The naval stores industry is al
ready decaying and will soon be gone. Ex
perts in lumber admit the exhaustion of the
yellow pine forests of the South in twelve
years, and say that in twenty-five years all
the merchantable hardwood of the South will
be gone. These gigantic interests are in sight
of their end, and will turn loose an army of
laborers who must find places. Railroad build
ing will also have a cessation to a great extent
in no long time, and more labor will be hunt
ing places. What other interest is really suf
fering for anything that ought to be done?
Our farmers can remedy their shortage at
any time by simply better cultivation and bet
ter fertilization of fewer acres. We had cot-