In response to the resolution adopted at St. Louis, President Roosevelt, on October 20, 1904, invited the nations which had taken part in the first Hague conference to another conference at the same place. But in his message to Congress of that year he defined very clearly his own position, condemning in no uncertain terms the thought of peace at any price. "There are kinds of peace," he said, "which are highly undesirable, which are in the long run as destructive as any war. The peace of tyrannous terror, the peace of craven weakness, the peace of injustice—all these should be shunned as we shun unrighteous war."



Building where the second Peace Conference was held, The Hague, Holland.

Favorable replies to the invitation sent by President Roosevelt were received from all the nations. Russia, then in the midst of war with Japan, while approving, stipulated that the conference should not be called until the end of that war. When peace was restored, in the summer of 1905, Emperor Nicholas II issued an invitation to fifty-three nations to send representatives to such a conference. For the first time, nearly every independent nation on the globe was represented among the delegates in an international gathering of this nature. It met at The Hague during the summer of 1907.



First session of the second Peace Conference, The Hague, Holland.

Delegates from the United States were instructed to favor obligatory arbitration; the establishment of a permanent court of arbitration; the prohibition of force in the collection of contract debts; immunity from seizure of private property at sea; a clearer definition of the rights of neutrals, and the limitation of armaments.

While belief was reasserted by the conference that there should be the obligatory arbitration of all questions relating to treaties and international problems of a legal nature, the principle was not adopted, although thirty-two nations of the forty-five represented favored it.

The resolution adopted, which provided for the collection of contract debts, is as follows: "In order to avoid between nations armed conflicts of a purely pecuniary origin arising from contractual debts claimed of the government of one country by the government of another country to be due to its nationals, the signatory powers agree not to have recourse to armed force for the collection of such contractual debts. However, this stipulation shall not be applicable when the debtor State refuses or leaves unanswered an offer to arbitrate; or, in case of acceptance, makes it impossible to formulate the terms of submission; or, after arbitration, fails to comply with the award rendered."

Provision was made for an international prize court, to which appeal might be made from the prize courts of the belligerent powers. The declaration was adopted prohibiting the throwing of projectiles and explosives from balloons.

Before the end of the year 1908, one hundred and thirty-five arbitration treaties had been concluded. The United States was a party to twelve of these. Most of the treaties bind the signatory powers to submit to the Hague Tribunal all differences in so far as they do not affect "the independence, the honor, the vital interests, or the exercise of sovereignty of the contracting countries, and provided it has been impossible to obtain an amicable solution by means of direct diplomatic negotiations or by any other method of conciliation."



CHAPTER VI

THE UNITED STATES AND LATIN AMERICA

[1905-1906]

Looking toward the completion of the Panama Canal, there has been a revival of interest on the part of the United States in the republics of South America. From the time of the promulgation of the Monroe Doctrine, there has been a distant friendship on our part for these nations. The plan inaugurated by James G. Blaine when Secretary of State is much better understood to-day than in his time. In 1881, with the desire of emphasizing the leadership of the United States in the western hemisphere, he proposed a congress of all the American nations. Nothing came of the proposal at the time, but in 1888 Congress passed a resolution providing for such an international conference. The meeting was in Washington the following year, and Secretary Blaine, as chairman, exercised great influence. While the direct results of the meeting were not great—principally a declaration in favor of the arbitration of all disputes among these nations—the indirect benefits were considerable. In 1901 a second Pan-American congress was held in the city of Mexico.



Courtesy of the Pan-American Union. Federal Palace, where the second Pan-American Congress was held in the City of Mexico.

In the meantime the trade with these countries has been largely monopolized by England, France, and Germany. During the year 1905, the total exports and imports of the Latin-American countries amounted to $2,000,000,000. Of this foreign trade the United States bought 35 per cent of the exports and sold to these countries only 27 per cent of their imports, producing an unfavorable balance of trade amounting to $200,000,000. Of the goods imported from this country, over one-fourth went to Mexico and Cuba. In that year Brazil bought from the United States only 11 per cent of its imports. Argentina, with a larger foreign trade than either Japan or China, bought only 14 per cent of its imports from the United States. With the exception of Mexico, the foreign commerce of the Latin-American states with European countries has increased more rapidly than with the United States. Various reasons have been given for this situation. The sensitive South American resents the air of superiority assumed toward them by the people of the United States. In our newspapers there is a seeming disregard for the real evidences of their national development. Revolutions and boundary disputes have been exaggerated. In general, citizens of the United States have no comprehension of the advancement of these countries within recent times and appreciate but slightly that their economic future is as fully assured as our own. Argentina constitutes an excellent example of this progress. This country has an area of 1,135,840 square miles. Splendid rivers water the immense plains. The chief of these, the Parana, which flows 2,000 miles through the country, carries a volume of water to the sea one and one-half times that of the Mississippi, and is capable of floating ships having a draught of 18 feet for 600 miles into the interior. Buenos Ayres, with a population of 1,000,000, in 1906 had a volume of foreign trade amounting to $562,000,000, constituting it the twelfth port in the world. In 1905 over 10,000,000 acres of land were cultivated in Argentina, an increase of fourfold within fifteen years. The cereals, cotton, fruits, and meats produced amounted to $350,000,000.

That the volume of trade between this country and the South American states has been so small has been due also to the fact that so few vessels flying the stars and stripes are engaged in this trade. According to the report of Secretary Root, in 1906, there were in the harbor of Rio Janeiro the previous year, 1,785 ships flying the flag of Great Britain; 657 the flag of Germany; 349 the French; 142 the Norwegian, and 7 sailing vessels (two of them in distress) the flag of the United States. The bulk of goods from this country to South America goes by the way of European ports and on foreign ships.



Courtesy of the Pan-American Union. Monroe Palace, where the third Pan-American Conference was held in Rio de Janeiro.

July 4, 1906, the third Pan-American conference was opened at Rio Janeiro. Among the leading questions discussed were: (1) the right of creditor nations to enforce by war on the debtor nations contractual obligations, or the right to use gun-boats as collection agents; and (2) those relating to commercial intercourse. Besides the regular delegates from the United States, Elihu Root, Secretary of State, was present at the opening session. His address at this meeting, together with his visit to the leading cities, served to inaugurate a new understanding between these countries and the United States. The true American policy was set forth by Secretary Root in the following toast: "May the independence, the freedom, and the rights of the least and weakest be ever respected equally with the rights of the strongest, and may we all do our share toward the building up of a sound and enlightened public opinion of the Americas which shall everywhere, upon both continents, mightily promote the reign of peace, of order, and of justice in every American republic." He went as Ambassador Extraordinary representing the President of the United States. In order to emphasize his official position, he travelled on an American war-ship. His addresses made in the various cities were intended to be an official declaration from the government of the United States, and that position was outlined in his formal address before the congress. "We wish for no victories," he said, "but those of peace; for no territory except our own; for no sovereignty except the sovereignty over ourselves. We deem the independence and equal rights of the smallest and weakest member of the family of nations entitled to as much respect as those of the greatest empire, and we deem the observance of that respect the chief guaranty of the weak against the oppression of the strong. We neither claim nor desire any rights or privileges or powers that we do not freely concede to every American republic. We wish to increase our prosperity, to expand our trade, to grow in wealth, in wisdom, and in spirit, but our conception of the true way to accomplish this is not to pull down others and profit by their ruin, but to help all friends to a common prosperity and a common growth, that we may all become greater and stronger together."



Courtesy of the Pan-American Union. Arrival of Secretary Root at Rio de Janeiro.

The International Bureau of American Republics was founded as a result of the first Pan-American conference. The original plans of the founders were not carried out owing to a lack of interest on the part of the Department of State as well as in the foreign offices of the South American countries. Secretary Root determined to make this bureau an efficient agency for bringing about better relations between the two continents. He defined the main purpose to be not only to build up trade and commerce among all American nations, but to promote more friendly relations, a better understanding of each other, and the general prosperity and well-being of all the countries of the American continents. Through gifts from Andrew Carnegie and contributions from the different South American states a splendid modern building, costing $1,000,000, was erected in Washington, 1908, as the home of the Bureau of the Pan-American Republics. Besides other enterprises, the Bureau publishes a monthly periodical which contains information on the commerce, new enterprises, and general development of each republic.



Photograph by Clinedinst. The Bureau of the Pan-American Republics.

With these new relationships came a new interpretation of the Monroe Doctrine. At various times European nations have engaged in controversies with South American states over the payment of debts due the citizens of the former. The question has then arisen, to what extent shall the United States permit the use of force against the debtor nations? The wider application of the Monroe Doctrine under President Cleveland looking toward the maintenance of the rights of the weaker American nations, has been followed by recognition of our obligation to secure the performance of duties by those nations. Said President Roosevelt (1905): "We cannot permanently adhere to the Monroe Doctrine unless we succeed in making it evident, in the first place, that we do not intend to treat it in any shape or way as an excuse for aggrandizement on our part at the expense of the republics to the south of us; second, that we do not intend to permit it to be used by any of these republics as a shield to protect that republic from the consequences of its own misdeeds against foreign nations; third, that inasmuch as by this doctrine we prevent other nations from interfering on this side of the water, we shall ourselves in good faith try to help those of our sister republics, which need such help, upward toward peace and order."

The immediate cause for this statement by President Roosevelt was the problem confronting our government on account of the bankrupt condition of the Republic of Santo Domingo. Debts had accumulated for over thirty years until by the beginning of 1905 they amounted to more than $32,000,000. Each successive ruler became a more reckless borrower and new loans were secured upon harsher terms.

Finally affairs were brought to a crisis on account of the pressure on the part of the French and Italian governments for the payment of the claims of their citizens. The republic was on the verge of dissolution when President Roosevelt intervened. European governments were satisfied, for it signified the payment of their claims. An agreement was signed by representatives of the government of Santo Domingo and of the United States whereby the United States was to undertake the task of collecting and apportioning the revenues of Santo Domingo. The stipulation was made that no plan of annexation, purchase, or permanent control on the part of the United States should ensue. Agents were to be appointed by the United States who should take charge of the customhouses. Forty-five per cent of the total receipts were to be used in carrying on the affairs of the republic and the balance was to go to pay the indebtedness. In his message, February, 1905, President Roosevelt, pressing upon the Senate the urgent need for the ratification of this agreement, said: "The state of things in Santo Domingo has become hopeless unless the United States or some other strong government shall interpose to bring order out of chaos. . . . If the United States declines to take action and other foreign governments resort to action to secure payment of their claims, the latter would be entitled, according to the decision of the Hague Tribunal in the Venezuela cases, to the preferential payment of their claims; and this would absorb all the Dominican revenues and would be a virtual sacrifice of American claims and interests in the island. If, moreover, any such action should be taken by them, the only method to enable the payment of their claims would be to take possession of the custom-houses, and, considering the state of the Dominican finances, this would mean a definite and very possibly permanent occupation of Dominican territory, for no period could be set to the time which would be necessarily required for the payment of their obligations and unliquidated claims." The Senate, in special session, shirked responsibility and refused either to ratify or reject the treaty.

With the revolutionists on the island growing stronger and the European Powers becoming more insistent, President Roosevelt, disregarding the attitude of the Senate, appointed an American as receiver of customs. The move proved immediately successful. The insurrection died out, trade revived, smuggling ceased, and the people were infused with a new spirit. There was also a remarkable increase in the customs receipts, those of 1906 showing an increase of 44 per cent over the receipts of 1905 and 72 per cent over those of 1904. Although only 45 per cent of the revenues collected were turned over to the Dominican government, this sum was almost double the amount which they had received when they had control of the collection themselves.

After two years of discussion, the treaty was ratified by the Senate, February 25, 1907, and by the Dominican Congress, May 3. The terms were practically those which had been carried out by order of President Roosevelt. The United States, in a sense, became the trustee of Santo Domingo, and thus established a new relation between this country and the smaller republics of the western hemisphere.



CHAPTER VII

CONSERVATION OF NATURAL RESOURCES

[1906]

Toward the close of the nineteenth century, attention was called to the fact by scientific men that the methods employed in the use of our soil, mines, forests, and water supply were extremely wasteful. During the previous decades the resources of the country were regarded as inexhaustible. As stated by President Roosevelt in 1907: "Hitherto as a nation we have tended to live with an eye single to the present, and have permitted the reckless waste and destruction of much of our national wealth." At the same time the call came for the conservation of our natural resources.

The destruction of the forests first attracted attention. The first national reservation of forests was made in 1891, and in 1898 a marked advance was made by the establishment of a division of Forestry in the Department of Agriculture. Gifford Pinchot, as chief of the division, called attention of the people to the interdependence of the forests and the waterways.



Grizzly Giant, Mariposa Grove, California, with a squad of cavalry at its base.



Big tree "Wanona," showing the relative size of other conifers compared with big trees. Mariposa Grove.

In 1906, after long effort, the famous Mariposa Grove of large trees in California was made a national reservation. During the same year a bill was passed by Congress providing for the preservation of Niagara Falls. Public opinion had been aroused by the campaign of the American Civic Association. Power companies had multiplied so rapidly that it seemed the whole volume of water was about to be used for commercial purposes and that the most famous object of natural scenery in the United States would be destroyed.

In response to appeals from the people of the interior, President Roosevelt, March 14, 1907, appointed the Inland Waterways Commission. In his letter which created the commission he said: "The time has come for merging local projects and uses of the inland waters in a comprehensive plan designed for the benefit of the entire country. . . . I ask that the Inland Waterways Commission shall consider the relations of the streams to the use of all the great permanent natural resources and their conservation for the making and maintenance of prosperous homes."

This commission while carrying on its investigations discussed the general policy of conservation and suggested to the President the calling of a convention for the purpose of discussing the conservation of the nation's resources. Thus originated the celebrated White House conference of May 13-15, 1908. The opening session presented an impressive scene, for there were assembled in the east room of the White House, upon the invitation of the President, the Vice-President, seven members of the cabinet, all of the justices of the Supreme Court, most of the representatives and senators, thirty-four governors of States together with their advisers, and representatives of the governors of the remaining States, governors of the Territories, representatives of sixty-eight national societies, and numerous special guests.

The opening address of President Roosevelt was a notable effort. "This conference," he said, "on the conservation of natural resources is in effect a meeting of the representatives of all the people of the United States called to consider the weightiest problem now before the nation. . . . We have become great in a material sense because of the lavish use of our resources, and we have just reason to be proud of our growth. But the time has come to inquire seriously what will happen when our forests are gone; when the coal, the iron, the oil, and the gas are exhausted; when the soils shall have been still further impoverished and washed into the streams, polluting the rivers, denuding the fields, and obstructing navigation. These questions do not relate only to the next century or the next generation. One distinguishing characteristic of really civilized men is foresight; we have to, as a nation, exercise foresight for this nation in the future, and if we do not exercise that foresight, dark will be the future!"

During the meeting numerous addresses were made on the conservation of the minerals, of the soils, of the forests, and of the waters of the country. In his address on the conservation of ores and related minerals, Andrew Carnegie declared that during the three-fourths of a century from 1820 to 1895 nearly 4,000,000,000 tons of coal were mined by methods so wasteful that 6,000,000,000 tons were either destroyed or allowed to remain in the ground forever inaccessible. From 1896 to 1906 as much coal was produced as during the preceding seventy-five years. During this decade 3,000,000,000 tons were destroyed or left in the ground beyond reach for future use. Basing his statements on the investigations of scientists, he showed that at the present rate of increase in production the available coal of the country would be exhausted in two hundred years and the workable iron ore within a century.



Copyright by Underwood and Underwood. The President, Governors, and other leading men at the National Resources Conference, at the White House, May 13 to 15, 1908.

Similarly, James J. Hill demonstrated that the forests of this country are fast disappearing and that from three to four times as much timber was consumed each year as forest growth restored. His statements regarding the tremendous soil waste in our farming methods were likewise astounding. Resolutions were adopted covering the entire subject of conservation as shown in one of them as follows: "We agree that the land should be so used that erosion and soil-wash shall cease; that there should be reclamation of arid and semi-arid regions by means of irrigation, and of swamps and overflowed regions by means of drainage; that the waters should be so conserved and used as to promote navigation, to enable the arid regions to be reclaimed by irrigation, and to develop power in the interests of the people; that the forests which regulate our rivers, support our industries, and promote the fertility and productiveness of the soil should be preserved and perpetuated; that the minerals found so abundantly beneath the surface should be so used as to prolong their utility; that the beauty, healthfulness, and habitability of our country should be preserved and increased; that the sources of national wealth exist for the benefit of the people, and that monopoly thereof should not be tolerated." It was recommended that the States should establish conservation commissions to co-operate with one another and with a similar national commission.

On June 8, 1908, the first national conservation commission was created by President Roosevelt. Its forty-nine members were men well known in politics, in the industries, and scientific work. Gifford Pinchot was chairman of this commission which submitted its first report at a conference in Washington, December 8-10, 1908. The delegates consisted of governors and other representatives from the States and from national organizations. This report was received with favor and it was recommended that the work of the commission should be continued. Congress declined to make the necessary appropriation of $25,000 for this purpose, although it was strongly endorsed by the President.

In 1901 the National Conservation Association was formed, a voluntary organization of public and scientific men. The purpose of this association is to carry on the movement for conservation in every State. Within seven months after the White House conference, forty-one State conservation commissions were created and fifty-one conservation commissions representing national organizations were formed.

President Roosevelt carried the movement still farther in calling the first North American conservation congress. Representatives to this conference met in Washington, February 18, 1909. They came from Canada, Newfoundland, and Mexico as well as the United States. Broad general principles of conservation applicable to the North American continent were adopted.



Gifford Pinchot, President of the Conservation Commission.

The movement was materially strengthened also through the withdrawal of large areas of the public domain from private entry. Thus 148,000,000 acres of forests and 80,000,000 acres of coal land were withdrawn during President Roosevelt's administrations.

Directly connected with the problems of conservation are those of irrigation. The so-called arid regions constitute two-fifths of the area of the United States, or some 1,200,000 square miles. Of this vast region, it has been estimated that about one-tenth can be irrigated to advantage. By the end of the year 1908, some 13,000,000 acres had been reclaimed, or nearly one-third of the total amount suitable for irrigation purposes. This has brought about the rapid growth of cities and a substantial industrial advance in the former arid regions of the far West. The most notable impulse to this movement was made in 1902 when Congress passed a law, the Reclamation act, providing that the proceeds from the sales of public lands in thirteen States and three Territories should be expended by the National Government in the construction of irrigation works.

The total receipts from the sales of these lands amounted to $28,000,000 by the end of the year 1905, and twenty-three projects, dams, reservoirs, or canals were in different stages of construction. The most important of these undertakings were the Roosevelt Dam, the Shoshone Dam, and the Truckee-Carson Canal.



Built by the U. S. Reclamation Service. Roosevelt Dam from the road.

The Roosevelt Dam is the chief work of construction in what is called the Salt River project. By the completion of this work at least 200,000 acres in the vicinity of Phoenix, Arizona, were reclaimed. This dam is 284 feet high, 1,080 feet long on the crest, and 165 feet thick at the base. The resulting reservoir with a storage area of 16,320 acres will be the largest artificially formed lake in the world. It forms a body of water 25 miles long, almost 2 miles broad, and with a maximum depth of 220 feet. The main canals are 119 miles in length and the lateral canals 208 miles. Not only will this structure insure a supply of water in the Salt River valley where, in recent years, orchards and other products have perished, but it will prevent the floods which have devastated that region from time to time. Water-power amounting to 25,000 horse-power has been developed by the construction. This power is used in part for pumping, and another area, estimated at 40,000 acres, outside the territory covered by the canals has been reclaimed. The power is also used for lighting, for manufacturing, and for mining.

It was seen that the Shoshone River, in northwestern Wyoming, during the season of melting snows, carried away more waste water than would be adequate to reclaim many thousands of acres in the arid regions of the lower altitudes. Two million two hundred and fifty thousand dollars were allotted for the construction of the Shoshone Dam which will form a reservoir of water sufficient to irrigate 75,000 acres of land 50 miles farther down the river.



Shoshone Dam, Wyoming. Highest dam in the world. Height 328.4 feet.

The Truckee-Carson project provides for the irrigation of 150,000 acres in western Nevada. The water of the Truckee River, which flows out of Lake Tahoe, is distributed by canals having an aggregate length of 670 miles. The main canal was opened in 1905.

By the close of the year 1906, over $39,000,000 had been allotted for works under actual construction, and this amount had increased to $119,500,000 within four years. It has been estimated that the land thus reclaimed will alone be worth $240,000,000. The additional cost of a project is assessed against the land. When the land is sold, the money received is used for the development of new irrigation areas.

Another significant plan outlined by the irrigation congress in its meeting, 1911, provided for bringing about the complete reclamation of all swamp and overflowed land. The swampland area of the United States exceeds 74,500,000 acres, or an amount greater than the area of the Philippine Islands by 1,000,000 acres.

The Mississippi basin has been called the heart and soul of the prosperity of the United States. Two-fifths of the area of the country, comprising one-half the population, is tributary to the Mississippi system, which has over 20,000 miles of navigable waters. This valley produces three-fourths of our foreign exports. The network of railroads covering this territory has for a number of years furnished altogether inadequate transportation facilities, and conditions have grown steadily worse. Traffic experts throughout the United States have been advising river improvement as a means of relieving the congestion of freight. This situation has led to a revival of interest in the deep waterway from the Lakes to the Gulf which has been talked and written about for nearly three-quarters of a century.



Photograph by Clinedinst. Shoshone Project. Wyoming Park wagon road, showing wonderful tunnelling work on the new wagon road from Cody, Wyo., to the National Park via the Shoshone Dam.

[1907]



Truckee-Carson reclamation project. Diversion dam and gates at heading of main canal.

Concerted action was not taken until 1907, when the Lakes to the Gulf Deep Waterways Association was formed at St. Louis, having for its object the deepening of the water-way between Lake Michigan and the Gulf. The proposal to construct a canal by the way of the Illinois River to the Mississippi, large enough to carry ships, was declared feasible by government engineers and a route was surveyed. President Roosevelt endorsed the scheme. In his message to Congress, December 3, 1907, he said: "From the Great Lakes to the mouth of the Mississippi there should be a deep water-way, with deep water-ways leading from it to the East and the West. Such a water-way would practically mean the extension of our coast line into the very heart of our country. It would be of incalculable benefit to our people. If begun at once it can be carried through in time appreciably to relieve the congestion of our great freight-carrying lines of railroad. The work should be systematically and continuously carried forward in accordance with some well-conceived plan . . . . Moreover, the development of our water-ways involves many other important water problems, all of which should be considered as part of the same general scheme."

He appointed an Inland Waterways Commission which was to outline a comprehensive scheme of development along the various lines indicated. Their leading recommendation had to do with the proposal for a deep water-way from Chicago to New Orleans. The completion of the drainage canal by the city of Chicago, at a cost of $55,000,000, really created a deep waterway for forty miles along the intended route. It was reported to Congress by a special board of surveyors that the continuation of such a water-way to St. Louis would cost $31,000,000.



Inland Waterways Commission.

The legislature of Illinois, following the recommendation of Governor Charles S. Deneen, submitted to the people an amendment of the constitution which would enable the State to assume a bonded indebtedness of $20,000,000 for the purpose of constructing a deep waterway from Chicago to St. Louis. The measure was approved by popular vote November 3, 1907. Thereupon, the State Senate passed a bill providing for the construction of the canal. This failed in the House. It was again introduced into the legislature, 1910, but failed to pass.

Among the other important projects submitted by the Inland Waterways Commission are the following: To connect the Great Lakes with the ocean by a twenty-foot channel by the way of the Erie Canal and the Hudson River, an inner channel extending from New England to Florida; to connect the Columbia River with Puget Sound and deepen the Sacramento and the San Joaquin Rivers, so as to bring commerce by water to Sacramento and other interior California cities.

With the hope that New York City might again come into a mastery of the trade with the West, as at the time when the Erie Canal was first completed and because of the inability of the railroads to meet the demands of traffic, the legislature of New York, in 1903, appropriated $100,000,000 for the enlargement of that waterway and the two branch canals, the Oswego and Champlain. The proposed uniform depth is twelve feet and it is otherwise to be large enough for boats of a thousand ton cargo or four times the capacity of boats now on the canal.



CHAPTER VIII

DEVELOPMENT OF THE NEW SOUTH

[1904]

The term New South signifies the transition which has taken place through energy applied to the opportunities which that section of the United States offers. The South has natural gifts which in themselves will make it a marvel of wealth. The coast line measures 3,000 miles and already the ports of New Orleans and Galveston are among the most important on our seaboard. In 1898 the imports along the Gulf amounted to $13,000,000, and in 1908 they amounted to $59,350,000. In 1898 the exports were valued at $202,000,000; in 1908 they were valued at nearly $400,000,000. The completion of the Panama Canal will certainly increase the importance of the Southern seaboard cities.

Copyright, 1900, by Detroit Photographic Co, The port of New Orleans.

There are in the United States navigable streams amounting to 26,410 miles and of these the South has 18,215 miles. Mr. Wilson, Secretary of Agriculture, has estimated that the waterpower facilities of the South equal 5,000,000 horse-power for the six high-water months—five times the amount New England has. By a system of reservoirs this supply could be doubled. Roughly speaking, the country can be divided into three water-power districts: (1) the wholly undeveloped district which lies about Birmingham, Alabama, the centre of the great iron and coal district of the South; (2) a well-exploited district along the Chattahoochee, extending from Atlanta to Columbus, Georgia; (3) a district which lies in the favored agricultural region of northern South Carolina and southern North Carolina. Here about one-third of the easily available power has been developed. To-day New England, poor in raw materials and having an area of only 66,000 square miles, manufactures as much as does the whole South which is rich in raw materials and has an area of 1,000,000 square miles. It is hardly necessary to make forecasts—possibly it is wiser to ask what can possibly hinder the development of this favored section.



James Wilson, Secretary of Agriculture.

In minerals and forests the South is equally rich. The coal supply, according to the report of the National Conservation Commission, amounts to 611,748,000,000 tons and the riches in iron in the southern Appalachian district are equally enormous. Forty-one per cent of the remaining forest area is in the same country. Unless a system of conservation is put into operation, however, these vast timber resources will pass away, for the forests are being used at a rate of more than three and one-half times the annual growth. Private interests own 125,000,000 acres in the South and practically none of the timber is being handled with the idea of conservation. There are no "State forests"; neither are there adequate laws for the prevention of forest fires.

The economic advancement of the South during the past thirty years has been wonderful. The tide of migration within our country no longer moves Westward as much as Southward and in its wake has followed a flood of capital. The increase of population and capital is necessary to the industrial growth of the South, and in spite of the recent influx the scarcity of laborers remains a serious problem, the solution of which is absolutely necessary for the development of the manufacturing industries as well as agriculture. Immigrants of good standing are constantly sought by the States, and to cope with the problem some individuals have been guilty of operating a system of peonage. Lack of efficiency in the laborers makes the problem still more perplexing. Scientific investigations conducted with the aim of discovering the causes for this general inefficiency have led to the conclusion that the eradication of the mosquito and hook-worm will add greatly to the ability of the wage-earners. A systematic campaign in this direction has been made possible through the recent gift of Mr. Rockefeller.



A field of cotton.

The South has always been largely an agricultural section, with the production of cotton as the leading interest. In 1909 the yield was about 13,500,000 bales from about 32,000,000 acres. In value the crop equals about twice the annual output of all the gold mines in the world. The 8,000,000 bales which are exported annually represent an income to the United States of about $400,000,000. The problem which has called for the most attention is that the average output per acre has been decreasing for years. During the past few years the white farmers have taken active steps to remedy this weakness. Agricultural experiment stations have conducted investigations and the agricultural press has interpreted these results to the actual farmers and has conducted a systematic agitation for an agricultural revolution. Associations have been formed for the purpose of studying conditions and introducing improved methods in preparing the soil and rotating crops. More of the food supply of the South is to be raised at home; better homes and farm buildings are being erected, and better machinery is being used. The invention of a mechanical cotton picker, which has been accomplished, should reduce materially the cost of handling the crop.



Bales of cotton ready for shipment. Cotton-press yard, New Orleans.

Closely connected with this is the problem of roads. Where railroads are scarce good wagon roads are all the more necessary. In the South (excluding Kentucky, Arkansas, and Oklahoma) there are 500,000 miles of public roads serving a population of over 20,000,000 people. In 1908 there were only 17,700 miles of improved road. To help along this work good roads associations have been formed in the various States.

The old methods of financing the plantation system are passing. The planters are breaking away from the credit system which has kept them as borrowers and debtors and, as a result, they have money for investments elsewhere. The great problems connected with cotton culture are the labor supply and proper conservation of the soil. These solved, the friends of the South confidently believe that thirty times as much cotton could be produced as is produced at present. When one learns that only 145,200,000 acres out of 612,000,000 are now under cultivation, the claim does not seem extravagant.



Loading cotton on the levee, New Orleans.

Southern farmers have learned that other products besides cotton pay well. Less than twenty years ago practically no hay was raised for sale in the Gulf States. The red clover and timothy which the planter thought could only be raised in the North are now cultivated in the South. Iowa, the greatest hay-growing State in the Union, has for the past ten years averaged 1.58 tons per acre at an average value of $5.45 per ton. Mississippi during the same time has averaged 1.62 tons to the acre valued at over $10 a ton. Alfalfa has been found to be excellent feed for stock and the yield, which averages from four to eight tons per acre, sells for from $10 to $18 a ton. Corn is being cultivated now and it is not uncommon to find yields of 100 bushels to the acre and under the most favorable circumstances even twice that much has been raised on a single acre. The prevailing high prices make the corn crop particularly valuable.

Stock-raising, which has never been indulged in to any extent, now gives excellent returns. The mules which are used so extensively in the South are being raised at home instead of being brought from the North. Beef animals and hogs are increasing in numbers and are being bred more carefully. The great variety of food crops which ripen in rotation make the cost of hog-raising very little—possibly two cents a pound will cover the cost of raising, butchering, and packing. Sheep flourish in the pine regions where they are remarkably free from diseases. They range all the year, needing little attention.



The Price-Campbell cotton-picking machine, which does the work of fifty persons.

This shift in agricultural pursuits has been due in a measure to the appearance of the boll-weevil which wrought havoc with the cotton crop for some years. It is possible that the change has been decidedly beneficial when one notes that the value of products in 1899 was $705,000,000 and in 1909 about $1,430,000,000.

Agriculture is not the only interest of the New South. Northern capital has worked wonders along industrial lines. Some communities have changed entirely from agriculture to manufacturing. South Carolina is now second among the States in the manufacture of cotton; North Carolina is third, and Georgia is not far behind. In Alabama Southern tobacco is manufactured. The steel and iron industries, the furniture industry, the cottonseed-oil industry, and others are constantly becoming more important. The effects of this industrial revolution are far reaching. Social lines are shifting; a new society based upon business success and wealth seems to be supplanting or at least breaking in upon the aristocracy of the ante-bellum South, based upon family and public service. The ideal of success is changing and the ambitious young man now goes into business, manufacturing, or engineering as often as into the profession of law and politics. The laboring class has changed also. Years ago this class lived on farms and raised raw materials: now it lives in the cities and fashions raw materials. The same social results are found here as elsewhere, but on account of the conservatism and personal independence of the Southern laborer, who is only a generation removed from the soil, these results are not in evidence so soon. In the manufacturing districts there is the political unrest characteristic of the North. Labor unions develop here and Socialism has some adherents. This tends to break the political solidarity of the section and it is possible that in the not distant future the "Solid South" may pass away.

The South is enthusiastic; it is alert to its opportunities and it is planning with hope for the future. Through practical education wonders may be worked, and upon this practical education for the rising generation the South bases its hopes. The new generation will make greater strides in the utilization of the great natural gifts than the old one has. The race problem will be solved in time, and the solution must come through the efforts of the Southern people, for the best classes now believe that the South can prosper best when all the people, colored as well as white, are brought to the highest standard of their efficiency.



CHAPTER IX

PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT'S SECOND TERM

[1905-1907]

On June 1, 1905, an exposition was opened at Portland, Oregon, in commemoration of the Lewis and Clark expedition (1804-1805). Four hundred acres of ground adjoining the principal residence district, overlooking the Willamette River, were set aside for this purpose. There were extensive exhibits by the United States, Great Britain, Canada, Holland, Italy, China, and other European and Asiatic countries. The fair was, in general, the expression of the life and history of the Pacific Northwest and the direct relationship between that region and the Orient. Many national congresses were held in conjunction with it, such as the American Medical Association, National Good Roads Association, and the National Conference of Charities and Correction.

The different interstate commerce acts, beginning with that of 1887 and including the railroad rate bill of 1906, constitute a system of control established by the Federal Government over persons and corporations engaged in interstate or foreign commerce; this includes the carrying of persons and property by either rail or water. Pipe lines, telephone, telegraph, express, and sleeping-car companies are also brought under the same provisions. The administration of these laws was vested in the Interstate Commerce Commission consisting of seven members.



The Lewis and Clark Exposition, Portland, Ore. General view across the Lagoon.



The Lewis and Clark Exposition, Portland, Ore. The Government Buildings across the Lagoon.

The important provisions of these laws may be summarized as follows: 1. All charges must be just and reasonable. The commission was given power to fix maximum rates after investigation of a complaint by either party to a dispute over rates. 2. Pooling agreements were prohibited. 3. It was made unlawful to make discriminations by giving to any particular person, corporation, or locality an unreasonable advantage over others. Granting of passes was prohibited to other than railroad employees, and granting of rebates was forbidden. 4. By the "long or short haul" clause it was made unlawful for a common carrier to charge more for the transportation of passengers, or the same kind of freight, over a shorter than a longer distance; provided the transportation was under substantially similar circumstances and conditions over the same line and in the same direction. 5. All rates were required to be published and posted where they might be consulted by any person. 6. Railroad companies were forbidden to engage in other lines of business. 7. Companies engaged in interstate commerce must have a uniform system of accounting. 8. They are required to make reports to the Interstate Commerce Commission regularly.

This commission was also empowered to receive complaints, hear testimony, make orders correcting abuses, or investigate conditions without previous complaint. It was given the power to suspend the proposed increase of rates until their justice had been determined. Any person objecting to an order of the commission was empowered to appeal to the "Commerce Court," which was created, being made up of five circuit court Justices.



Copyright by Clinedinst, Washington. Dr. Harvey W. Wiley, many years Chief of the U. S. Bureau of Chemistry.

Nearly all of the States have passed laws relating to the purity of goods sold to the public. Investigation showed, however, that twenty per cent of the articles of food in common use were adulterated. This led to the passing of a far-reaching measure by Congress, 1906, known as the Pure Food and Drugs law. It provides against the manufacture and sale of adulterated or misbranded foods, drugs, medicines, or liquors in the District of Columbia, the Territories, and the insular possessions of the United States, and prohibits the shipment of such goods from one State to another or to a foreign country. To the Department of Agriculture was given the power to enforce the law. Thus the public is protected against adulterated foods and medicines and dishonest and misleading labels, and honest manufacturers are protected against fraudulent competition.

For a number of years some of the European countries condemned American packing-house products. Abuses in the processes of preparing preserved meats were brought vividly before Americans by Upton Sinclair in his novel "The Jungle." The Department of Agriculture took up the problem and a special investigation was ordered by President Roosevelt. The report showed the need for more rigid inspection, and the agitation throughout the country forced the House of Representatives, 1906, somewhat reluctantly, to adopt the President's recommendation for a thorough inspection, by government agents, of all processes and methods used in the meat packing-houses.



U. S. Government inspection of a packing-house. Inspector's assistant attaching a "Retained" tag to carcass marked by inspector on the heading bench. Carcasses so marked are left intact until they reach the retaining-room.



Earthquake at San Francisco, April 18, 1906. Upheaval of sidewalk at Eighteenth and Capp Streets.

Early in the morning of April 18, 1906, San Francisco was visited by one of the most dreadful disasters of modern times. An earthquake shock destroyed many of the important buildings in the business part of the city. Other cities and towns along the coast and in the Santa Clara Valley suffered greatly and a number of the buildings of Leland Stanford University, thirty miles south of San Francisco, were demolished. Ninety per cent of the loss in San Francisco was due to the conflagration which raged for two days. Fires broke out owing to the crossing of electric wires. The water-mains were old and poorly laid and the force of the earthquake had burst them. Firemen and soldiers fought the advance of the flames by destroying buildings with dynamite. Not until an area three miles in length and two miles in breadth, including all the business and the thickly settled residential sections, had been burned over was the advance of the flames stopped. The estimated loss of life was 1,000, and property valued at $300,000,000 was destroyed. Among the irreparable losses were several libraries, the collections of the California Academy of Sciences, and many works of art. The noted Bancroft Library with its collection of manuscripts was saved.



Burning of San Francisco following the earthquake.



Showing destruction of buildings after the earthquake and fire in San Francisco.

A quarter of a million people were rendered homeless and were without food and the means of earning a livelihood. The sympathy of the world was aroused and offers of relief came from all quarters. Two million five hundred thousand dollars was voted by Congress, and the total relief fund amounted to $20,000,000. There was little suffering for lack of food and water, owing to the co-operation of representatives of the Red Cross Association, a citizens' committee, and the United States army in distributing supplies.



Refugees in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco.

One hundred thousand persons were sheltered in tents in Golden Gate Park. The courage and hopefulness of the people did not desert them, and the rebuilding of the city was immediately begun. At the end of a year one-half of the burned area had been rebuilt. The old frame and low brick structures were replaced by modern buildings of steel and re-enforced concrete, for this type had survived the earthquake shock. After two years, a new San Francisco, more beautiful and more substantial, had risen on the site of the old.



Copyright by Underwood & Underwood, N.Y. The Jamestown Exposition—Manufactures and Liberal Arts Building from the Auditorium.

On April 26, 1907, the Jamestown Exposition was opened. It was in commemoration of the first English settlement in America. The southern shore of Hampton Roads, forty miles southeast of old Jamestown, was selected as the site for the buildings. The historic idea was uppermost in the exposition. The colonial type of construction was dominant and good taste and moderation were notable in the arrangement of the grounds and exhibits. Industrial and commercial progress were emphasized. The United States had a special exhibit to illustrate the work of the different departments. In the harbor, one of the finest in the world, was the greatest international naval display ever witnessed. Every variety of war-vessel in existence was on exhibition besides commercial and passenger boats from the great ports of the world.



CHAPTER X

THE FINANCIAL PANIC OF 1907

[1907]

Popular opinion ascribed three reasons for the panic of 1907. The first of these was the attitude of the President toward certain great corporations. It is true that his attacks bared some of the most deeply rooted evils which have always been at the bottom of our panics—dishonesty in the administration of great aggregations of capital. Great were the lamentations and doleful the predictions of what would happen should the President not change his policy of enforcing the laws. The railway opponents of the President were sure the panic came from the Hepburn Bill, which was passed early in 1906. If this had been dangerous to the welfare of the railroads it is reasonable to assume that foreign capital would have been withdrawn from American railways and that American capitalists interested in railroads would have attempted to avert financial ruin by disposing of their holdings. Neither situation developed, for the European investors increased their holdings and American capitalists continued to plan still greater investments in railways.

The second general explanation was found in the unsound and reckless banking in New York City. The dangers arising from trust companies had been known for several years. It came to be believed that the deposits in these trust companies were being misused by the bank officers for the promotion of various speculating schemes. The disclosures which came with the investigation of the insurance companies fixed these beliefs more firmly in the minds of the people, and the first break in confidence precipitated runs on the New York banks.

The third explanation was that the panic was due to the defects in our American currency system.

These were the popular explanations, but there were deep-seated causes which had worked to bring about the existing conditions. The crisis was world-wide and was felt most in the countries where there was a gold standard. In 1890 the world's supply of gold available for monetary use was hardly $4,000,000,000; in 1907 it was more than $7,000,000,000. Along with this went a rapid rise in the average price of commodities in gold-standard countries. Bank deposits in the United States in 1907 were three times as great as they were in 1897. Amidst all this prosperity there were forces which were bound to bring a reaction and among the most important of these was the demand for capital for conversion into fixed forms. Ready capital was also lessened relatively by the great losses experienced as a result of the Spanish-American War, the Boer War, the Japanese-Russian War, the San Francisco earthquake, and the Baltimore fire. These losses, which amounted to $3,000,000,000, came at a time when the world was just entering upon a period of great industrial activity and needed all its capital. Much capital was absorbed in the construction of railroads, industrial plants, development of foreign industries, etc. These conditions brought about a tightening of money rates in Europe and American financial centres; consequently rates of interest went up. Commercial paper which brought three to three and one-half per cent in New York in 1897 brought seven per cent in 1907.



The panic of 1907. Run on the Knickerbocker Trust Company, 34th Street and Fifth Avenue.

Closely allied to this movement was the increase in the number of securities issued by industrial concerns. A few resourceful men, in order to do away with the evils of unrestricted competition, devised a remedy in the form of mergers. Others of less capacity but greater daring saw opportunities for money-making, and a craze for mergers and for the incorporation of private enterprises swept over the country. By 1907 there were at least $38,500,000,000 worth of securities in existence. The natural result was speculation. When investors began to fear the soundness of the securities a collapse of credit was due.

The rapid development of trust companies had its effect. The cash reserves held by these companies were small; their investments were not always conservative and the depositors were often suspicious. This free expansion of business with little or no reference to cash reserve or capital gave rise to another cause for the panic, which was not a matter of money. It was a matter of what was in men's minds. There was a period of "muckraking" in which leaders financial and political were severely critcised. Whether or not this criticism was justified by the exposition of the frauds of the insurance companies and the questionable dealings of some other corporations need not be discussed. The criticism created an attitude of mind throughout the nation, and the first weakening of a bank brought on the deluge.



The panic of 1907. Uptown branch of the Knickerbocker Trust Company, 125th Street.

To the ordinary observer the panic of 1907 will date from October 22, when the Knickerbocker Trust Company of New York closed its doors. Earlier in the month the Mercantile National Bank had gotten into difficulties and had appealed to the clearing-house committee for aid, which was given. Soon it was noted that the Knickerbocker Trust Company was in a precarious condition, and the directors, following the example of the other bank, appealed to the same committee. The investigation of the committee showed the company insolvent and aid was refused. When the facts became known, a run on the bank began and it was compelled to close its doors. The lack of confidence in other financial institutions was soon shown by similar runs.

No bank could stand the strain unaided. Now the Federal Government stepped in and Secretary of the Treasury Cortelyou came in person to New York and deposited $40,000,000 of the surplus from the United States Treasury to be used for the aid of beleaguered institutions. For more than a week the crowds of depositors sought their money. The lines were not broken at night until the police hit upon the plan of giving to each individual a ticket denoting his place in the line. The Trust Company of America alone paid $34,000,000 across its counters and still crowds thronged the streets. At length the enormous reserve of the Treasury was exhausted and it became necessary to delay and deliberately to make slow payments. Through loans made by other banks the Trust Company of America and the Lincoln Trust Company, which had endured the hardest sieges, were saved and now the panic entered its second stage.



The panic of 1907. Run on the Colonial Trust Company. Line of depositors in Ann Street waiting their turn.

The country was thoroughly aroused, and to avoid a nation-wide raid upon banking houses the bankers took radical steps. The first measure resorted to was the enforcement of the rule requiring savings-bank depositors, at the option of the institution, to give sixty days' notice before withdrawing deposits. The second expedient was one which had been resorted to during former years of financial unsteadiness. "Emergency currency" was issued. This currency took various forms. (1) The clearing-house loan certificates issued in denominations ranging from $500 to $20,000, used for settling inter-bank balances; (2) clearing-house certificates in currency dimensions to be used by banks in paying their customers; (3) clearing-house checks which took the form of checks drawn upon particular banks and signed by the manager of the clearing-house; (4) cashier's checks (in opposition to the National Bank act) secured by approved collateral; (5) New York drafts which were cashier's checks drawn against actual balances in New York banks; (6) negotiable certificates of deposit, and (7) pay checks payable to bearer drawn by bank customers upon their banks in currency denominations. These were guaranteed by the firm which issued them.

Other devices were used to aid the banks and to block the spread of the panic by limiting cash payments by the banks. The governors of Nevada, Oregon, and California declared legal holidays continuously for several weeks, thereby allowing the banks to remain closed. In some places the size of withdrawals was limited to $10 or $25 daily.

The panic was felt to a great degree on the New York Stock Exchange because the banks refused to make loans, but this stringency was relieved by a bankers' pool, headed by J. P. Morgan, which loaned $25,000,000 at the prevailing rate of interest. With the strengthening of the Stock Exchange another stage of the panic passed.



The panic of 1907. Run on the Lincoln Trust Company, Fifth Avenue entrance.

In spite of the use of the surplus of the Treasury the banks showed a loss of $50,000,000 in actual cash during the five weeks of the panic. Now demands were made on foreign countries for gold. The Bank of England made no move to block the great withdrawals of gold except to raise the official discount to seven per cent. The flow of gold did much to stay the ebb of confidence.

Some contended for an issue of paper money and after a long discussion by the officials of the Treasury, it was decided to sell $50,000,000 worth of Panama two per cent bonds and $100,000,000 worth of three per cent notes in the hope of calling from its hiding-place the money which was being hoarded. The result of the venture was not satisfactory and the loan operations soon ceased.

Gradually financial affairs righted themselves. The emergency currency was redeemed, the runs on banks ceased, confidence slowly returned, and business picked up, although by the middle of 1908 the volume was scarcely half of what it had been a year before. The number of bank failures had been comparatively small. Only twenty-one banks were obliged to suspend payment, while in 1893 the number was 160.



The panic of 1907. Wall Street, in front of the Sub-Treasury Building, when the run on the Trust Company of America was at its height.

Naturally there was much discussion concerning the defects of our financial system, of the needs of elastic currency, of a central bank, etc., when the Sixtieth Congress met in December, 1907. Several bills were offered for the establishment of a central bank; some for the issue of a special currency by the government; others for the legalization of certificates and currency created by clearing-house associations. The aversion of the people to the centralization of the banking business in the hands of a few of the great money powers made the establishment of a central bank out of the question.

The bills which were discussed at any length were the Fowler Bill, the Vreeland Bill, and the Aldrich Bill. The first was discarded, although it had merits, and the two branches of Congress were unable to agree upon either of the others. The result was a compromise measure which became the Aldrich-Vreeland Act.

The important provisions of this act are as follows: (1) Ten or more national banking associations, each with an unimpaired capital and surplus of not less than twenty per cent and an aggregate capital and surplus of not less than $5,000,000, may form national currency associations. These associations are to have power to render available, for the basis of additional circulation, "any securities, including commercial paper, held by a national banking association."

(2) To obtain this additional circulation, any bank belonging to a national currency association having circulating notes outstanding secured by United States bonds to an amount not less than forty per cent of its capital stock, and having the required unimpaired capital and surplus, may deposit approved securities with the currency association and be empowered by the Secretary of the Treasury to issue additional circulating notes to an amount not to exceed seventy-five per cent of the cash value of the securities. If the securities are State or municipal bonds the issue must not exceed ninety per cent of the market value of the bonds.

(3) The banks and assets of all banks belonging to the currency association are liable to the United States for the redemption of this additional currency, and the association may at any time require that additional securities be deposited. All banks are held liable to make good the securities of any bank in the association.



The panic of 1907, Run on the State Bank, Grand Street, New York.

(4) The total amount of circulating notes outstanding for any bank shall not at any time exceed the amount of its unimpaired capital and surplus, neither shall the amount of such notes in the United States exceed $500,000,000 at any time. The amount issued in each State shall bear the same relation to the total amount issued in the United States as the unimpaired capital and surplus of the banks of that State bear to the unimpaired capital and surplus of the banks of the United States.

(5) The tax on circulating notes secured by United States bonds bearing two per cent or less shall be one-half of one per cent; if secured by United States bonds bearing more than two per cent, the tax shall be one per cent. If the securities are other than United States bonds, the tax shall be at a rate of five per cent per annum for the first month and afterward an additional tax of one per cent per annum for each month until a tax of ten per cent per annum is reached.

(6) The redemption of the notes may take place by the banks depositing with the Treasurer of the United States lawful money to replace the securities deposited.

(7) The formation of a national monetary commission to inquire into and report to Congress necessary or desirable changes in the banking and currency laws was provided for.



CHAPTER XI

IMMIGRATION AND EMIGRATION

[1907]

Since the organization of our government nearly 29,000,000 foreigners have come to the United States. The flow of immigration first assumed large proportions during the decade 1831-1840 and since that time one wave after another has reached our shores. The last one, and the one which has caused the greatest alarm, gathered force about 1897 and reached its full tide in the first decade of the twentieth century, when over 8,000,000 aliens landed at our ports.

During this period (1820-1910) the character of immigration has changed. Prior to 1880 the greater part of it came from northern Europe, but since that time the number has constantly fallen off, and the flow from southern Europe has greatly increased. During the decade 1871-1880 Austria-Hungary, Italy, and Russia sent only 181,000 of 2,262,000 aliens who landed in the United States—about eight per cent. During the decade 1901-1910, 8,130,000 immigrants came to our shores, and of these 5,800,000, or over 70 per cent, were from these three countries. In 1901 Austria-Hungary sent, 113,400; in 1907 about 338,500, but owing to the passage of the immigration law in 1907 the number fell abruptly, but by 1910 had again increased to 260,000. The same is true of Italy. In 1901 about 136,000 came; in 1907 nearly 286,000, and in 1910 about 215,500. Russia sent 85,000 in 1901, some 260,000 in 1907, and 187,000 in 1910. The numbers from northern Europe do not approach these. The immigration from the British Isles does not reach the 100,000 mark; from Germany only 30,000 come yearly.

Causes for this influx are varied. Many come desirous of owning homes, a pleasure out of reach in their home country on account of high prices. Free institutions attract others. A land which offers free schools to all regardless of race or creed, religious freedom, and the opportunity to play some part in the political life of the state is naturally attractive. Some come to escape military service, others with the idea of making money and returning to their native land. Density of population and the accompanying excessive competition in the struggle for existence also play a part.

Hundreds of letters telling of the general prosperity in America and contrasting this with the condition at home, do their work with the disheartened peasants. It is said that half of our immigrants come on tickets paid for by friends in America. The large employers of labor, and even the States themselves, are constantly calling for laborers. Ours is a huge, half-developed country, and the development of our resources, particularly the coal and iron industries, the cotton; rice, cane, and tobacco industries, and the railways demands thousands of helpers.



Emigrants bound for America.

The steamship companies which have found an extremely profitable business in the transportation of immigrants have used various means to increase the numbers. Agents are said to be in all European countries soliciting trade. Associations for the assistance of poor emigrants have been formed in various European cities—this is especially true among the Jews who, by means of societies such as the "Hebrew Shelter" of London, have aided thousands of Roumanian and Russian Jews on their way to America.



Entrance to Emigrant Station or "model town" in Hamburg. Built for emigrants waiting to sail.

Although most of the European countries have placed restrictions upon emigration, these restrictions unfortunately do not retard the emigration of the undesirable classes. As a result America was called upon early to legislate on this problem. The first act was in 1819 and was aimed to regulate the transportation of immigrants. The laws of 1875, 1882, 1891, 1893, and 1903 dealt with the class of immigrants to be admitted. The acts did not accomplish the end for which they were framed, and the question was taken up again by Congress which, after a lengthy discussion, passed the act of 1907. No great change in policy was effected by this law which, for the most part, only revised the wording of the old laws and modified the methods of regulation. The head tax of two dollars, hitherto levied on each alien, was doubled but was made inapplicable to immigrants from our insular possessions or to aliens who had resided for a year either in the British possessions in North America, or in Cuba or Mexico. All aliens suffering from tuberculosis or loathsome diseases or those who were "mentally or physically defective, such mental or physical defect being of a nature which may affect the ability . . . to earn a living," were excluded. Children under sixteen unaccompanied by a parent were excluded. Steamship companies were placed under additional restrictions to insure against their violation of the act. Should an immigrant within a period of three years be found to have entered the country contrary to the terms of the act, he was to be deported and the transportation company responsible for his coming would be held liable for the expense of his deportation.

The effect of the new law can be seen in the immigration statistics—the number of immigrants for the year 1908 is but little more than half as great as the number for 1907. The chief decrease was in the stream from southern Europe. This decrease cannot be attributed entirely to the act of 1907, but must be accounted for in part by the panic of 1907. Observations extending over a long period of years have disclosed the fact that the ebb and flow of the tide of immigration is closely attached to the periods of economic prosperity and depression.

When the races of northern Europe contributed the greater part of our immigrants there was a general feeling that this was a decided advantage to us. The people were readily assimilated into our population and were in general intelligent, industrious citizens who soon acquired a patriotic love for America and its institutions. The serious problems came with the increased number of southern Europeans.



One of several churches built for emigrants of various faiths in the station or "model town" of the Hamburg-American Company, for use while waiting to sail.

For years Italians emigrated to South America, particularly to Brazil and the Argentine Republic, where the climate, race customs, and language were more to their liking than in the north. A diminution of prosperity there has turned part of the tide northward. About eighty per cent of our Italians come from southern Italy, a fact explained by the difference between the industrial conditions in the northern and southern parts of the peninsula. In the south agriculture is the only industry, and it frequently suffers from climatic conditions, the resulting losses bearing heavily upon the population. Conditions are aggravated by an unequal division of taxes between the north and the south. Often the only alternative to starvation is emigration. During the past decade 2,000,000 Italians have come to us and, according to estimates, about two-thirds of them have settled in the cities of the Northern States, a condition detrimental to the foreign and our social organization alike. These Italians, peasants and experts in fruit culture by training, become day laborers, thus losing their greatest productive power. The Italian who keeps away from the city finds his lot more agreeable. Wherever they have settled as farmers they have been uniformly successful. The person who knows only the Italian of the tenements has little sympathy for him, in spite of the fact that many of this race have proved themselves to be quiet, sober, and useful citizens.



Exterior view of main building.



Restaurant. Immigrants dining-room and detention quarters. Detained immigrants are fed here at the expense of the steamship companies.



Here all immigrants must present themselves upon arrival for their first inspection under the law—sometimes as many as 5,000 a day.

U. S. IMMIGRANT STATION, ELLIS ISLAND, N. Y.

The Slavic immigration since 1880 has been mainly from the more primitive districts out of touch with the civilization of western Europe. These people have come, not as settlers, but as laborers in the mines, factories, and foundries, planning to remain here for a time, earn as much as possible, and return to their native land.

In 1899 statistics began to be compiled by means of which the race and nationality of aliens might be determined. From 1899 to 1907 about seventy-two per cent of the Slavic immigration came from Austria-Hungary. Since 1900 at least 100,000 aliens from this country have come to the United States each year; in 1905, 1906, and 1910 the number exceeded 250,000 each year, and in 1907 it was 340,000. In this crowd came Bohemians Poles, Slovaks, Ruthenians, Slovenians, Croatians, Bulgarians, Servians, Montenegrins, and other allied peoples. They are distributed over various parts of the land. Pennsylvania, on account of its mines, gathers by far the greatest number—in 1906 there were about 500,000 Slavs in the State; New York had nearly 200,000, and Illinois about 134,000. The Bohemians and Poles seem inclined to farm, but in the main the Slav laborers have busied themselves in the coal, coke, iron, and steel industries. Very seldom do the Slavs take to petty street traffic, as do the Jews and Italians, but prefer the harder and better paid work in the mines and foundries.

The Russians make the smallest Slavic group in America. Although many Russians are reported among the immigrants, only about five per cent are native born Russians, the rest being Jews, Poles, Finns, and Lithuanians.

About one-eighth of our European immigrants are Jews. By the law of 1769 the Jews in Russia are compelled to live within certain territorial limits known as the Jewish Pale, and about ninety-four per cent comply with the regulation. The law of 1882 has further restricted the places of residence, for Jews are now prohibited from buying or renting lands outside the limits of the cities or incorporated towns. Their educational advantages are limited by law; few are admitted to the bar and few to the other learned professions. To these disabilities the Russian government has added the terror of persecution, which will explain why 150,000 Jews come to America each year. In all there are 1,250,000 here.

"ALIEN PASSENGERS" AND IMMIGRANTS ENTERING THE UNITED STATES FROM EUROPEAN COUNTRIES, 1820-1910

LAST 1820 1831 1841 1851 1861 PERMANENT TO TO TO TO TO RESIDENCE 1830 1840 1850 1860 1870 —————- ——— ——— ——— ——— ———- Austria-Hungary 7,800 Belgium 27 22 5,074 4,738 6,734 Denmark 169 1,063 539 3,749 17,094 France 8,497 45,575 77,262 76,358 35,984 Germany 6,761 152,454 434,626 951,667 787,468 Greece Italy 408 2,253 1,870 9,231 11,728 Netherlands 1,078 1,412 8,251 10,789 9,102 Norway, Sweden 91 1,201 13,903 20,931 109,298 Russia 91 646 656 1,621 4,536 Spain, Portugal 2,622 2,954 2,759 10,353 8,493 Switzerland 3,226 4,821 4,644 25,011 23,286 England 22,167 73,143 263,332 385,643 568,128 Scotland 2,912 2,667 3,712 38,331 38,768 Ireland 50,724 207,381 780,719 914,119 435,778 Europe; unspecified 43 96 155 116 210 ————————- ——— ——— ——— ———- ——— Total 98,816 495,688 1,597,502 2,452,657 2,064,407



1871 1881 1891 1901 TO TO TO TO TOTAL 1880 1890 1900 1910 ————————- ——— ——— ——— ———- ——— Austria-Hungary 72,969 353,717 597,047 2,145,266 3,176,801 Belgium 7,221 20,177 20,062 41,635 105,690 Denmark 31,771 88,132 52,670 65,285 260,472 France 72,206 50,464 36,006 73,379 475,731 Germany 718,182 1,452,970 543,922 341,498 5,389,548 Greece 15,996 167,519 183,515 Italy 55,759 307,309 655,694 2,045,877 3,090,129 Netherlands 16,541 53,701 31,816 48,262 180,952

Norway 211,245 568,362 95,264 190,505 1,691,013 Sweden 230,679 249,534

Russia 52,254 265,088 593,703 1,597,306 2,515,901

Spain 9,893 6,535 6,723 27,935 170,426 Portugal 23,010 69,149

Roumania 14,559 53,008 67,567 Switzerland 28,293 81,988 33,149 34,922 239,340 Turkey in Europe 2,562 118,202 120,764 England 460,479 657,488 271,094 388,017 3,089,491 Scotland 87,564 149,869 60,053 120,469 504,345 Ireland 436,871 655,482 403,496 339,065 4,223,635 Wales 11,186 17,464 28,650 Europe unspecified 656 10,318 4,370 1,719 ————————- ——— ——— ——— ———- ——— Total 2,261,904 4,721,602 3,703,061 8,136,016 25,531,653

Immigrants from British North America and other countries 2,535,810

Estimated number of immigrants prior to October 1, 1819 250,000

[Transcriber's note: Norway/Sweden and Spain/Portugal are combined totals in columns where only one value is given.]



TOTAL NUMBER OF IMMIGRANTS, 1891 TO 1910

Year Total Sex Age Ended Number Male Female Under 14 14 to 45 45 and over June 30 1891 560,319 354,059 296,200 95,879 405,843 58,597 1892 623,084 385,781 237,303 89,167 491,839 42,078 1893 502,917 315,845 187,072 57,392 419,701 25,824 1894 314,467 186,247 128,220 41,755 258,162 14,550 1895 279,948 159,924 120,024 33,289 233,543 13,116 1896 343,267 212,466 130,801 52,741 254,519 36,007 1897 230,832 135,107 95,725 38,627 165,181 27,024 1898 229,299 135,775 93,524 38,267 164,905 26,127 1899 311,715 195,277 116,438 43,983 248,187 19,545 1900 448,572 304,148 144,424 54,624 370,382 23,566 1901 487,918 331,055 156,863 62,562 396,516 28,840 1902 648,743 466,369 182,374 74,063 539,254 35,426 1903 857,046 613,146 243,900 102,431 714,053 40,562 1904 812,870 549,100 263,770 109,150 657,155 46,565 1905 1,026,499 724,914 301,585 114,668 855,419 56,412 1906 1,100,735 764,463 336,272 136,273 913,955 50,507 1907 1,285,349 927,976 355,373 138,344 1,100,771 46,234 1908 782,870 506,912 275,958 112,148 630,671 40,051 1909 751,786 519,969 231,817 88,393 624,876 38,517 1910 1,041.570 736,038 305,532 120,509 868,310 52,751



Debarred Returned Returned Able to Read Unable to from Within Within but not Write Read or Write Landing One Year Three Years [See note 1] [See note 1]

1892 2,164 637 1893 1,053 577 59,582 61,038 1894 2,389 417 16,784 41,614 1895 2,394 189 2,612 42,302 1896 2,799 238 5,066 78,130 1897 1,617 263 1,572 43,008 1898 3,030 199 1,416 43,057 1899 3,798 263 1,022 60,446 1900 4,246 356 2,097 93,576 1901 3,516 363 3,058 117,587 1902 4,974 465 2,917 162,188 1903 8,769 547 3,341 185,667 1904 7,994 300 473 3,953 168,903 1905 11,879 98 747 8,209 230,882 1906 12,371 61 615 4,755 265,068 1907 13,064 70 925 5,829 337,573 1908 10,902 114 1,955 2,310 172,293 1909 10,411 58 2,066 2,431 191,049 1910 24,270 23 2,672 4,571 253,569

Note 1: Prior to 1895 the figures are for persons over 16 years; from 1895 to 1910 for persons 14 years of age and over.



The question of Oriental immigration has caused much comment in our Pacific Coast States for several years. Before 1900 the total number of Japanese coming to America seldom reached 1,500 a year. Since that time about 12,000 have come each year, except in 1903 when 20,000 came and 1907 when the number reached 30,000. Seventy per cent of this number, however, went to Hawaii. Over-population and economic depression in their native land have caused this exodus. Most of these immigrants are laborers—skilful, energetic and efficient—who apparently desire to become citizens. Among the better classes are many who have attained eminence in various lines of work in our country. In scientific investigation the names of Takamine, Noguchi, Yatsu, Takami, Asakawa, and Iyenaga are well known. The names of those who have been more than ordinarily successful in business would make a long list. The most serious objections to the Japanese arise in the coast States where these immigrants have raised a serious labor problem. The people of these commonwealths also fear a race problem which in gravity will rival the one in the Southern States. It is claimed that even now, when the number of Orientals is small, the enforcement of law is exceedingly difficult in the Chinese quarters, while the control of the Japanese is next to impossible since they do not congregate in certain sections of the cities as do the Chinese. It is claimed that the 2,000,000 whites who live on the Pacific Coast will be swamped and lose control of the government if this Oriental immigration is not entirely prohibited. The Chinese do not cause so much anxiety. Since the passage of the exclusion act thirty years ago, few have come to the United States—scarcely more than 2,000 a year. As laborers they are efficient, patient, and honest in keeping labor contracts.



Gypsies excluded and deported as undesirable.



Ruthenian shepherds from Austria, bound out West for farmers. Considered desirable and qualified to enter.



A German family of ten considered desirable and qualified to enter.

GROUPS OF IMMIGRANTS UPON THEIR ARRIVAL AT ELLIS ISLAND

These swarms of foreigners who come to us each year are causing uneasiness in the minds of the thinking people. Can our foreign population be growing more rapidly than our power to assimilate it? Is this element as dangerous to our civilization as we think? Has criminality increased as a result of increased immigration? Has this element increased labor agitations during the past decade? Some contend that we are rapidly approaching the limit of our power of assimilation and that we are in constant danger of losing the traits which we call American. The immigrants from southern Europe are in too many cases deficient in education. This lack of education may or may not prove a danger. So far it seems to have been the rule that in the second generation these foreigners have shown themselves extremely anxious to take advantage of the opportunities offered by our free schools.

One of the most serious charges made against the Americanized foreigner has been that through him there has developed in our political system a strain of corruption which endangers our institutions. Political corruption did not come with the immigrants: it was known in all its forms years ago. This much can be said, however: the worst class of foreign-born citizens has ever proved to be a support of corrupt political bosses. Our city governments have been notoriously corrupt and the cities harbor the great masses of foreigners. The high cost of living in the cities and the relatively low wages force the aliens into poor and crowded quarters which tend to weaken them physically and degrade them morally and socially. Among the Italians of the cities there appears to be a vicious element composed of social parasites who found gambling dens, organize schemes of black-mail, and are the agents of the dreaded Black Hand. It is the class which furnishes aids for the lowest political bosses and furnishes the bad reputation for the Italians.



Group of Cossack immigrants considered desirable and qualified to enter.

An investigation of the nationalities in the city of Chicago has been made by Professor Ripley, of Harvard. The results illustrate the wonderful dimensions of the problem which the cities confront in the assimilation of the foreign element. In the case of Chicago, were the foreigners (those not American beyond the third generation) to be eliminated, the population would dwindle from 2,000,000 to about 100,00. In this city fourteen languages are spoken by groups of not less than 10,000 persons each. Newspapers are regularly published in ten different languages and church services conducted in twenty different tongues. Measured by the size of its foreign colonies, Chicago is the second Bohemian city in the world, the third Swedish, the fourth Polish, and the fifth German. There is one large factory employing over 4,000 people representing twenty-four nationalities. Here the rules of the establishment are printed in eight languages. So it is with the other cities. New York, for example, has a larger Italian population than Rome, and is the greatest Jewish city, for there are in the city some 800,000 Jews. In all eighty per cent of the population of New York are foreigners or the children of foreigners. In Boston the per cent reaches seventy and in Milwaukee about eighty-six.

The charge that criminality has increased rapidly with the increased immigration from southern Europe seems to be substantiated by statistics. From 1904 to 1908 the number of aliens charged with committing grave crimes nearly doubled. While this fact will not prove the point, it suggests thought on the question.

It has been truthfully said that the fundamental problem in this question of immigration is most frequently overlooked. Back of the statistics of illiteracy, pauperism, criminality, and the economic value of immigrants lies another one of great proportions. What has been the effect upon our native stock? What has been the expense, to our native stock, of this increase of population and wealth through immigration? The decreasing birth rate of our native population some contend is due to the industrial competition caused by the foreign element. If this be true, the foreigners have supplanted not supplemented the American, and the question arises, how long can the assimilation go on before we lose our American characteristics?