“HAND-PICKED IMMIGRANTS.”

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XIII, Issue 128, 17 May 1923, Page 4

“HAND-PICKED IMMIGRANTS.”

While we in New Zealand are pursuing a not very decided or, perhaps, not very well assorted, immigration policy, the United States, despite the numerical restrictions imposed there since the war, is evidently out to adopt a selective system which bids lair to lure away to its shores some of the Old Country’s most valuable citizens. Our attention is drawn to this by an article which appeared some few weeks ago in a western journal under the heading we have adopted above. This opened by staling that since the American law to limit the number of immigrants received from each foreign country hail come into effect there had been turned back from lta|y, Greece, the Balkan States, and Poland a great number of people who desired to come to the United States, but were unable to do so because the limit under the law had Ixjen reached. On the other hand, England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, Sweden, and Germany had not sent even their 3 jier cent, of emigrants to the country since the law was passed. Now that there is a labour shortage, our American contemporary goes on to say, in the industrial centres of the country a tremendous drive is being made by large business interests tu have the immigration law changed $o that they may have a temporary abundance of cheap labour. A' good many of these operators do not seem to care how much they dihito American citizenship by bringing in to meet temporary needs great number of umh’sirables from the standpoint of becoming future American citizens, it then proceeds to outline a scheme which was being put forward by Chambers of Commerce all over the country , with the United States Chamber of Commerce taking the lead, t<> establish bureaus in England, France. Germany . and every country whore the emigration is below the 3 per cent, allowed by law and where the desirable class oi emigrants could, through proper effort be influenced to come to America. ‘‘We could thus,” concludes the Californian paper, “by proper jiersoiial work and the right kind of activities, determine to a very large extent the quality of people who are to (.omehere as immigrants and therefore predetermine the quality of a considerable percentage of our future citizenship. This.-too, would meet the demand for more skilled industrial labour and would relieve the pressure for amending the present immigration law.” Here’wo have areal danger of the diversion io America of British skilled workmen who would accentuate the competition with which Britain has already to contend, and only tend to aggravate the conditions of unemployment there. YVould it not be far better if workmen of this class could- b° brought to the British dominions, there to expend their energies and experience on the development of secondary industries utilising raw material ready to their hands, and thus assisting to build up from within the strength and prosperity of the Empire, and provide assured customers for other British products?