he
rascals and undesirables can read and write; that if he had his choice
between admitting to this country a wealthy educated Roman nobleman or
an illiterate Neapolitan or Sicilian laborer, he would take the laborer
every time, for his brain and brawn and heart make the better foundation
on which to build the institutions of our Republic. Miss Kate Claghorn
and other experienced workers agree in this view, and think it would be
a positive misfortune to make ability to read the deciding test. Nor
would these experts favor the money test. They believe the inspectors
should have more leeway, as judges of human nature, and would rather
rely on their judgment as to the character of the applicant than upon
any arbitrary tests. So this is an open question for discussion, with
good arguments on both sides.

[Sidenote: Three Further Propositions]

There are three propositions further. The first is a measure introduced
into the House by the late Congressman Adams of Pennsylvania. This
would restrict by law the total number of immigrants from any given
country in any one year to 80,000. This would decrease the south of
Europe quota, and might increase that from northern Europe. It would at
any rate tend to stop the million a year rate.

[Sidenote: Itinerant Boards]

The second measure is proposed by Mr. Brandenburg, who feels sure it
would prove the desired remedy. His opinion carries a good deal of
weight. His proposal is to "select emigrants before itinerant boards of
two, three, or more native-born Americans who speak fluently and
understand thoroughly the language and dialects of the people who come
before them--these boards to be on a civil service basis," and to sit at
stated times in the central cities of the countries whence aliens
come.[38] This he believes to be "a correct solution of the gigantic
problem." It would keep expense down, avoid opportunities for wholesale
corruption of American officials by the transportation interests and the
immigrants themselves, and enable the examiners to deny passage to
persons desirous of going to districts already over-populated with
aliens.

[Sidenote: Inspection Abroad]

The third measure is in line with the second, but instead of
establishing itinerant boards of examiners, it proposes to select
fifteen or twenty ports abroad which shall be made exclusive points for
the embarkation of emigrants bound for the United States. Mr. Ogg states
the plan as follows:

[Sidenote: