Christopher Pierce Cranch - "The Last of the Huggermuggers"

Charlotte M. Yonge - "Lady Hester or, Ursula's Narrative"

Rabindranath Tagore (trans.) - "The King of the Dark Chamber"

Mark Overton - "Jack Winters' Gridiron Chums"

New Philadelphia Book Publisher Highlights Local Talent
Book and Publishing News from Publishers Newswire(tm)

Looking for Child to be on Cover of a New Book, 'The Model Child'
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. -- The Philadelphia literary world will celebrate the launch of two new players today, April 10th: Kay Square Press, a new publishing company focused on Philadelphia-area artists, their stories, and their art; and Kay Square's first release, 'With the Rich and Mighty: Emlen Etting of Philadelphia' (ISBN: 978-0-9815129-0-7), a critical biography by Kenneth C. Kaleta.

FlatSigned Press Alleges Don Imus Remarks Damage Legacy of President Gerald R. Ford
NEW YORK, N.Y. -- Nathan Yungerberg, an accomplished model scout and professional child photographer is launching a nation-wide casting call to find the cover model for his highly anticipated book release, 'The Model Child: A Parents Guide to the Child Modeling Industry' (ISBN: 978-0-9817018-0-6).

Books: Practical Argumentation

G >> George K. Pattee >> Practical Argumentation




Taking, then, the population of France, averaging 187 per square
mile, as being at least not above the normal rate of population, what
do we find in comparing it with the population of the United States?
We find over here vast tracts of country, amounting to nearly one-
third by actual measurement, of the whole area of the United States,
and including all the States west of the Missouri and Mississippi
valleys (except a portion of California), having a population of less
than six individuals per square mile. It would seem as if the mere
statement of this fact were alone sufficient to disprove any
proposition which asserts that the saturation point of population has
been reached in the United States. While that immense expanse of
country averages only six individuals to the square mile, there can be
no reason for saying that this country is over-populated. Coming now
to the more thickly settled portions of the United States, we find a
large area spread out over various parts of the States having a
population between seven and forty-five individuals per square mile.
In a very few States, New York, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Ohio, and
Indiana, the population of the whole State averages over forty-five
and under ninety individuals per square mile, and the same average
holds in parts of Massachusetts, Connecticut, Illinois, Kentucky, and
isolated spots in the South. In a small territory, made up of parts of
Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey, the population averages
over ninety per square mile.

The contrast between these averages of population in various portions
of the United States, the highest of which is about ninety individuals
per mile (and that over very small portions of the area of the United
States) and the average densities of the European countries,
previously examined, shows how very far the United States is from
complete population. This appears still more clearly when the average
population of the United States taken as a whole, is considered, which
is the extraordinary low figure of twenty individuals per square mile
of territory What a striking contrast! Can the most ardent advocate of
the Malthusian doctrine claim that the United States already has too
many inhabitants, or is in danger of having too many in the immediate
future? Do we not rather need to encourage immigration, to fling wide
open the gates of our country and secure as large an addition to our
working force as possible?

When we come to the political aspect of the problem, however, a wholly
different series of considerations present themselves. The question
now is not how many citizens, but what sort of citizens. The theory of
our government is not limited to any number of people. It provides for
expansion in the number of representatives in Congress in proportion
to the increase in population, and increases the number of Senators as
new States are formed and added to the Union. Similarly each State
government has elastic provisions which enable it to cover a
population of 400,000 as well as a population of 40,000. But the one
critical test in determining whether or not our immigration should be
limited for political reasons is the character of the people whom we
are admitting to the privilege of citizenship in the United States.

In order to investigate successfully the political effect of the
immigration, it is necessary, at the outset, to divide it into its
constituent nationalities, so that taking up each nationality in turn,
we may see what fitness it has from its previous political training in
its native country for undertaking the duties of American citizenship.
The disintegration of the tide of immigration into these constituent
parts affords some interesting information which will be seen to have
a bearing, in several directions, on the questions under consideration
in this article. Taking the statistics of the year 1891 as a typical
year of recent immigration, the tide of immigration amounted in round
numbers to 500,000 individuals.

The largest feeder of this enormous stream came from Germany, which
sent, roughly speaking, 100,000. But a noticeable point about this
nationality is the great decrease in the number of immigrants it has
sent us in the last fifteen years. In the year 1882 the total German
immigration into the United States amounted to no less than 250,000,
but in 1883 and 1884 there was a great decrease, and since then the
average has remained in the neighborhood of 100,000. We shall see
later that on the other hand, the immigration from the Latin and Slav
nations of Europe, particularly Italy, Poland, and Austria, shows an
enormous rate of increase in the same period, although, of course, the
absolute amounts are much less than those of the German immigration.

The next largest feeder to our stream of immigration in the year 1891,
the typical year of our examination, was Italy, which contributed
76,000 immigrants to our population. It is noteworthy to remark, in
this connection, that Italy has more than doubled her annual rate of
contributions to our people in the ten years under consideration, the
immigration from her shores in 1882 being only 32,000.

The next largest contributor is Austria, which in 1891 furnished
71,000 new members of our community. Austria, too, has doubled her
rate of contribution, sending us in 1882 only 32,000. Next come, side
by side, in their offerings to our population, England and Ireland,
each of which countries sends us about 50,000 new inhabitants each
year, and has continued to do so for the last fifteen years. Russia,
exclusive of Poland, sent 47,000 in 1891, this being three times the
number which she sent in 1882, a large increase. Sweden came next with
36,000 immigrants and that country shows a woeful falling-off of
nearly one-half in the ten years under consideration, for in the year
1882 it sent 64,000. Poland in 1891 sent us 27,000 immigrants, showing
an enormous increase of nearly sevenfold over its contribution of
4,000 in 1882. Scotland and Norway and Denmark all send about the same
number, that is, about 12,000 each; Norway showing a diminution in the
decade ending 1891, from 29,000 in 1882, but the other two remaining
about stationary. Switzerland in 1891 sent 6,000, a diminution from
10,000 in 1882. The Netherlands sent 5,000 in 1891, a decrease from
9,000 in 1882. France sent 6,000 and Belgium 3,000, these figures
being about the same during all the years covered by our
investigation. I have left out of account the only other important
factor in our immigration in the ten years considered, namely, China,
because the door was shut in its face with considerable emphasis in
1883, and the immigration from China to the Western States, which in
1882 amounted to 40,000 fell in 1883 to 8,000, and in 1884 to 279
individuals, and may, therefore, be neglected at the present time.

Now, an examination of the political institutions in the countries
from which these immigrants come would show that in almost no case,
that of Russia and Poland alone excepted, are the elements of
representative government wholly unknown to the common people. In most
of these countries, some form of popular government has, either wholly
or partially, gained a footing, with the inevitable result of
accustoming people more or less to representative institutions. Yet
the short time that this has been the case in many of the countries
which pour half or over of the total flood of immigration into the
United States, and the long centuries of despotism which preceded this
partial and recent enlightenment, make it painfully evident that there
can be, in the large part of our immigrants, little knowledge of the
republican form of government, and little inherited aptitude for such
government. It would at first seem as if the results of such
immigration must be disastrous to our country.

And yet the situation is not so hopeless. There is nothing mysterious,
or even very complicated, about republican institutions. A little
time, a little study, a little experience with the practical workings
of elections, is sufficient to convey to any person of ordinary
intelligence as much familiarity with these matters as is necessary
for the intelligent appreciation of their objects and purposes. Nor is
the material out of which the prospective citizen is to be made wholly
unfitted for its purpose. To be sure, the Latin races, the Slavs,
Hungarians, Poles, and others have no inherited aptitude, nor if we
may judge from the history of the races, any inherent capacity for
self-government and free institutions, but, as I have before said, in
almost every case they have had in their own country a partial
training in the forms of representative government. All that is needed
is to amalgamate this heterogeneous mass, to fuse its elements in the
heat and glow of our national life, until, formed in the mould of
everyday experience, each one shall possess the characteristic
features of what we believe to be the highest type of human
development which the world has seen, the American citizen.

The process of acquiring American citizenship is regulated by acts of
Congress. It is a simple process. Practically all that is required is
a continuous residence of five years in the States, and one year in
the special State in which citizenship is applied for, and the
declaration of intention to become a citizen may be made immediately
upon landing. This last point will be seen later to be very important.

Citizenship in the United States, however, under the act of Congress,
does not carry with it the right to vote. This right is entirely a
matter of State regulation, and the Constitution or statutes of each
State settle who shall have the right to vote in its elections. The
underlying idea of the whole system is universal male suffrage, and
the franchise is granted (after a certain residence, which will be
discussed later) with only certain general limitations of obvious
utility, such as that the voter must be twenty-one years of age, that
he must not be an idiot or insane, and generally, that he must not
have been convicted of any felony or infamous crime, although in many
States a pardon, or the serving of a sentence, will restore a felon to
his civil rights. In a few of the States paupers are also excluded
from voting. With the question of woman suffrage we have nothing to
do, as its settlement, one way or the other, does not affect the
subject we are discussing.

The important qualification, however, in relation to the subjects
which we are discussing, is that which requires residence in the State
previous to the exercise of the franchise. And on this point the
States may be divided into two great classes. One class allows no one
to vote who is not, under the laws of Congress, a citizen of the
United States, either native or naturalized. As we have seen that five
years' residence is a requisite to United States citizenship, these
States, therefore, require five years' residence as a prerequisite to
acquiring the right to vote. These States are California, Connecticut,
Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts,
Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania,
Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, and
Washington. This requirement is admirably calculated to secure that
preliminary training in the practical working of our institutions
which must be necessary to most of the immigrants before they can
intelligently exercise the rights which are conferred upon them by
American citizenship and we cannot but admire the sagacity and
judiciousness of those who framed our naturalization laws in selecting
this period of time for the pupilage of the intending citizen. The
period is long enough even for one who is engrossed in the cares of
earning a support for himself and his family, amid all the excitement
and novelty of a changed residence, to acquire in the five succeeding
annual elections a sufficient knowledge of republican government for
all practical purpose. To delay him longer in the exercise of his
political rights would be an injustice; to admit him to them sooner
would be an imprudence.

There are in a few States other qualifications required of a voter.
The most important of these is the educational qualification, which
exists only in Connecticut and Massachusetts. In neither of these is
it very severe. In Connecticut the voter must be able to read any
article in the State Constitution, and any section of the statutes. In
Massachusetts he must be able to read the Constitution and to write
his name. Too much praise can hardly be given to these requirements.
The whole edifice of our national life is founded upon education, and
to this potent factor must we look for many of the improvements
necessary to the proper development of our national life.

In quite a number of States a pecuniary qualification exists in the
shape of the payment of some tax, generally a poll tax, within two
years previous to the date of the election. This requirement does not
seem to be so germane to the spirit of our institutions as the other.
The great present danger of our country is the danger of becoming a
plutocracy, and while there is no doubt that a widespread interest in
property develops stability of institutions, yet there is also great
danger of capital obtaining so firm and strong a hold upon political
institutions as to crush out the life of free government and to
convert the national government into a species of close corporation,
in which the relative wealth of the parties alone controls. This
qualification is found in Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi,
Nevada, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Texas.

We have now examined with some thoroughness the component parts of the
tide of immigration as it arrives at our shores; we have seen what
nationalities go to make up the grand total and what previous training
they have had in the political institutions of their native countries
to fit them for American citizenship, and what additional requirements
are imposed upon them by our statutes before they can participate in
voting and government in this country. What are the conclusions to
which the view of these facts brings us? They seem to me to be these:
first, that the growth of immigration is a desirable thing for this
country from an industrial point of view; second, that the immigrants
who arrive at our shores are for the most part good material out of
which to make American citizens. Applying these conclusions to the
questions which were stated at the outset of this article; first, is
it for the advantage of the United States that immigration should be
checked or limited? second, if so, in what way should the check or
limit be applied? the answer would be that no further check or limit
should be applied, but that a check should be placed upon the exercise
of the franchise by immigrants in all States by requiring a residence
of five years in this country before they can vote, and by also
requiring some moderate educational test.

With these safeguards established we might look without any serious
apprehension upon the increase of our population. The founders of our
state moulded the outlines of its form in large and noble lines. The
skeleton has grown and clothed itself with flesh with almost
incredible rapidity in the hundred years of its existence. But it is
still young. We should avoid any measures which would stunt or deform
its growth and should allow it to develop freely and generously till
the full-grown American nation stands forth pre-eminent among the
nations of the earth, in size, as well as in character and
organization, and man's last experiment in government is clearly seen
to be an unequivocal success.




ARGUMENT AND BRIEF

SHOULD IMMIGRATION BE RESTRICTED?


NEGATIVE BRIEF.

INTRODUCTION.

I. The enormous increase in immigration gives rise to a growing
interest in some plan for further limiting the number of
immigrants coming to the United States.

A. Paupers, idiots, contract laborers, the Chinese, and several
other classes of people are already excluded.

B. The subject has been discussed in legislatures, in political
meetings, from pulpits, in reform clubs, and among
individuals.

II. The problem divides itself into two distinct questions:--

A. Is it for the advantage of the United States that immigration
be further checked or limited?

B. If so, in what way should the check or limit be applied?

III. These questions must be considered, first, from the industrial
point of view; and, secondly, from the political point of view.


DISCUSSION.

Immigration should not be further restricted, for

I. From an industrial point of view, the United States needs
immigrants, for

A. Without question, immigrants represent laboring power.

B. The United States needs more laboring power, for

1. Admittedly, the introduction of laboring power into an
undeveloped or partially developed country is
advantageous up to the saturation point.

a. Adam Smith says that labor is the wealth of nations.

b. The history of America has borne out this statement, for

1'. The laborer has turned the forests, fields, and
mines into wealth.

2. The United States is still under-populated, for

a. There is a smaller population to the square mile
than in many European countries, for

1'. In 1890 the Netherlands had the average of three
hundred and fifty-nine inhabitants to the square
mile

2'. Great Britain had the average of three hundred and
eleven.

3'. Germany had two hundred and thirty-four.

4'. France had one hundred and eighty-seven.

5'. In about one-third of the whole area of the United
States, the average is less than six.

6'. In certain more thickly settled portions the average
is from seven to forty-five.

7'. In New York, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Ohio, and
Indiana, the average is from forty-five to ninety.

8'. In a small territory made up of parts of
Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey, the
average is over ninety.

9'. In the United States as a whole, the average is
twenty.

II. From a political point of view, the immigrants who are arriving
at our shores make good citizens, for

A. Their previous political training has been such as to render
them capable of learning how to perform the duties of
American citizenship, for

1. Of the 500,000 immigrants that arrived in 1891, Germany
sent approximately 100,000.

2. Italy sent 76,000.

3. Austria sent 78,000.

4. England and Ireland sent 50,000 each.

5. Russia, exclusive of Poland, sent 47,000.

6. Sweden sent 36,000.

7. Poland sent 27,000.

8. Scotland, Norway, and Denmark sent 12,000 each.

9. Switzerland sent 6,000.

10. The Netherlands sent 5,000.

11. France sent 6,000.

12. Belgium sent 3,000.

13. Except in Russia and Poland, the elements of representative
government are not wholly unknown to these people, for

a. In most of these countries some form of popular
government has either wholly or partially gained a
footing.

B. The duties of the American citizen are not hard to learn, for

1. Republican institutions are not very complicated.

C. The political ignorance of the immigrant can be remedied, for

1. Before extending immigrants the franchise, States can
insist on requirements that will secure some preliminary
training in free political institutions, since

a. The right to vote is entirely a matter of State
regulation, for

1'. Citizenship, which is regulated by Congress, does
not carry with it the franchise.

b. Already twenty-two States allow no one to vote who has
not been in the United States at least five years.

c. Massachusetts and Connecticut have an educational test.

d. Eight States insist on a pecuniary qualification.


CONCLUSION.

The following points have been proved:--

I. The growth of immigration is a desirable thing for this country
from an industrial point of view.

II. The immigrants who arrive at our shores are for the most part
good material out of which to make American citizens.

Therefore, no further check or limit should be applied to immigration.




APPENDIX B


A LIST OF PROPOSITIONS.


1. The United States army should be greatly enlarged.

2. Japan was justified in waging war against Russia.

3. A formal alliance between the United States and Great Britain for
the protection and advancement of their common interests would be
expedient.

4. Military tactics should be taught in the public schools.

5. The United States navy should be greatly enlarged.

6. The aggressions of England in South Africa are justifiable.

7. The nations of Europe should combine to bring about drastic reforms
in the Congo Free State.

8. Ireland should be granted home rule.

9. Japanese control will promote the political and economic interests
of Corea more than would Russian control.

10. Armed intervention on the part of any nation to collect private
claims against any other nation is not justifiable.

11. The annexation of Canada by treaty with Great Britain would be
economically advantageous to the United States.

12. The United States should establish commercial reciprocity with
Canada.

13. The United States should maintain a system of subsidies for the
protection of American merchant marine.

14. Congress should have decided in favor of a sea-level canal at
Panama.

15. Woman suffrage should be adopted by an amendment to the
Constitution.

16. The practice of relieving financial stringency by temporary
deposits of United States Treasury funds in selected banks should be
discontinued.

17. Labor unions are detrimental to the best interests of the
workingman.

18. Free trade should be established between the United States and the
Philippine Islands.

19. State boards of arbitration, with compulsory powers, should be
appointed to settle disputes between employers and employees.

20. The United States should discontinue the protective tariff policy.

21. The Federal government should own and operate the interstate
railroads within its borders.

22. Railroad pooling should be legalized.

23. The tax on the issues of state banks should be repealed.

24. The United States should adopt one-cent postage.

25. American municipalities should own and operate their street-car
systems.

26. The President of the United States should be elected for a term of
six years and be ineligible for re-election.

27. The President of the United States should be elected by popular
vote.

28. Ex-Presidents of the United States should be Senators-at-large for
life.

29. United States Senators should be elected by popular vote.

30. The powers of the Speaker of the House of Representatives should
be restricted.

31. The United States should institute a system of responsible cabinet
government.

32. Judges should be elected by direct vote of the people.

33. All cities in the State of ----, having at least ten thousand
inhabitants should adopt the Des Moines plan of government.

34. The right of suffrage should be limited by an educational test.

35. The State of ---- should adopt the initiative and referendum
system of government.

36. Congress should repeal the Fifteenth Amendment.

37. Members of State legislatures should be forbidden by law to accept
free passes on any railroads.

38. Corporations engaged in interstate commerce should be required to
take out a Federal license.

39. Women who pay taxes should be permitted to vote at municipal
elections.

40. The annexation of Cuba to the United States would be for the best
interests of Cuba.

41. The United States should grant full citizenship to the people of
Porto Rico.

42. The United States should establish an old age-pension system
similar to the one in operation in Germany.

43. Political union with Cuba would be for the advantage of the United
States.

44. The United States should permanently retain the Philippines.

45. The House of Representatives should elect its standing committees.

46. The white citizens of the Southern States are justified in
maintaining their political supremacy.

47. Congress should prohibit corporate contributions to political
campaign funds.

48. The present powers of courts to grant injunctions should be
curtailed.