hopeful that men are thinking upon the subject.
What we want is full and fair discussion and thorough information.
Nothing is so perilous in a democracy as ignorance and indifference. It
is far better for men to disagree thoughtfully than to agree
thoughtlessly. What all patriotic and Christian men seek is the best
good of this country, which means so much to the whole world as the
supreme experiment of self-government. That the people are awakening was
shown by the Immigration Conference in New York in December of 1905,
when five hundred men, most of them appointed by their state governors,
gathered under the auspices of the National Civic Federation to discuss
the whole question of immigration. The immigration experts of the
country were present, and the company included United States Senators
and Representatives, college presidents and professors, leading editors,
lawyers and clergymen, and prominent labor leaders.

[Sidenote: Conclusions Reached]

No such conference on this subject has before been held, and the results
of the discussion, which was for the most part as temperate and sensible
as it was straightforward, were such as to bring about a better
understanding between the men who are supposed to be theorists and the
representatives of American labor. The resolutions unanimously adopted
were conservative and practical. The most important recommendations call
for admission tests in Europe rather than after the alien has reached
America, for the spread of information leading to better distribution,
and for the establishment of a commission to investigate the subject of
immigration in all its relations, including the violations and evasions
of the present law. Undoubtedly such a commission, appointed by the
president and possessed of competent authority, could accomplish much
good. For one thing, it could keep the matter before the people and
wisely guide public sentiment.

[Sidenote: The Right of Self-Protection]

However much men may differ in view as to specific legislation, one
point ought to be regarded as settled. That is, the right of Congress to
pass such laws as may be deemed essential to safeguard American
institutions and liberties. A nation has the inalienable right to
protect itself against foreign invasion; and it does not matter whether
the invasion be armed or under the guise of immigration. No foreign
nation has the right to send its peoples to America, or by persecution
to drive them forth