Re: America at the Beginning of the early 1900's:

[SactoTeddyBear]

I had this sent to me and I think that it should be viewed by everyone on this Site, so we can all keep it going in further E-Mails.

Peace, Blessings, Remembering, Prayers, Steve
SactoTeddyBear...

What a well written letter! From: "David LaBonte"

My wife, Rosemary, wrote a wonderful letter to the editor of the OC Register which, of course, was not printed. So, I decided to "print" it myself by sending it out on the Internet. Pass it along if you feel so inclined.

(signed) Dave LaBonte

Written in response to a series of letters to the editor in the Orange County Register:

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Editor:

So many letter writers have based their arguments on how this land is made up of immigrants. Ernie Lujan for one,suggests we should tear down the Statue of Liberty because the people now in question aren't being treated the same as those who passed through Ellis Island and other ports of entry.

Maybe we should turn to our history books and point out to people like Mr. Lujan why today's American isnot willing to accept this new kind of immigrant any longer.

Back in 1900 when there was a rush from all areas of Europe to come to the United States, people had to get off a ship and stand in a long line in New York and be documented. Some would even get down on their hands and knees and kiss the ground. They made a pledge to uphold the laws and support their new country in good and bad times. They made learning English a primary rule in their new American households and some even changed their names to blend in with their new home.

They had waved good bye to their birth place to give their children a new life and did everything in their power to help their children assimilate into one culture. Nothing was handed to them. No free lunches, no welfare, no labor laws to protect them.

All they had were the skills and craftsmanship they had brought with them to trade for a future of prosperity.

Most of their children came of age when World War II broke out. My father fought along side men whose parents had come straight over from Germany, Italy, France and Japan. None of these 1st generation Americans ever gave any thought about what country their parents had come from.

They were Americans fighting Hitler, Mussolini and the Emperor of Japan. They were defending the United States of America as one people. When we liberated France, no one in those villages were looking for the French-American or the German American or the Irish American. The people of France saw only Americans.

And we carried one flag that represented one country. Not one of those immigrant sons would have thought about picking up another country's flag and waving it to represent who they were. It would have been a disgrace to their parents who had sacrificed so much to be here. These immigrants truly knew what it meant to be an American. They stirred the melting pot into one red, white and blue bowl.

And here we are in 2006 with a new kind of immigrant who wants the same rights and privileges. Only they want to achieve it by playing with a different set of rules, one that includes the entitlement card and a guarantee of being faithful to their mother country. I'm sorry, that's not what being an American is all about I believe that the immigrants who landed on Ellis Island in the early 1900s deserve better than that for all the toil, hard work and sacrifice in raising

future generations to create a land that has become a beacon for those legally searching for a better life.

I think they would be appalled that they are being used as an example by those waving foreign country flags.

And for that suggestion about taking down the Statue of Liberty, it happens to mean a lot to the citizens who are

voting on the immigration bill. I wouldn't start talking about dismantling the United States just yet.

(signed)

Rosemary LaBonte

P.S. Pass this on to everyone you know!!! KEEP THIS LETTER MOVING!! I hope this letter gets read by millions of people all across the nation!!

 

[dalangdon]

I read about this on snopes.com, who are one of my favorite sites for determing the validity of these sorts of internet rumors. I can spend hours on that site. Almost as much as I spend here ;-)

Immigrants From Different Eras

Letter to the editor contrasts immigrants from different eras.

www.snopes.com

 

[frigilux]

I'm sorry, but that is a highly romanticized version of reality. Many immigrants who came here during the first half of the 20th century lived in highly ghettoized neighborhoods and spoke their native languages for years.

And just as today's immigrants take jobs that most Americans don't care to do, immigrants from the first half of the 20th century were also doing 'grunt work'---building highways and railroads, doing construction work, and working in the restaurant, hotel and other service-oriented businesses.

There was just as much turmoil over the influx of Italians, Chinese and Irish in the early 20th c. as there is for today's immigrants. All the arguments were the same: They're driving down wages, they're taking jobs from Americans, they're not paying taxes, etc.

My parents moved here from Europe (mother was Italian, father English) immediately after WWII. While they came here legally, my dad worked grunt jobs and my mom did laundry and cleaned houses for a number of years. Italian was the language spoken in our house for almost a decade, and the family lived in rural South Dakota. Although my dad was a citizen, my mom remained an alien (as non-citizens were called then) all her life.

I'm not defending illegal entry into the US. But if we could somehow magically wave a wand and send every illegal back to their country of origin, large segments of our economy would be in big trouble---including the hospitality industry, the meatpacking/foodpacking industries, construction and corporate farming.

If our country decides to seal up the borders and stricly regulate immigration, then so be it. I agree that we can't just let people pour in by the millions forever. But let's make citizens of the immigrants who ARE here, working and raising families and trying to make a better life for themselves.

Rural Minnesota has gone through some very difficult times as Hispanic, East African and East Asian immigrants came here in huge numbers over the past 10 years. We eventually found many (not all, but most) of these immmigrants to be good people who could no longer stand living conditions in their own country.

They are law-abiding, friendly and no more trouble than the white population, overall. Some small towns in the upper midwest which were 100% caucasian for decades are now 25-50% Hispanic/East Asian/East African. That was quite an adjustment for the white population, believe me.

And, of course, there were some troublemakers and gang members in the mix. Fortuantely, most of them have been sent packing from our area. One advantage (or disadvantage, depending on your perspective) of small-town life is that everyone knows everyone else. There is no such thing as anonymity. If you broke the law, chances are someone saw you do it and it was reported. We know who is a 'local' and who is not.

As with immigrants of the past, the 2nd generation tends to be more Americanized and assimiliated than the 1st. My sister and I certainly are. I see similar patterns with many current immigrants.

And maybe your area's experience with immigrants has been completely different than mine. I'm not pretending to speak for the entire country---especially major cities and areas near the southern border.

But I'm sorry, but the notion that immigrants from the early 20th century came over, magically assimilated into the culture and everyone lived together in a melting pot as one big, happy family is an incorrect one.

Steve, please don't take my sentiments personally, but I really felt I needed to speak up.

 

[brettsomers]

frigilux

thank you, Eugene. the story of California and the asian immigrants that built the railroads is NOT pretty.

 

[brettsomers]

AND

very informative link, Dan

 

[kevinpreston8]

Just curious about the thoughts of how the economy would tumble if it were not for people here illegally.

Let's say the US did not share a border with Mexico, and did not have this huge influx of millions of illegal aliens over the past few years.

Who would be doing all the jobs that "Americans won't do"?

There is not a job on this planet Americans won't do. (Watch Dirty Jobs with Mike Rowe if you question that). There are jobs in this country that American's won't do AT THE WAGES BEING PAID FOR THAT JOB. When I was growing up, I cleaned restrooms, washed dishes, everything that Americans supposedly won't do. The difference was, I wasn't in competition with people willing to work for 1/2 minimum wage and get paid illegally under the table. What a difference 30 years makes in California.

We may have abolished slavery in this country, but slave work both imported illegally and exported immorally has replaced it.

If we didn't have an overinflux of poor, unskilled workers, the wages of those jobs would go up, and legal residents would take those jobs. Extra work needed could be taken up by those here on a legal work visa program.

Sure, you may have to pay a little more for things here and there, but artifically depressed prices in no way make up for other costs involved.

It really was different "back then" in many ways. Now, for people here illegally, we all have to pay welfare, school, law enforcement, and a host of other hand outs that were NOT paid out during the Ellis Island period. While no picture is ever as rosy as some would like to remember it as, you certaintly didn't have masses of say, Irish people protesting, shutting down whole downtown areas nationwide and demanding free services and monies like it's owed to them. As an example of costs, in just my county in California, which is not LA county, the cost of just housing illegal aliens who have committed violent crimes is pushing $20 million a year. That is just housing! That's not court costs, law enforcement, and on and on. I doubt there were alot of Maywood, Californias back then either. I don't think the mayor of NYC boasted that he was going to ignore federal law, that people breaking the law were welcome in that city, and that it's perfectly fine to take down and burn the American flag and raise another's country's flag in the middle of the city square. Nah, don't think things like that happened alot.

THAT'S what's different now, and why so many people are up in arms about it.

If all the illegal aliens were gone tomorrow, we would have a few months of inconveniences here and there...I would say about as much as Y2K turned out to be.

Then, what do I think would happen?

Costs would rise slightly in some areas
People who were doing retail clerk work (Walmart being biggest employer) would have opportunities to fill more highly paid jobs in other areas that were depressed before
Competition would keep prices from going crazy
Companies that depended on paying wages illegally under the table and taking advantage of people would be where they belong--bankrupt!
Tax roles across the country would see unbelievable relief by not having HUGE payouts
Build up of law enforcement, jails and other facilities for a burdeoning criminal population would be slowed

So, in my mind, some short term inconveniences followed up by an even more robust growth in the economy--allowing us to do crazy things like attack the national debt!

 

[frigilux]

Here's an idea---What if we stop allowing businesses to get away with paying less than minimum wage to their workers? If that's what's going to happen in your scenario anyway, then why not tackle the problem from that vantage point?

Stop the unchecked inflow of illegal immigrants. Make demands for improved living conditions in Mexico. Make the current workers citizens and deport those who don't want that option. They'll be far less likely to settle for getting paid 1/2 the minimum wage when they are operating on an even footing within the system and not worried about deportation. Can you imagine the boost to the tax roles? We could actually AFFORD to be spending a billion a month in Iraq and Afghanistan.

I actually agree with much of what you're saying----I'd just like to see it engineered differently. We HAVE built an economy on depressed prices and corporate welfare and declining real wages. While I don't think our entire economy would collapse if every illegal lost their job, I do believe you're greatly underestimating the impact it would have. The unemployment rate is so low already, I don't know where you're going to get bodies to fill millions of positions unless we lower the legal working age substantially. We'd still be handing out millions of work visas, so why not just hook them into the system and get their tax dollars permanently?

And there were immigrant riots back then. They just weren't televised because there was no television. And people tended to look the other way when the rioters were shot dead in the streets.