It is a matter of common
observation to travelers that much of the small mercantile business has
passed into the hands of Chinese mestizos. As far as the first few
generations, at least, the cross here seems to be productive of good
results. Whether Oriental immigration should be encouraged must depend
on the decision of the respective governments, and considerations other
than biologic will have weight. As far as eugenics is concerned it is
likely that such regions would profit by a reasonable amount of Chinese
or Japanese immigration which resulted in interbreeding and not in the
formation of isolated race-groups, because the superior Orientals tend
to raise the level of the native population into which they marry.
The question of the regulation of immigration is, as we have insisted
throughout this chapter, a question of weighing the consequences. A
decision must be reached in each case by asking what course will do most
for the future good both of the nation and of the whole species. To talk
of the sacred duty of offering an asylum to any who choose to come, is
to indulge in immoral sentimentality. Even if the problem be put on the
most unselfish plane possible, to ask not what will be for this
country's own immediate or future benefit, but what will most benefit
the world at large, it can only be concluded that the duty of the
United States is to make itself strong, efficient, productive and
progressive.
Pages:
482
483
484
485
486
487
488
489
490
491
492
493
494
495
496
497
498
499
500
501
502
503
504
505
506