Two Jobs Well Done

By W. D. Boyce (W. D. Boyce's Talks)

The year 1919 had many problems. The biggest was to get our boys back from across the sea, get them settled in the jobs they held before the war and find other places for men and women who had taken their jobs while they were gone. The next biggest problem was the Red menace. The spirit of unrest developed by war was felt to a moderate degree in this country thru the efforts of the Bolshevists, I. W. W. and Red Socialists to make trouble. The strong arm of Uncle Sam reached out and interfered with these plans to make trouble and we are sending the alien Reds back to their fatherlands as fast as we can get ships and putting the trouble makers who are citizens of the United States, but don't like our Government, in the penitentiaries as rapidly as the courts can act. This element, however, will require constant watching.

It is amusing to see the Bolshevists and I. W. W. bunch point with pride to Soviet Russia, then kick violently when we prepare to send them back there on a free ticket. It is puzzling to the Government to know what to do with this half-crazy, insane, bombastic and dangerous element. I often have thought the best solution of the question would be to take one of the Philippine Islands or some other island we own and control and put the whole bunch — citizens and non-citizens, on it and let them run a Government of their own to suit themselves and at the same time let them feed themselves. Already we are using one of the Philippine group as a place to which we send the Filipinos who are not dangerous criminals, but who insist upon trying to make trouble for the Government. Why not another island for the Reds? They couldn't get off it and no one could get on it.

I doubt whether we have the right to send back to their native lands the aliens who develop Red or Bolshevist streaks after they arrive in this country. They may not have been that kind or held radical beliefs when they came over here, and so why should we send them back later anymore than we would deport an immigrant who came over in perfect physical condition and later developed some disease? Some day we may get into a lot of trouble with some country because we send back their citizens after they have been in the United States for some time.

In the first place we never ought to permit a politically Red or unhealthy man or woman to land in the United States. If we do we ought to be responsible for them ever after if they want to stay here, but at the same time have some place to put them if they try to make trouble for us. So I suggest that one of the 3,000 islands which we own might be used for that purpose. We ought never to let any of these aliens leave their native lands for this country until they have passed an examination and investigation by consular agents or representatives of our Bureau of Immigration. The stop order should be put in before the loss is made.

—The Saturday Blade, Chicago, Jan. 3, 1920, p. 6.