The defense for continuation of immigration into this country has of late struck a new note. Heretofore, immigrants have been judged by the money they had at their disposal upon entrance, and friends of immigrants rushed to defend their entrance with this point; Immigrants have greatly enriched this country by their work and creative industry.

This new defense which is winning more and more adherents, is that these immigrants bring with them a new richness; a richness which expresses itself in an idealism. The immigrants, say their defenders, who are forced to leave their land because of oppression - political, religious and social - bring with them their dissatisfaction with everything that denies freedom to the person and group. This sort of dissatisfaction is truly idealism.

If we are not mistaken, it was our own Jacob Schiff who put forth this new defense. Not long ago, Judge Julian Mack expressed himself in this same vein in 2a speech at a banquet of the local Chamber of Commerce. This same understanding is rapidly being heard through-out the progressive press and by many prominent and social-minded citizens.

This same point of view is taking root in American literature, in the social-political life of our land which has begun to take on a new shape and form. If one were to examine these new trends more closely, he would see that the "uneducated" immigrant has a definite place, and this dissatisfaction we speak of, which the immigrant has brought with him from his old land, has a good deal to do with these new trends.

There is a wide difference between pessimism and dissatisfaction. The pessimist sees all worldly phenomena through smoked glasses and therefore sees nothing worth while in the future. One who is dissatisfied, however, sees the darkness of his present surroundings but desires to improve on them. He sees further into the future and therefore possesses those noble qualities, which build, which create new worlds, finer, nobler, idealistical worlds.

Until a short time ago, this idealism of the immigrant was greatly resented by the American-born citizenry. They classified this idealism as destruction and the bearers destroyers. Certainly, our country has made great strides forward, when, within a short time, we have come not only to respect this idealism of the immigrant, but praise and glorify it.