formulate plans of treatment which are designed to bring about the relief of distress and the improvement of conduct and behavior. One of the most important duties devolving upon us in this respect is the necessity of making available to the immigrant the social resources of the community, and to interpret to him the objects and purposes of those particular agencies.

Type of problem met.-Like other case workers, probation officers are called upon to solve all types of problems. Perhaps the most frequent problem we come in contact with among immigrants is the foreign-born father who feels that he has a right completely to dominate his family to the extent of depriving the children of an adequate education; the right to send his children to work very early in life, and to collect and retain all of the wages thus earned the father who insists upon selecting the husband for a girl of tender years, and who very often believes it is his right to abuse, neglect, and mistreat generally the mother of his children. Here we try to take advantage of the opportunity to interpret the American ideals of motherhood and the rights of women and children in general.

An illustration of the manner in which immigrants are imposed upon and mistreated by people of their own nationality, who are apparently aided by officials who either do not care, or will make no attempt to understand the circumstances, is shown in the following case: A young immigrant boy of Austrian birth came to an industrial town in our county, and began to work in the department store of a man who had come from the same town in the old country. After working at the store for several years and becoming acquainted with the customers, this boy decided to start in business for himself, and did so within two blocks of the place where he had worked. From the time he opened his business, and for a period of four years, he was continuously in trouble as a result of charges preferred by the former employer or the latter's friends. During this time he had been arrested on eight occasions for assault, disorderly conduct, and other violations of the city ordinances. Finally he was arrested, indicted, tried, and convicted on a charge of criminally assaulting a servant girl employed in the home of his former employer, who herself was an immigrant of one year's standing. Investigation convinced the probation officer that the charges were false; that the man had been unjustly accused and improperly convicted. Because of the positive statements of the complainant however, all made through an interpreter, and the corroboration furnished by the wife of the employer in question, it was impossible to upset the conviction. The court, however, placed the young man on probation. He was under supervision for two years, during which time he married, and his business, free from interference, prospered. About a year after his discharge from supervision he came to the probation officer and stated that the servant girl had left the home of her employer, that she was working in a restaurant, and was engaged to be married. Through the aid of her new employer and the man to whom she was engaged to be married, information was secured from the girl which showed she had made false accusations against the

former probationer. She subsequently put her story into affidavit form, repeated it to the district attorney, who remained skeptical and was slow to accept the truth, and finally she was indicted for perjury and her former employer and his wife for subornation of perjury. All three were convicted, but she was released because of the fact that she had been misled. The former probationer was aided in securing a pardon from the governor, and the whole situation cleared up in that way. We have had other unusual cases which indicate the diversity of service required in cases where immigrants were involved, but time does not permit any further mention of them.

Social conditions as causes of crime. Many social conditions surrounding the life and habits of immigrants in our large industrial communities are conducive to criminality and the breaking of the law, not only among the adult classes, but particularly among the children. Housing conditions, as we know, are frequently congested beyond decency, sanitation is bad, and recreational facilities painfully limited. Commercialized recreation is practically the only available type for many of these people, and this is very often without proper control or supervision. Sometimes a lack of knowledge or sympathy for the immigrant results in persecution or oppression of him because of his language or religion, and this very often produces a feeling of group consciousness among immigrants and occasionally thereafter develops a reaction in the form of misbehavior of a serious character among some of the weaker individuals. This lack of respect shown by Americans also had a bad reaction in the minds of children of foreign-born parents, and very often explains why the children grow beyond control of their parents. Again, a lack of sympathy and understanding of the habits of the immigrant frequently leads to poor planning for his educational needs and requirements, and is responsible for much retardation among children, for considerable dissatisfaction with school, and it is sometimes the cause of children leaving school early, subsequently to enter uneducative, monotonous positions in industry, where the opportunities for advancement are limited.

Those of you who have worked extensively with our immigrant classes realize the extent of exploitation carried on in industry, the low wages, long hours, and unsanitary conditions, the monotonous character of the labor which the immigrant performs, the lack of training or direction furnished, the use of child labor, and the occasional stimulation of race prejudice for the purpose of preventing organization, or for other sinister reasons. These conditions are usually reflected in court statistics, and call for case work of the highest possible type before they are corrected.

Among some of the other causes of crime, very often indirect in their influence, are the impositions to which the immigrant is subjected through dishonesty on the part of officials or private individuals, and the deprivation of his legal rights as the result of his lack of knowledge of our laws and customs. This is caused most often by dishonest lawyers, through their "runners," and

usually it is done in a way so as to prevent the court from receiving any knowledge of the situation. On the other hand, there are many persons of foreign birth who come to our shores because of misconduct in their own countryimmigrants who are unfitted for citizenship, and who not only prey upon Americans, but especially upon their own people. We find individuals of this type usually indulging in "confidence games," selling money-making machines, enticing immigrants into "penny-matching games," etc. For that group we must insist upon a strict observance of the law, and stern treatment in the event of their failure to do so. The probation officer is able, through his preliminary investigation, to detect persons of this type, and he submits their record and history to the court before sentence. In Erie County we submit to the immigration authorities, on a regular form, the names of all persons who are not citizens, and who are under investigation after commission of serious crimes. Many deportations have resulted from this cooperation with the immigration authorities.

Frequently, in trying to work out a suitable plan of treatment with an immigrant family, we find parents who refuse to permit proper medical treatment for their family, because of superstitions which they have inherited from the old country. This is particularly true when hospital treatment is required. Considerable tact and persuasion is necessary to bring about cooperation in cases of this character. Force is never used, and the immigrant is always led around to a willing and receptive attitude before the objective is accomplished.

Furthermore, on the question of using force let me say that we have so little faith in this method of supervising our probationers that, although we handle all classes and types of offenders, no one of our probation officers has ever possessed a badge, or a weapon of any sort. Whenever any condition arises which we feel requires the necessity of any such action, we refer the matter to the police authorities, from whom we receive most excellent cooperation.

Our experience has taught us that, if anything, Americanization means democracy-the participation of the immigrant in the affairs of his community. With this in mind we strive to weave his interests into the fabric of community life, using every agency possible, social, religious, political, and economic, in the process. Every one of our cases is registered with the Bureau of Confidential Exchange, and we know, upon receiving the case, whether or not the family has ever had contact with any other social agency in the community.

Much of our work, as does the work of any other case worker, consists of seeing to the correction of mental and physical difficulties found existing in the immigrant or his children. Psychologists and psychiatrists are frequently used to examine delinquents to determine their exact mental status, so that they may be protected from the promiscuous classification of persons as feebleminded when they are simply retarded in development because of environmental or other conditions. One such case occurs to me, that of a boy of twenty-four who was received on parole from a state institution. When slightly over sixteen

years of age he was convicted of arson, in an adjoining rural county, and sent to prison for a period of eight years. Immediately upon his first interview, the probation officer discovered that the boy was deficient mentally, and an effort was made to find him employment suitable to his capacity. With much difficulty he was placed in a position where he was required to perform a simple mechanical process in one of our automobile factories. He was not able to hold this position very long, however, and during a period of six months subsequently was placed in eleven other positions of varying character. Finally he became involved in more serious trouble. He was arrested, charged with attempting to assault a young girl. After indictment, and before he was brought to trial, we succeeded in having a thorough mental examination made, as a result of which it was found that he was a low-grade imbecile, and he was thereafter promptly committed to a custodial institution. Because the county from which he was originally sent to prison was without the services of a probation staff or mental clinic, he had been subjected to very inhuman and unjust treatment in a penal institution.

A considerable part of our work in dealing with immigrants and their children is performed in attempting to improve their economic status. Many of them are misplaced vocationally. They have lacked direction or opportunity in finding employment. Frequently they possess aptitudes and abilities which make them valuable in more responsible and lucrative occupations. Much economic waste is prevented by case work of this character. Time, however, forbids my giving you any of the hundreds of illustrations we have of work of this type. Our case work also includes among its other activities the improvement of educational opportunities, aid in securing naturalization papers, education in the use of American banks, and the stimulation of spiritual relationships. Quite a lot of effort is required of probation officers in working with immigrant families, particularly where children are American-born, in trying to harmonize differences between the children and parents. There is a feeling of superiority on the part of such children, because of the fact that the parent very often is unable to speak the English language, and because of tendency on the part of the parents to preserve old-world customs and habits. Sometimes the children, in their disrespectful attitude, go to extremes in the matter of dress and amusements. This leads to all sorts of trouble, sometimes causing difficulties which are wellnigh insurmountable.

From the things I have just read to you, I know you realize what an important factor the immigrant is in the case work of our courts, and this is especially true in our juvenile courts and in the specialized type of courts that we are now establishing all over the country, domestic relation courts, family courts, morals courts, etc. In all this work the probation service has been of great value in seeing to it that the immigrant has been protected in his rights and has received all of the privileges and advantages guaranteed to him under our laws and Constitution. It is an agency of the court designed to serve all people alike,

and in fulfilling its functions it is able to, and does render, constructive and intelligent assistance of great value to the immigrant and his children. While the success of probation cannot be reduced to mathematical terms, it is doing much to improve the conduct and behavior of all those with whom it comes in contact. It is founded on the American principle of humanitarianism, and it shall always be successful, when properly applied, because it teaches the great principles of self-respect, self-reliance, self-control, and self-determination.

AMERICA'S PRESENT IMMIGRATION POLICY

THE VISA AND QUOTA LAWS AS THEY AFFECT THE
CLIENTS OF SOCIAL AGENCIES

Cecilia Razovsky, Secretary, Department of Immigrant Aid,
National Council of Jewish Women, New York

Any permanent change in America's immigration policy must necessarily affect the lives of hundreds of thousands of persons residing in this country. It is to be expected that a vast proportion of the people most seriously affected by the new immigration legislation are foreign-born. With one-third of the population of this country foreign-born, or first generation of foreign-born parents, family ties in the homeland almost inevitably continue to exist. It was, therefore, not wholly unanticipated by social agencies in close contact with these foreign-born groups that an immigration law as restrictive in its policy as is the act of 1924 should produce new problems-both practical and psychologicalwhich baffle and perplex interested residents in this country.

Present superficial observation would indicate that social agencies find their activities considerably complicated as a result of the increasing problems brought to their attention. Several years, however, must elapse before social agencies will be in a position to know whether the new policy has increased or reduced the number of their clients, or whether the lessening of immigration has wrought a change in the type of client that is appealing for service.

It is not the purpose of this paper to discuss or criticize the basic principles or motives underlying the present restrictive regulations, but rather to analyze the effects, good as well as bad, of the new law upon residents in this country, and to discuss future tendencies in social service activities as a result of our new immigration policy.

Briefly summarized, the Immigration Act of 1924 permits the annual admission into this country of 164,667 quota immigrants, this number being 2 per cent of the population of each nationality resident in the United States in 1890. North American countries are not included in the quota area, so that emigration of natives from Canada, Cuba, South America, and Mexico is free. Forty countries have a quota of 100 per year. European countries with a quota