THE IMMIGRANTS BILL OF RIGHTS 31
ing in the enforcement of law. One writer plainly attributes the anomalous state of affairs — which in the twentieth century is nothing less than an anachronism — to the "weakening of law rather than an excess of bile." ^^ Another authority " deplores our toleration of crime as expressed in a lenient spirit of admin- istration as well as variations in the enforcement of law. This is, however, but one illustration of what has developed into our national failing of excessive individualism. This again is ulti- mately responsible for that attitude which is characterized by an extreme regard for individual interests and by comparative indifference toward matters affecting, the welfare of society as a whole.
But we are on the verge of a digression. . Perhaps a digres- sion would be pardonable, however, if it might serve to fix atten- tion upon two points. The one concerns an amendment to the immigration laws. The other relates to the moral effect upon the enforcement of law in general which will accrue from the strengthening of the laws affecting aliens of the so-called crimi- nal class.
"Professor E. A. Ross, of the University of Wisconsin, Sin and Society: An Analysis of Latter-Day Iniquity, p. 5. Houghton, Mifflin & Co.
" See an address entitled "Law and License," delivered at Nashville, Tennessee, February 7, 1907, by Judge William Holcombe Thomas. Published by The Paragon Press, Montgomery, Alabama.
