In dealing with this question it is unwise to depart from the old American tradition and to discriminate for or against any man who desires to come here and become a citizen, save on the ground of that man's fitness for citizenship.

It is our right and duty to consider his moral and social quality.

His standard of living should be such that he will not, by pressure of competition, lower the standard of living of our own wage-workers; for it must ever be a prime object of our legislation to keep high their standard of living.

If the man who seeks to come here is from the moral and social standpoint of such a character as to bid fair to add value to the community he should be heartily welcomed.

We cannot afford to pay heed to whether he is of one creed or another, of one nation, or another.

We cannot afford to consider whether he is Catholic or Protestant, Jew or Gentile; whether he is Englishman or Irishman, Frenchman or German, Japanese, Italian, Scandinavian, Slav, or Magyar.

What we should desire to find out is the individual quality of the individual man.

It will be a great deal better to have fewer immigrants, but all of the right kind, than a great number of immigrants, many of whom are necessarily of the wrong kind.

As far as possible we wish to limit the immigration to this country to persons who propose to become citizens of this country, and we can well afford to insist upon adequate scrutiny of the character of those who are thus proposed for…

Not merely the Anarchist, but every man of Anarchistic tendencies, all violent and disorderly people, all people of bad character, the incompetent, the lazy, the vicious, the physically unfit, defective, or degenerate should be kept out.

The stocks out of which American citizenship is to be built should be strong and healthy, sound in body, mind, and character.

But in the effort to carry out the policy of excluding Chinese laborers, Chinese coolies, grave injustice and wrong have been done by this Nation to the people of China, and therefore ultimately to this Nation itself.

Our laws and treaties should be framed, not so as to put these people in the excepted classes, but to state that we will admit all Chinese, except Chinese of the coolie class, Chinese skilled or unskilled laborers.

But it will be more easy to see that both justice and courtesy are shown, as they ought to be shown, to other Chinese, if the law or treaty is framed as above suggested.

But we cannot expect to receive equity unless we do equity.

We cannot ask the Chinese to do to us what we are unwilling to do to them.

But we must treat the Chinese student, traveler, and business man in a spirit of the broadest justice and courtesy if we expect similar treatment to be accorded to our own people of similar rank who go to China.

Such an attitude tends to the peace of the world.

I recommend that a law be enacted to regulate inter-State commerce in misbranded and adulterated foods, drinks, and drugs.

Such law would protect legitimate manufacture and commerce, and would tend to secure the health and welfare of the consuming public.

Traffic in food-stuffs which have been debased or adulterated so as to injure health or to deceive purchasers should be forbidden.

Something has been accomplished under it, but much remains to be done if we would preserve the capital city from defacement by the smoke nuisance.

There are certain mighty natural features of our land which should be preserved in perpetuity for our children and our children's children.

In my judgment, the Grand Canyon of the Colorado should be made into a National park.

It is greatly to be wished that the State of New York should copy as regards Niagara what the State of California has done as regards the Yosemite.