[Sidenote: Ways in which the immigrant has influenced American politics.] =Political Effects.=—The exact political effects of immigration are hard to determine. It is to be remembered that most of our immigrants have come from countries where they were given no political opportunities, or almost none. Prior to their arrival in the United States they have had no experience with democratic institutions. Yet we have freely offered them, after five years of residence, the privilege of becoming citizens and voters. The rest of the world has always looked upon this as a very dangerous experiment in democratic government; nevertheless its results have not been at all disastrous. True enough, the newcomers have often been exploited by unscrupulous politicians and they have sometimes allowed themselves to be misled into supporting incompetent or corrupt candidates, especially in the large cities. But the alien immigrant is not wholly or even chiefly responsible for the bad government that we have had from time to time in various parts of the country. Some of the worst political abuses have flourished in states and cities where the proportion of foreign-born citizens is relatively small. Political reformers rail at the iniquities of “foreign-born bosses”, but the fact is that most of our notorious political bosses have been native-born. Notwithstanding the admission of many million aliens to all the rights of American citizenship it can be fairly claimed that American government in its various branches, national, state, and local, is just as honest and efficient as that of any other country. [Sidenote: The gradual stiffening of the regulations.] =The Restriction of Immigration.=—Until about forty years ago there were practically no restrictions upon the coming of aliens to the United States, but in 1882 laws were passed by Congress to exclude paupers, criminals, and the insane. All laborers of the Mongolian race were also debarred. Three years later, in 1885, it was provided that no immigrant of any race should be admitted to the United States if under contract to perform labor in this country. And from this date to the present the restrictions have gradually been tightened. In 1917 Congress established a literacy test for all immigrants over sixteen years of age, and in 1921 it made further provision that the number of immigrants admitted each year from any European country should not exceed three per cent of the natives of that country already in the United States, as shown by the census figures of 1910. A tax of eight dollars per person is now imposed upon every immigrant. [Sidenote: Should immigration be altogether forbidden?]