Salmon's Immigration Writings

Salmon's interest in immigration, however, continued to grow. He wrote four articles on immigration from 1906 to 1914. Each of these is structured the same way: Salmon explains how immigration is causing overcrowding in hospitals, grounding his discussion in the cost per taxpayer of each institutionalized immigrant. He then proposes a solution, such as new psychiatric facilities, enhanced inspection or deportation powers for immigration psychiatrists, or the placement of American physicians on steamships or in foreign ports to identify immigrants before they enter the country. Each solution focuses on how to adapt government institutions to serve psychiatric needs; Salmon is confident that the government can integrate psychiatry and place psychiatrists in charge of a mutually beneficial partnership.