The demand literally is: "American lands for American homes." and. in the same connection and in some respects paramount to that. is the demand that our own people shall govern the corporations which carry on business in the country. 1. sir. am in sympathy with the demand to make these laws more Stringent. I have no hesitancy in saying that we have the constitutional power to forbid any alien owning an inch of American soil. that under the Constitution there can be no doubt that Congress may prohibit every alien from becoming a landed proprietor. not only in the Territories and in the District of Columbia. but in every State of the Union. I will not go into a lengthened argument on the subject. but I predicate this proposition upon sure and safe constitutional grounds. upon our control of our relations with foreigners. upon our responsibility to other nations for the treatment of foreigners here. upon our responsibility to the States themselves for the status and the conduct of foreigners in this country. upon the treatymaking power. upon the naturalization power. upon all the powers which are inherent in a nation which bears full international relations to other nations. I say I will not enter upon that subject at length. I simply state the position which I take in regard to it.
Keywords matched
naturalization