Speech #510217044

His principal objection. as I understand it. put in an abstract way. is that the bill under discussion "does not Eo far enough." and the proposed substitution of the judiciary bill necessarily raises the issue as between the respective measures. and invites comparison of both. From time to time. and coming from various sources. more or less vague suggestions have been uttered and printed tending to disturb the public mind and to induce the belief that this country may in the near future. even if it does not at the present. suffer from the effects of an overcrowded alien population. As a result of these suggestions. unaccompanied by anything like a careful examination to demonstrate their truth or falsity. a mistaken if not prejudiced feeling has been aroused. and demands have been made for a more restrictive immigration law. It is and always has been the theory of our Government that the free shores of America welcomed the coming of the poor and oppressed of all lands. It is and always has been our boast that on this side of the ocean stood an asylum for those who. leaving behind their forms of government which were distasteful. marts of labor already overcrowded. and conditions which were uncongenial. sought to establish new homes and battle for bettered fortunes in this. to them. ideal Republic. 1 submit that the feature of our governmental policy which has always encouraged proper immigration should not be abridged. and that the traditions of the past should not be brushed aside except as a measure of selfdefense and under pressure of present necessity. This necessity. I submit. sir. does not now exist. I venture the assertion that it will not exist for a hundred years to come. The law of nations gives to every Government the right to regulate and place limitations upon immigration. The Federal Congress has the undoubted power to legislate in this direction. and this absolute power ought to be exercised to the fullest. to prevent the migration hither of those whose presence would be a menace and not a benefit. a bane and not a blessing to the land. I submit. sir. that the spirit of a proper immigration law should be not solely in the direction of a reduction in the volume of immigration. its policy should be. so far as possible. one of discrimination. and this policy has been observed in the construction of the bill unanimously reported from the committee and now under discussion. It seeks to exclude all idiots. insane persons. paupers. or persons likely to become a public charge. persons coming under contract to labor. persons Suffering from loathsome or dangerously contagious diseases. persons who have been convicted of felonies or other infamous crimes or misdemeanors involving moral turpitude. except purely political offenses. polygamists. and every person whose ticket or passage is paid for with the money of another. or who is assisted by others to come. but this last inhibition does not prohibit persons living in the United States from sending for a relative or friend who is not of the excluded classes. under such regulations as the Secretary of the Treasury may prescribe. � I shall not stop to discuss at any length the other restrictive features of the bill. They include a provision relative to the existing contractlabor law. prohibiting the settlement or discontinuance of actions brought for its violation. except by proper judicial direction. It seeks to prohibit the solicitation of immigration through advertisements published in foreign countries. or on the part of transportation companies. it having been shown by consular investigation that many immigrants have been misled by the florid statements and false assurances frequently embodied in these announcements. The bill provides. also. for the establishment of the office of superintendent of immigration. a feature which the gentleman from Alabama especially opposes. Whatever views may be entertained by the American people relative to the volume of European immigration and its effect upon the country. the demand has been most universal and emphatic that our immigration laws be more strictly enforced. The gentleman from Alabama will be among the first to admit the grave necessitythe existence of the conditions which impels this universal demand. Alter full investigation on thepart of the committee. and. I may add. after consultation with the Treasury officials. it was deemed wisest to insert the section as it stands. creating the office of superintendent of immigration. and to have him held to an individual accountability and strict responsibility for the thorough and efficient enforcement of the law. It is believed that this adjustment of the matter will produce a greater degree of efficiency and thoroughness. and that the beneficial results of the change will be felt by the entire country. The bill further provides for a rigid examination of all aliens seeking a landing in this country. to the end that the objectionable classes previously enumerated may be rigorously excluded. and finally makes provision for the immediate return to their homes by the same vessel in which they came. and at the expense of the vessel owners. of such persons as may be found to be embraced within the prohibited classes. The gentleman from Alabama. says that this bill is good enoughsofarasitgoes. but that" itdoesnotgofar enough." Whatwould the gentleman have? A bill to limit the number of really desirable emigrants? Let not the souls of men be troubled at the thought of excessive immigration of the proper classes. Immigration does not flow t6 this country in a steady stream of equal proportions. It varies with varying conditions both here and abroad. Mr.