The bill which passed the House with amendments -went over to the Senate and was there amended in several particulars. It comes back from the Senate very much changed. with a request upon the part of the Senate that a committee of conference shall be appointed by the House. the Senate having appointed its conferees. The motion of the gentleman from Missouri is to refer this bill to the House Committee on Immigration. The motion of the gentleman from Ohio .. who is also a member of the Committee on Immigration. is to nonconcur in the Senate amendments and agree to the conference. All discussion on the merits of this bill as it left the Senate or the House is wholly immaterial now. for the reason that any objectionable features in the measure may be changed in the committee of conference. The simple -reason why the gentleman from Ohio makes the motion to nonconcur at once and consent to the conference is to save time and get the bill before the conference committee immediately. so that we may have some possible -hope of passing an immigration bill during this Congress. uring the last Congress the House passed an immigration bill. It went over to the Senate. where it was changed as radically as that body has changed the present bill. It was delayed from time to time. with the result that that Congress passed no immigration bill at all. Now. both political parties have declared for further restriction of immigration. and have declared that the test should be what is known as the educational or intelligence test. This is not a political measure at all. It is neither Republican nor Democratic. It is a measure aimed wholly at the general good of the whole country. Both parties have declared in favor of such a -measure. What I want is that an immigration bill shall be passed during this Congress. If. this bill goes to the Immigration Committee of the ouse. and the CommissionerGeneral of Immigration is sent for to give his views on the subject. it may be necessary for that gentleman to take another trip to Europe before he can submit his views. We reconvene here on the 5th day of January. There will then be left only two months for the work of this -Congress. and during that time there will come up many measures of great moment. In my judgment. it will be the death knell of any immigration bill at this Congress to refer it to the House committee. I do not question the good intentions of the House committee. I do not question the good intentions of the chairman of that committee. Nor have I any idea that the committee would purposely delay the measure. But according to the gentlemans own statement we shall gain three weeks by at once referring the bill to a conference committee. Now. what is the purpose in referring it to the House Committee on Immigration? Under the rules. the Speaker will in all probability pursue the same course in the .appointment of the conference committee on this matter that he usually pursues inreference to all these matters. He vill appoint two members of the majority side iof the House. and one of the minority side.
Keywords matched
Immigration immigration