Speech #590059402

Mr. Chairman. I have had the pleasure of listening in the last few months to very excellent addresses on the part of several Members of this House on the general subject of immigration. and I desire to speak briefly concerning the first four or five lines of the Dillingham bill. recently reported in the Senate. which. as to those particular lines. is practically the same as the bill this day ordered to be reported from the Committee on Immigration of the House. As I followed the" remarks of the gentleman from Alabama . the gentleman from Kentucky [Mr. HorKINS]. and the gentleman from Tennessee . I gathered that these gentlemen were what might be termed "selectionists." that is. in favor of immigration of a proper sort and opposed to all immigration of an improper sort. The gentleman from Massachusetts I would perhaps class as a "restrictionist." differing somewhat from the other three in his general ideas on the subject. Therefore. in what I have to say I will perhaps touch more directly upon the remarks of the three gentlemen who are "selectionists." thari those of the gentleman from Massachusetts . a "restrictionist." The provision to which I. refer in the Dillingham bill is as follows: SECTION 1. That there shall be levied and collected and paid a duty of $5 for each and every passenger. not a citizen of the United States or of the Dominion of Canada. not a citizen of the Republic of Cuba. or the Republic of Mexico. who shall come by steam. sail. or other vessel from any foreign port to any port within the United States. or by railway or other mode of transportation from foreign contiguous territory to the United States. That is what is known as the "head tax" provision. The tax is paid by the steamship companies. and thetwo committees. that of the Senate and that of the House. are endeavoring to raise that .head tax from $2. the sum at which it is now fixed. to $5. Now. the aim of the "selectionists." as I understand it. Is to get better immigrants. Some of them stated very frankly that they were opposed to immigrants from Italy and southeastern Europe. others said that their remarks apply to no particular race. but all said that they had no particular objection to number if the quality of the immigrant was all right. Now. let us see how the $5 head tax will work out. I do not know whether it is generally understood that a $5 head tax means $5 on every man. woman. and child. that it is just the same on thenursing baby as it is on the sturdy workman. that there is no gradation. change. or difference. So here is what happens. My friends say they want to keep out the man who comes here just for a few months to earn money and then go back to some other country. A $5 head tax does not affect him at all. It simply means that lie has to make arrangements not only to get the money to pay his fare across the ocean. but to pay the additional $3 which will be deducted from his first weeks or months money. You have not even caused him inconvenience. He has only himself to look out for. The difference in wages between the country from which he comes and the wages here make this up so quickly that the amomt is absolutely inconsiderable so far as h4 is concerned. and you have not kept one of these men out. On the other hand. take what these gentlemen call the desirable classes of immigrants. the i en from the northern part of Europe. for whom I have just as high respect as they. although I differ with them in their attelpt to classify immigration as desirable or undesirable by countries. Take the men who come from there with families. Take the man who comes with his wife and five or six children. as these Germans.