Speech #590120195

I do not yield. Now. the increased head tax was adopted for this purpose. I accepted the responsibility of reporting the bill on the express condition that I should favor a higher head tax than that proposed. I believe that the head tax ought to be $25 instead of $2. because we are getting a million people here every year. We got mere than a million last year. and we will have a good deal more than that this year. It is entirely too many to come to this country in any one year. even if they were the best in the world. It is entirely too many to assimilate. Now. if you pass this bill as it stands. with the educational test. it may cut off 250.000. and that will leave our immigration next year about 800.000. Eight hundred thousand is entirely too many in my opinion. If you want to cut them down still further. instead of adopting the suggestion of the gentleman from Minnesota . raise your head tax to $25. instead of depressing it to $2. Let me. by the way. remind this House that the steamship companies pay that tax. You may say that it ultimately comes out of the Immigrants pocket. but the steamship companies argue that It comes out of their pockets.