Speech #600155028

Instead of really indorsing and approving the bill. says in his report: It would be highly desirable to require all railway lines doing an international business to comply with the provisions of section 12. which are now applicable only to steamship lines. It is proposed by this bill that. because the law does not go far enough and apply to railroad companies going into Canada and Mexico. it shall not apply to these steamship lines that go from Boston or from ports of the United States into Canada and.Mexico. The purpose of section 12 of the immigration law was to require that all steamship companies leaving our ports should make manifests of outgoing aliens in order that we might have statistics giving information in regard to those who were outgoing. It was frequently said. especially by those who are opposed to restriction of immigration. that those who came in did notform a fair estimate as to the numher. because mnny of them went out. In order to test that contention. the last immigration law enacted in February. 1907. required that all steamships leaving American ports should keep these manifests of outgoing aliens. Now. this bill asks us to suspend that law until we make it apply to railroad companies. and the Secretary of Commerce and Labor says that it ought to apply to railroad companies. The gentleman from California . and myself filed a minority report on the idea that we are going backward in this bill. that instead of repealing the law so far as these particular steamship lines are concerned. it ought to be made to apply as well to railroad companies as to steamship companies. and hence that the law ought not to be amended in the way provided by this bill. but that it ought to be extended further.