Speech #620266922

As long as I can rlemember it has been tile practice. of this Hfouse not to bring in special rules except in cases of emergency or when the legislation sought to be enacted could ilot be reached in any other way. Neither of these excuses can be pleaded in justification of tie rule now pending. There certainly is no emergency for the further restriction of immigration at.a time when American labor is fully employed and when tile cry comes up from all Amilerican industries for more men . when. in fact. in the very industries which usually give employment to new inmigrants the complaint is loudest about the great scarcity of labor existing at tile present time. and when the real problem is not how to keep out immigrants but how to get them. Therefore. unless it is intended to throttle the American industries even more quickly and more effectually than Democratic tariff legislation will accomplish it. there is no need of this rule and no need of this legislation. for I hold that to keep out the willing hands so necessary for the future industrial growth of this country will be a most grievous wrong and ain alct of the greatest political folly. Will anyone contend that this bill can not be reached in regular order? What is the parliamentary situation? The Committee on Irrigation now has the floor. and. as I understand. it has but one more bill to consider. We would take that up next Wednesday and (ispose of it. so that on the very first Wednesday after the holidays the Committee on Immigration. which is the next comimittee on the list. will be called and this bill disposed of. and t his would be fully two months before the final adjournment of this Congress. What. then. is the reason for this unseemly haste? Do not the rules as they stand permit the Democratic majority to inflict punishment swift enough upon the naturalized citizens who. during the last campaign. dared to find fault with some of the writings of the President elect. and could not the gentlemen oii the other side of tile aisle decently wait at least a few weeks longer before they repudiate the apologies offered to the socalled foreign element by their candidate for the Presidency on account of what he had written on the subject of imnigration? Mr. Speaker. while I have the floor I might ask further.