Speech #620291685

I am glad that the voice of true Americanism has at last been heard in this House. It has been voiced by that eminent statesman who has been Speaker of this House for four successive terms. and whose leadership on most questions I have had the honor to follow for 20 years. He has just demonstrated by the words he has Ispoken that he is worthy of leadership even on the question of immigration. I want to bring out one fact. Mr. Speaker. that has not been stated in this debate. and that is that those districts which receive little or no immigration are voting almost solidly to exclude it. while. upon the other hand. all the districts of the country which receive immigrants are voting almost solidly to continue to receive them. If immigration were an evil would it not. I ask you. find expression in this House on the part of Representatives in the districts which receive immigrants? The greoat trouble with those who are proposing restrictive measures is that this question is really so little understood. You forget. my friends. that an immigrant is not only a producer but also a consumer. and it was that fact which caused another great Speaker of this HouseThomas B. Reedto say that every immigrant practically brings his job with him. Whatever vocation he may have. he has a job for those in other vocations. and consequently he practically solves the problem himself. if immigration were still a problem. I claim. however. that it is not. If we get 800.000 immigrants a year do you not know. according to the figures published by the Department of Commerce and Labor. that 400.000 return every year. and that of the 400.000 remaining about 200.000 are women and children. so that practically there is an annual addition of only 200.000 to the population of this country. and that is about the addition that even the most densely populated countries of the earth. such as Germany and England. receive from the outside. Here we have a country with only 25 people to the square mile. while Germany has 380 and Belgium 576. Talk about stopping immigration at a time when all the industries of the country are crying out for labor! I say that there is no economic reason for this bill. and I can not discover any motives. except unworthy ones. behind this kind of legislation. I congratulate my friends. the managers of this bill. however. for having seen the error of their ways. When I offered an amendment providing that immigrants should be required to read any language. they insisted it must be the language of some country. They voted my amendment down. but in conference they saw that the amendment was justified. They also voted down my motion to strike out the socalled certificate provision of the bill. but now they present their report with that provision eliminated.