Speech #620314698

I come from a region in which the people of foreign birth and their children are in the majority. all earnestly working out their careers in good faith and in good conduct and with splendid results. If any benefit follows the restriction intended by the provisions of this measure. it will hell) alike those who have conic here from the old countries and those who are natives of this country. Indeed. the greater advantage would go to those who have come from foreign countries. because the investigation made by the Immigration Commission in 37 of the principal industries in the United States east of the Rocky Mountains shows that 60 per cent of the employees are foreign born. The investigation of this commission also shows that. extending over a period of years. the large industrial centers have become overcrowded with unskilled labor. that the immigration does not go to the agricultural lields to till the soil and to produce. but in very large part to the big cities and the labor centers. adding to the congestion and to the consumption. thus increasing the cost of living and at the same time lessening the individual opportunities. particularly for full time. so essential to maintain the proper standard of living and right moral and intellectual development. The real question before us is whether some restriction of immigration isnecessary and what method shall be adopted to lessen it.