Speech #640238745

Speaker." taking the first amendment. No. 5. page 2. of the conference report. it Is true tiat the phraseAnd no alien now in any way excluded from or prevented from en. tering the United States shall be admitted to the United Stateshas been inserted by the conferees. As the bill passed the House it provided for the exclusion of Hindus and persons who can not become eligible under existing law to become citizens of the United States by naturalization. unless otherwise provided for by existing agreements as to passports or by existing treaties. conventions. or agreements that may hereafter be entered into. The Senate struck that provision out and inserted a text in lieu thereof. I desire to call the Speakers attention to the last four lines of the text inserted. which are as follows: Nothing in this act. shall be construed to repeal any existing law. treaty. or agreement. in so far as such law. treaty. or agreement serves to prohibit or restrict Immigration into the United States or any pussession thereof. In other words. the Senate said : " We do not like the wording of this clause excluding Hindus and other persons. We are goIng to put the matter in another form. which will not be offefi: sive to any)ody." So the Senate. among other things. inserted the four lines which I have just read you. In other words. according to the Senate clause all immigration laws now in existence today are to be continued in so far as they are restrictive laws. in so far as they exclude anybody from admission into the United States. it is often stated that at present. under what is generally called a gentlemens agreemeut. Japanese coolies are excluded from c(iming to this country. As a matter of fact. these coolies are excluded by law and not by the gentlemens agreement. The gentlemens agmeenment simply carries out the law without friction. By the act of February 20. 1907. it was providedThat whenever the President shall be satisfied that passports Issued by any foreign government to its citizens to go to any country other than the United States or to any Insular possession of the United States or to the Canal Zone are being used for the purpose of enabling the holders to come to the continental territory of the United States to the detriment of labor conditions therein. the President may refuse to permit such citizens of the country issuing such passports to enter the continental territory of the United States from such other country or from such insular possessions or from the Canal Zone. It is under that provision of law that certain coolies are excluded. On February 24. 1913. President Wilson issued a proclamation. in which lie said: Whereas by the act entitled "An act to regulate the immigration of aliens into the United States." approved February 20. 1907. when the President Is satisfiedAnd so forth. and so forthI hereby order that such alien laborers. skilled or unskilled. be refused permission to enter the continental territory of the United States. That proclamation the President made under the. law. not tunder the gentlemans agreement.