Speech #640260997

Speaker. and gentlemen. help but believe that a large number of Members. who. I am informed.- are about to cast their votes in favor of passing the bill ovek.the Presidents veto. will do so under a misapprehension. I feel that if they were familiar with the present immigration law. and the rules and regulations of the Department of Labor. and knew how strictly the law was being enforced. they would not cast their votes erroneously. as it appears they are about to do. . For this reasol I shall again call the attention of the House to some of the provisions of the present law and try to offset the effect of the misrepresentations that have been made from time to time by certain restrictionists in their mad desire to gain the votes of Members who hate not had the time or the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the true facts. The following are some of.those who are excluded under section 3 of the present law: Idiots. imbeciles. feebleminded. epileptics. insane persons. those who have been insane within five years. those who have had two or more attacks of insanity. paupers. beggars. persons afflicted with tuberculosis or with a loathsome or dangerous contagious disease. those who have been convicted or admit having committed a felony or other crime or misdemeanor involving moral turpitude. polygamists. anarchists. persons who believe in or advocate the overthrow by force of established government. immoral men and women or those who come here for immoral purposes. contract laborers. persons whose tickets have been paid for with money of another or those whose passage has been paid by any association. society. municipality. or foreign government. children under 16 years of age not accompanied by one or both of their parents. and. last but not least. all persons likely to become a public charge. and till persons who are found to be mentally or physically defective. such mental or physical defect being of a nature affecting their ability to earn a living. The last two provisions give the immigration authorities such a wide range of power as will enable them to bar most any man or woman who is not in every way perfect physically as Well as mentally. In addition to this provision the rules and regulations promulgated by the Department of Labor from year to year are such that today It Is within the power of the department to permit nly those to enter whom the department desires to accept. I feel satisfied that even the most rabid restrictionist can not charge the department with not enforcing each and every provision of the act. as well as the rules and regulations tending toward restriction. For the past two years immigration has been nearly at a standstill. Immigration from the southern section of Europe has been practically nil. Notwithstanding this fact the department has barreld or deported a larger percentage of immigrants than ever before in the history of the Nation. In 1915 out of 326.700 arriving immigrants 24.111 were debarred. In 1916 out of 298.000 arriving immigrants 18.867 were debarred. This is not taking into consideration the 2.564 persons deported in 1915. nor the 2.781 persons deported in 1916. The above proves that we not only have a very stringent law but that it is vigorously enforced. - I realize that there are some.Melubers who do not desire to be enlightened or to become familiar with the -actual factswho are blinded by prejudice to such an extent that they can not see nor hear. To them I am not appealing. nor do I care to try to convince them that a great mistake would be committed if this bill should pass in Its present form. These are the gentlemen who do not care to know that in the year 1915 the difference between immigration and emigration was only 50.070. and In the year 1916 only 25.941. Nor will I try to show them that the majority of those who came in 1915 and 1916 were of English. French.