Speech #660247257

The late war and our experience arising out of it demonstrated clearly the necessity for a real iunigration policy. While we have from time to time passed some legislation pertaining to this question. taking it all in all we have paid altogether too little attention to a question which so vitally affects ur countrys welfare. During the 10 years immediately preceding the outbreak of the Great War our immigration averaged about 1.000.000 Inmally. In late years. and especially after the disposition of the greater portion of our public lands. we have practically given the immigrant no consideration whatever after he has arrived in this country. We have permitted great industries and the men interested in the growth and development of those industries to not only encourage immigration but to import. so to speak. cheap labor. We then have permitted these workmen to be grossly exploited. We have permitted and encouraged the grouping and settlement of these immigrants so as to forim their own special nationalistic units until we have in our own country large localities where the language of Washington and Lincoln is seldom .spoken. We have done nothing to educate these people in our history. language. or ideals. The great majority of them came over here with the best of intentions and with a great vision of America. the land of freedom and equality. We then have permitted hese great ideals to be destroyed. This has been due to our own neglect and also because we have permnitted certain aliens who are more clever and able than the great majority of their fellow immigrants to sow the seeds of discontent and class consciousness in the field which we have made ready by our neglect. No wonder some of them become converts to bolshevism.* I. W. W.ism. and other forms of destructive radicalism. We therefore need a conprehensive. constructive immigration program which will deal constructively with thd immigrant within our country and prevent the undesirable immigrant from coming into our country. We can best solve questions of deportation by not having any people to deport. This provision which has been added to the Diplomatic and Consular appropriation bill is a step in this. direction. Furthermore. it provides the necessary revenue to make the work priactically selfsupporting. Under our present immigration act an alien proceeds to America and lands at one of our portsfor example. at Ellis Island. Under our law if he is an undesirable lie can be excluded. -It is herethhit our immigration authorities first meet him. Undoubtedly it isthe first time that any of them have ever heard of him.: He applies for admission to our country. As an apparent evidence of.his good faith he has paidhis passage over and has a small amount of money in his pocket. The burden necessarily rests upon the Government to prove him an undesirable. The immigration authorities are 3.000 miles away from- the immigrants home. How can they under these circumstancesexcept in rare casesassume this burden alid prove the aliens undesirability? They can not.