Speech #660273199

Alabama. and Mississippi. Mr. Chairman. from the hasty statements made by a number of gentlemen it would appear that there is no law against immigration and that all aliens can come in without restraint. .regulation. or examination. Our present laws are strict enough in every respect. We now exclude idiots. imbeciles. feebleminded persons. epileptics. insane persons. paupers. persons likely to become public charges. professional beggars. persons afflicted with tuberculosis or a loathsome or contagious disease. persons mentally or physically defective. persons who have been convicted of a crime or misdemeanor involving moral turpitude. polygamists. anarchists. prostitutes. contract laborers. assisted aliens. and all who are admitted must have passports viseed by our consuls in the respective countries from which they come. Mr. Chairman. it is to be regretted that so many Members of this House should b6 misled by false sthtements relative to the tremendous number of immigrants coming to the United States. The only justification for such statements is due to wild. unreliable articles from men who willfully double and in some cases quadruple the number of immigrants that are coming. I regret that even the committee. due to the haste in preparing their report. should have fallen a prey to these erroneous. yes. false and misleading. articles. These statements and articles emanate from sources whose only aim is to mislead. prejudice. and alarm the American people. I have in my hands a report from the Secretary of Labor and of the Commissioner General of Immigration. which is marked " confidential." and which is not to be released until the 16th of this month. This report shows that for the fiscal year 1919 the total innigration to the United Stateg was 237.000. while the number of aliens who departed was 216.000. an increase only of 20.790. The same report for the fiscal year 1920. which ended June 30. 1920. shows that the total immigration amounted to 621.000 and that 428.000 departed. a total increase in the fiscal year 1920 of 193.000. and the majority of these are the wives and children of our own citizens and of those who have filed their declaration of intention of becoming American citizens. These gentlemen are endeavoring to make the country believe that within the last few months millions of immigrants have come to our shores. I hope that the membership of this House will not rely upon the willful misstatements and articles of professional propagandists and paid lobbyists. but will investigate carefully all statements coming to them from such sources. From the same sources come wild statements of the great unemployment which they variously estimate from two to four millions. These statements are just as unfair as those in regard to the millions of incoming immigrants. I maintain. though this is the slackest and dullest time in the year and that. due to the financial depression created by certain interests. there has been a lull in some of our industries and some lay offs of employees. but in a majority of cases it will be found that it has been done not because there is not enough work on hand but for the purpose of forcing down wages. It has been noticed in many instances within the past 10 days or two weeks that where lay offs have occurred the men have been reengaged wherever possible at a lower scale of wages.