Speech #670195643

I will try to explain that. and I will refer again to the statement of the gentleman from New York in his discussion on extending tel 3 per cent immigration law. He contends that we never emerge from a period of depression except under the influence of increased immigration. On the contrary. a flood of immigration always directly precedes a period of depression. The flood recedes during depression. Only when business activity reaches normal does immigration. again increase. Increased immigration is one of the causes of bad times. History tells us that we always emerge from a period of depression by the aid of American workers only. then when times get better the immigrant is attracted by the good wages in this country and he returns to America. He is with us in times of prosperity. but always absent in periods of depression. If you will take the year 1882 as an example. the tide of immigration reached its high point up to that timealmost 800.000. Overproduction. inability to consume. capital tied up. money tight. directly followed. At the end of that year. with the huge number of immigrants. came a period of depression. The low point of the depression occurred in 1885. when prosperity and business began to Increase. business went back to normal by July. 1886. Let us see what part immigration played in bringing the country ol of a depression and back to normal. Figures of the Department of Labor show us that immigration did not increase until 2887that is. probably a year after the country was back to normal and only when wages were good did they start to collie back here in any large numbers. Or. again. take the depression of 1907. There is always a cycle of immigration the same as there is a cycle of depression. and one fits into the other. In 1907 occurred the high mark of immigration to this country. over 1.285.000. Another depression imniediately followed. Then came a slump in immigration as a result of the depression. Immigration fell off. but in the meantime business began to pick up in the summer of 1908. and was back to normal in the summer of 1909. If immigration had anything to do with pulling America out of a depression. as the gentleman from New York contends. it must be shown that the immigrants came here in times of depression in large numbers. but the fact is not so. The olicial records show thlt it is not until business hits normal and there is a return to prosperity that there is always a return of the immigrants. A more striking example is the depression of 1914. In 1913 anti 1914 more than 2.400.000 immigrants came. If these people create work. as tile gentleman from New York contends. why then in 2914 did we have such a depression instead of prosperity? Why was it that )usiness returned to nornal in .91.5 while the gentlemans increase of imnmigration necessary for the return of prosperity was entirely absent? In fact. there was a decrease of immigrants of almost 900.000 less than the year previous. We should not put the alien and his interest first. To hold that his presence here in large numbers is necessary for prosperity is contrary to history itself. Let us act humanely. justly. and fairly to both the wouldbe immigrants and to tie Americans. but America should first be for the Americans.