Speech #670216597

I would like to have tile attention of the Senator from. Rhode Island. The 3 per cent laV allows only 357.000 immigrants to come into this country each year. No such number do come. because certain countries (10 not send their full quotas. No country can send more than its quota. although during tile list year. because of peculiar circumstances. some countries have sent more than their quotas. I believe during tile operation of the 3 per cent qu(ota law there have been 15 countries which have sent more than their quotas. but I assume it was because in the beginning of the operation of the 3 per cent quota law iL great many imuligrants caine to this country through the encouragement of the steamshi) companies. landed at New York. had to be taken care of. and were admitted into this country. They had started from their respective countries before the law was passed. This should not and doubtless will not happen again. A remarkable situation is presented under this law. however. which illustrates more than anything else. and will convince anyone more than any other proposition. that it is a good law or that the quota system is an improvement over tile old system. We have desired immigration from western Europe. The undesirable immigration to this country has come from eastern and southern Europe. and under the 3 per cent quota law imigration coming to this country from the desirable sections of Europe has shown I large increase. proportionate to the number of immigrants. and immigration has fallen off proportionately from the eastern and southern sections of Europe. For instance. the figures show that from northern and westera Europe for the period from July to December. 1913. 142.776 immigrants came to the United States. Front southern and eastern Europe and Asiatic Turkey there were 5(18.001. In the period from July to December. 1921. the itumber had fallen off. Front northern and western Europe there were 70.974. and from southern and eastern Europe there were 112.239. In tile period from July to December. 1913. the immigrants coinig into the United States from northern an(d western Europe were 19.4 per cent of all the immigrants during that period who came into this country. In the period from July to December. 1921. it rose to 38.5 per cent. showing that there was an increase in the number of desirable immigrants to this country . while from eastern and southern Europe. in 1913. from July to Decenber. the percentage was 77.2. and in the period from July to December. 1921. it had fallen down to 56 per cent. So the systela is working well. but we want to remedy the defects ln the present law. and the person atbove all others in the United States who knows the defects in the present law is the administrative offRier of the Immigration Bureau. Now. what does he say? Under the present law immigrants can come into tie country from Canada. from Cuba. from Mexico. after one years residence there. Tile Commissioner of Immigration has said that there are thousands upon thousands of undesirable immigrants fron Europe and elsewhere who have gone to Canada. Mexico. and Cuba in order to live there one year and then obtain admittance into the United States. So lie recommends that the law be changed. and lie says it is iecessary to change it. that it is imperative that it be changed from one years residence in Cubt. Mexico. or Canada to five years residence there. I submit if there were no other amendment adopted by the Senate. tmt one amenidment should be adopted. If we do not adopt it. the whole 3 per cent quota law will fail and can not be successful. Time other cimange that is suggested by the Commissioner of Immigration is this: The present law imposes no penalty i.pon steamship comLanies for violating the rules and regultions and laws of tue land respecting immigration. They may go abroad. they may encourage any numaber of undesirable imnmnigrants to comie to this country. who mmmy comie into time port of New York and flood every part of Ellis Island or other port of entry. as the case may be. They mmy be hungry there and penniless. as they were. and organizations of various kinds have had to take care of those people when they were landed there.