Speech #680074734

I mean no reflection on our good citizens of foreign birth when I state the undisputed fact that many of those who have come to our country do not measure up to the average of the people of their native land. Our country will remain great as log as our people are so. but we can not continue great if we allow inferior people to fill up this country. We must have selective. restrictive immigration. and the present percentage quota should he reduced to 1 per cent. if we do not entirely prohibit immigration for the time being. A few days ago I placed In the REcoRD statements from Coinumander Quinn of the American Legion urging suspension of immigration and from President Gompers of the American Federation of Labor urging restricted immigration. to which I should like again to call attention. The distinguished Senator from Pennsylvania in his able and illuminating address explained the difficulty of arriving at a distribution of immigrants among the nations of Europe that would be fair and just to all our people and not give offense to foreign Governments that have been and are still our good friends. While I am opposed to consulting any other country as to our immigration policy. it being a matter for our people to decide. without outside interference. any embarrassment from this source would be overcome by the adoption of the amendment. which I have offered. to prohibit immigration for a period of five years. by the end of which time we should be able to arrive at a solution of this vexed question. I prefer the census of 1890 as a basis of the quota. If. however. we decide to admit a limited number of immigrants. there is merit in the suggestion of the Senator from Pennsylvania to base the quotas on national origin of the whole population of the United States and not on that of the foreign born only. The Senator does not claim that an accurate division of our people into national groups can be made. but lie does show it is possible toarrive at ai approximate estimate that will be in some respects a less objectionable basis for the determination of our immigration quotas than the foreignborn population on any census year. It has been pointed out that the percentages of foreignborn Americans from northern and western Europe and from southern and eastern Europe under the 1890 census are substantially the same as the percentages of Americans. native as well as foreign born. whose ancestors came from those two grand divisions of that continent. but this Is not true for many of the separate countries of the two divisions. To illustrate. let us take Germany. which would be the country most favored by the adoption of the foreign born according to the 1.890 census as a basis for calculation of our immigration quotas. Three per cent of our foreign born in 1890 amounted to 241.285. of whom 76.840. or nearly onethird. are German born. From the very illuminating table presented by the Senator from Pennsylvania and appearing on page 5470 of the RECoRD It is seen that 13.577.510. or nearly oneseventh. of our entire white population are of German descent. In other words. the number of immigrants from Germany. if we adopt the foreign born of the 1890 census as a basis. would be more than twice as great as under the plan proposed by the Senator from Pennsylvania. I am opposed to allowing so many to come from one country. For some of the countries. however. there is no great difference in the quota percentages under the two plans. For instance. about onefortieth of our immigrants would come from Italy under one plan and about onethirtieth uner the other. To tile plan proposed by the Senator from Pennsylvania. based as it is upon the whole population of the United States. native stock as well as foreign stock. no foreign nation can justly take offense. It is t plan that will appeal to all true Americans. whether foreign or native born. We should have only 100 per cent Americans in this country. and our Immigration laws should be made for Americans and not to please foreigners. There is another matter. Mr. President. to which I desire to call attention. that is the large numbers of immigrants that come across our northern and southern borders from neighboring countries which now enjoy privileges of unrestricted immigration to the United States. During the last fiscal year 62.709 permanent and 13.279 temporary. or a total of 75.988 immigrants. came into this country from Mexico alone. These people speak a language different from our own. their method of living and their ideas of governwent are different. and they can not well be assimilated In the numbers that now flock to this country. For these and other reasons which I might mention I hope the Senate will adopt the amendment I have introduced. placing the same restrictions upon immigration from countries of -North and South America as from those of other continents. I hope. Mr. President. that the Senate may also adopt my amendment prohibiting immigration for at least five years. I ask to have printed and lie on the table an amendment to the effect I have suggested.