Speech #680076426

Designing nations took advantage of our generosity own newspapers. and maintain their own separate educational " and hospitality and inflicted upon us much of their unde- system. sirablestheir diseased. their paupers and dependents. and In 1920. out of a white population of approximately 95.their criminally inclined. This menace to the moral and physi- 000.000. nearly 14.000.000 were born in 45 different foreign cal welfare of our Nation was responsible for the third era or countries and 23.000.000 more were of foreign or halfforeign epoch which is generally known as the biological period. it parentage. These 14.000.000 foreign born. as a part of move was at the beginning of this period that we began to enact than 34.000.000 aliens officially admitted into the United States more stringent legislation governing our immigration activities. from all countries since 1820. are supporting and reading 1.052 requiring mental. moral. and hygienic tests to Insure us of the newspapers printed In more than 30 different languages. varydesirability of the alien for .American citizenship. Under our ilg from Arabic to Yiddish. from Albanian to Welsh. In a loose immigration policy there had been dumped upon or single block in New York City 18 different languages are shores thousands of undesirables. morally. mentally. and physi- spoken and one public school in that city harbors children of cally. and they have naturally found their way into the re- 26 different nationalities. formnatory and eleemosynary institutions of our country. thus These figures and conditions. Mr. Chairman. demonstrate nentailing an expense of many millions a year upon our tax- doubtedly one of two propositions. viz. either that these peoples payers. It was to put a stop to this practice and admit only are incapable of assimilation or that they obstinately refuse to immigrants that were fit and desirable for American citizen- assimilate. and either horn of the dilemma. in my opinion. ship that legislation further restricting immigration was en- presents a situation that is sad to contemplate. acted. The urgency of this situation is what gave rise to what Mr. Chairman and gentlemen of the house. ponder for a mais known as our present percentage system. We have been ment. if you please. the 1920 census figures showing the procriticized to some extent on account of the alleged severity of portion of foreign born in the great metropolitan cities of New our immigration laws. and the measure under consideration York and Chicago. with the knowledge that this percentage has been assailed from many quarters. but. gentlemen of the holds good substantially in most of the large centers of populaHouse. the time is at hand when we must protect ourselves tion throughout the North and East. According to the Federal and our institutions against a nienace which manifestly. if not census of 1920 the population of the city of New York proper met promptly and decisively. will mean absolute doom for the was 5.459.463. and of this number 3.591.888 were foreign born. American Republic in a very few years. According to the same census the total population of Chicago We now have approximately 12.000.000 foreigners in the was 2.701.705. of which number 1.893.147 were born abroad. United States who neither speak nor write the English Ian- These gigantic figures must be appalling to every thoughtful. guage. and a large majority of whom. by the eternal gods. do redblooded. patriotic American citizen. If this foreign elenot want to learn how to do so. During this period of laxity meat in our population would abandon the traits and tradiin our immigration policy they were dumped upon our shores tions and predispositions of the fatherland. embrace the spirit like so many cattle by the great steamship companies of the of our institutions. dedicate and consecrate themselves to our world. which vied with each other in commercial rivalry to flag and our Constitution. and thereby become good American see which could deliver the greatest number. regardless of their citizens. the picture would not be half so dismal. [Applause.l quality. These foreigners have gathered themselves together But when we realize that there are today more than 12.000.000 principally in the great centers of population and have estab- foreigners in the United States who have refused or at least lished colonies in some instances the population of which ex- refraihed from becoming a part of our integral citizenship. ceeds 100.000. They have had the audacity to refer to these when we contemplate that more than 10 per cent of our total settlements as "Little Italys." "Little Russias." "Little Ger- population owe and acknowledge allegiance to foreign flags manys." and so forth.