Speech #680076757

But. after all. those who are of foreign birth and who are good citizens are entitled to representation in this House by one who may have been foreign born or native born. I wonder whether the gentleman from Colorado . when he first ran for public office. was given the test of nativity or of ancestry to determine his qualification for public office. Is it going to be the policy in this country. as a result of the propaganda in favor of this bill. that in the future it shall not be a question of whether a man is competent. able. honest. and sincere. but rather whether he was born in this country and his ancestors born in this country and of a certain racial stock? Some of the gentlemen on the committee. especially the gentleman from California . denied that the members of the Committee on Immigration reflected in any way on the foreign born or aliens and did not want to be charged with what was said by the gentleman from Kansas . but I noted with disgust that when the gentleman from Kansas did make his charge against the foreign born and against New York. the gentleman from California and every Nordic member of his committee applauded vociferously. I admit that some of the members of the Committee on Immigration are more diplomatic and do not openly give vent to their feeling of hatred against the foreign born as did the gentleman from Kansas. Now let me say to the gentleman from Kansas that New York and people living there need no defense. I know that it is fashionable for some gentlemen from the West to attack New York. but you must admit that the people of New York have contributed a great deal to the prosperity of the country. and the foreign born and the native born of New York are as lawabiding as any class of people anywhere in America. The only time that perhaps there is violation of law en masse Is when some of the gentlemen from Kansas and from other parts of the country come to New York and violate the law. Some gentlemen talked about foreignlanguage papers. and some one said that it is a crime to publish foreignlanguage papers. I should judge logically from what the gentleman from California and all those who believe It is a crime to publish a foreignlanguage paper said that what they would like to have is that after an immigrant Is admitted here that he be blind. know nothing about our Government. for after all It is not expected that he should know how to speak and read the English language on the day of his admission into the United States. And how is he to learn of our ideals. of our institutions. unless he first learns of them in the language that is best known to him. The foreignlanguage papers have contributed a great deal In Americanization work. and we need more Americanization. not only of the foreign born but of the native born. and the foreignlanguage papers. not through scandal sheets but their decent literature and their English pages. have brought about the Americanization of the foreign born in this country. and all the more credit to them for it. Let me tell the gentleman from Indiana something about the Russian immigrant of today. and I appreciate that a great many of the Members here are opposed to immigration because of their feeling against the Russians and the B.olslievists. Some years ago. during the war. I recall a great many nativeborn Mayflower Yankees who came to New York City from Kansas and Colorado and other places and preached I.