Speech #680077023

I take it that the dependencies or the colonial possessions of Great Britain. or any of the other European nations. would be included in the term "national origin." and therefore. if those countries saw fit to avail themselves of the quota under the heading of national origin. they might sendover to this country citizens of their colonial possessions who were of a race that would not be desirable. Therefore. under that very loose and indefinite term. there would be poured into this country those whom we were hoping might not become citizens here. There Is another phase of this question that has been discussed here. and has been discussed periodically every time an immigration bill came up. As I had the honor of being the chairman of the Committee on Immigration for something over three years and having the same questions come up. I wanted to say a word as to my experience with this Japanese question. As I understand the situation. and as I understood it at the time of my chairmanship. It was not a question as to whether the United States should have the right to indicate who should comne into her borders as immigrants. Everyone knows that we have that right. and no nation would question or should question our right to Indicate who might become citizens of this country and the conditions under which they could do so. But the situation was a rather peculiar one. Japan. coming comparatively recently into the sisterhood of nations and aspiring to be recognized. as she is from a military point recognized today. as one of the firstclass nations of the earth. wanted her rapid progress noted. arid for years she aspired to have her treaty relations with the leading powers of the earth on a footing with those of other nations. onl account of the racial barrier. which everyone recognizes. this country was disposed to incorporate Japanese immigrants into this country in the category of the yellow race. particularly the Chinese. and in order to avoid having her nationals placed in the category of Chinese immigrants Japan made a proposition to this country. as I understood the compact. that if we would not exercise our right to incorporate in our immigration law an exclusion act as to Japanese similar to the Chinese exclusion act she would obligate herself to see that her citizens of the class to which we objected should not come in. There is quite a distinction between her demanding the right to exercise that privilege and her asking a great powerful nation. having sovereign power to grant her privilege of doing that. so that she might maintain her national pride and her prestige amongst others. She would tacitly admit our right to incorporate her people in the same category as we did others of tile Mongolian races. and that she would not take it offensively If we would allow her to do by her initiative the very thing that we proposed to do in our act. We entered into that agreement. I think the Senator from Pennsylvania was correct when he stated the other day. in answer to the Senator from California. that there is in existence evidence of that understanding.