Speech #680078521

Mr. Chairman. I call the attention of the Chair in the first place to the fact that this Is a bill to limit the immigration of aliens into the United States. and for other purposes. An examination of the bill discloses that it is a very elaborate. very general. and very careful modification of practically all of the immigration requirements which have come into being within recent years. As far as the germaneness of the proposed amendment at the present point in the bill is concerned. the Chair will notice that the major theme which runs through the entire bill Is the limitation of aliens by means of a quota method. The amendment which I have offered is for the limitation of aliens also by a quota method. but by a quota determined in a somewhat different way from that embraced within the text of the bill itself. The amendment which I have offered provides that after July 1. 1926. the annual quota of each nationality shall bear the same ratio to the total immigration as the number of inhabitants of the United States having that national origin shall bear to the whole number of inhabitants other than the descendants of involuntary immigrants. It Is true that the bill before the committee bases its quotas upon foreign born by a certain census. but it is. none the less. because of that fact. a qucta bilL I am proposing a quota substitute. so far as the period following July 1 two years hence is concerned. In the meantime the bill as offered. assuming the adoption of the amendment. would go Into effect and be operative as it appeais now in the printed text. The gentleman from Washington says that. if this amendment is in order at all. it Is In order to section 10. because section 10 deals with the question of quotas. In other words. the gentleman suggests that where the section relating to quotas is to be found. there and because of that fact the amendment which I have offered becomes in order. I call to the attention of the chair the uniformity with which almost all the sections of this bill deal with the quota subject. As early as section 2 we find in lines 5 and 6 an analysis of what are quota immigrants and what are nonquota immigrants. We proceed to section 4 on page 5. and we find a definition and discussion of nonquota immigrants. Section 5 on page 7 deals with quota immigrants and section 6. toward the end of page 8. deals with applicants as nonquota immigrants. Section 7 on page 10 deals with nonquota immigration certificates. Section 8 deals with other phases of nonquota immigrants. and section 10 is the section as to which the gentleman from Washington makes the suggestion that the amendment would naturally be germane if germane at all to the bill. As far as the parliamentary situation is concerned. my thought is that. this being a quota bill. the natural point to insert an amendment which in a measure is a substitute for the present quota plan is rather early in the bill before we get too deeply immersed in the definitions of quota and nonquota. I think that is of importance both from a parliamentary standpoint and also from the standpoint of the convenience of the Committee of the Whole. It may easily happen. if this amendment should receive the favorable consideration of the committee. that there would be changes which the gentleman from Washington or other members of the committee might feel should properly result from the adoption of the amendment. Because this is a quota bill in its essence. as well as an extensive modification and restriction of current laws. and because the convenience of the committee will be promoted by the colsideration of the amendment at this time. I respectfully submit that the amendment is in order.