Speech #680079787

Fathers and mothers over 55 years of age. husbands and wives of citizens of the United States. as well as their unmarried childan under 18 years of age. will be admitted regardless of the quota. Why should any of our people. therefore. complain If we are admitting those who are near and dear to them and at the same time are protecting them frosa increased competition of cheap labor from abroad? The necessity for immigration legislation can not be denied by anyone. The present temporary laws must certainly be followed by a permanent act which will remove this subject from controversy. There are about 58.000.000 native whites of native parentage. about 37.000.000 of foreign born or of foreignborn or mixed parentage. about 10.000.000 colored people. of the 37.000.000 there are 14.000.000 foreign born. and of the 14.000.000 foreign born less than half are American citizens. and 1.500.000 of the foreignborn population can not speak English. We can readily see. therefore. that America has admitted to its fullest capacity and more than she can assimiIte. The census of 1920 shows our 105.000.000 inhabitants to be " composed as follows: Foreignhorn white ------------------------------------3. 712. 754 Foreign parentage -------------------------------------15. 694. 539 Mixed parentage. one parent born abroad -------------- G. 991. 665 Indians. Chinese. Japanese. etc ------------------------ 426. 574 Total foreign extraction or mixed parentage -... 36. 825. 532 Negroes ----------------------------------- 10. 463. 131 Total foreign extraction and negroes ------------ 47. 288. 63 Native white parentage ------------------------------ 58. 421. 957 Total population ------------------------------ 105. 710.620 The most Important feature of this bill is the reduction of the quota from 3 per cent to 2 per cent plus 100. that is to say. that every nation shall have 100 allowance and in addition thereto 2 per cent. based upon the census of 1890 instead of as now3 per cent on the census of 1910. This is admittedly for the purpose of giving to the northern and western nations of Europe a larger percentage of immigration than to the southern and southeastern sections of Europe. It is done because It is believed that those people. being of Nordic origin. are more easily assimuilated with the peoples of America and can easier grasp our system of government. having lived under governments largely based upon the same fundamental principles and doctrines as are those of America. The Committee on Immigration has well said: Since it is an axiom of political science that a government not imposed by external force Is the visible expression of the ideals. standards. and social viewpoint of the people over which it rules. it is obvious that a change in the character or composition of the population must inevitably result in the evolution of a form of government consonant with the base upon which it rests. If. lirefore. the principle of individual liberty. guarded by a constttitonal government created on this continent nearly a century and a half ago. is to endure. the basic strain of our population must be maintained and our economic standards preserved. With full recognition of the material progress which we owe to the races from southern and eastern Europe. we are conscious that the continued arrival of great numbers tends to upset our balance of population. to depress our standard of living. and to unduly charge our institutions for the care of the socially inadequate. Notwithstanding the position taken by the Immigration Committee. I deem it unwise to discriminate between the nations whose people are to be admnitted. I should be in favor of 1J per cent on the basis of 1!)10 census. which would decrease the number of quota immigrants admitted to onehalf of the present law or 178.900. and at the same time satisfy the vast number of persons who have come to live among us. Then there Is the abolition of the gentlemens agreement with Japan. which has certainly not worked well. because while both nations agreed that immigration of Japanese to America was not in the best interests of either nation. yet the fact remains that the United States has more Japanese population than any other Englishspeaking nation In the world. Other nations have prohibited Japanese immigration. and certainly America has the same right. It Is a recognized fact that they can not be assimilated with our people. aud their increase in numbers would prove both irritating and inexpedient. Some may say it Is unChristian and unfair. but we may just as well recognize the fact that there is a certain racial cleavage between nations that can not be denied nor explained.