Speech #680080987

Again Congress awoke. It sought to check the threatening flbod. The 3 per cent quota law was passed and then extended. but it expires on June 30. this year. We will be left without any protection from the hordes of immigrants waiting to come to ou r countryunless this bill is passed. Today our country is dotted with unassimilated groups of aliens. who defy Americanization and seek to force upon our communities their foreign Ideals. We have in the United States 1.052 foreignlanguage publications of all nationalities. printed in 30 different languages. and with a circulation of 6.000.000. Fortythree different languages- are spoken in 26.239 of our religious organizations. While 2 per cent of the nativeborn whites in this country can not read nor. write. yet 13 per cent of the foreignborn whites are illiterate. Nearly a million and threequarters foreign born here can not speak the American language. Our total population is 13 per cent foreign born. yet in our institutions housing social inadequates 20.63 per cent of the inmates are foreign born. Three dollars of every hundred raised by taxes in the States goes to their maintenance and .support. The last available United States Government census report shows that. out of the total number of prisoners per hundred thousand of our population 371.3 is the average of white American born. while double this. figure. or 746.6. is the average of all foreignborn population. This same census shows that of the total number in prisois for drunkenness and disorderly conduct 202.6 out of the hundred thousand population is the average of white American born. while the average of foreign born is more than double. with 466.5. Fourteen millions of our 95.000.000 white population were born in45 different foreign countries and 23.000.000 more are of foreign or half foreign parentage. Eess than half of the foreign born living in America today are naturalized. Seventyfive per cent live in tie cities of 2.500 or more. Large alien elements in various communities throughout this country are still holding to their foreign ideas. notions. and institutions. often faithfully representing their land Of birth on questions involving problems such as the one before us today. The gentleman from New York in the debate on the bill asked tile question as to why it is that the protests .against the bill do not come from the States where the foreignboril population is heavy. My answer to the gentleman iS that the foreign bloc has raised its cry and protest against this selective and restrictive immigration bill. The political power and influence of this unAmerician group is well known. Seven millions of the 14.000.000 foreign born are of the voting age. They are not equally distributed throughout tile United States. but are massed in certain localities. In the States of New York. New Jersey. and Pennsylvania 35.4 per cent of the male population 21 years of age and over is foreign born. In the New England States. 38.2 per cent. in Massachusetts. 41.9 per cent. Boston. 32.4 per cent. New York City. 53.4 per cent. In 1920 there were 68 cities in the United States having a population of over 100.000. Practically half of these were 20. per cent or more foreign born. such as Chicago. 29.9 per cent. Boston. 32.4 per cent. New York. 36.1 per cent. and New Bedford. 42.1 per cent. The political power of the foreign stock is shown by its potential voting strength in this country. It caused the passage by the board of aldermen in the city of New York of a resolution which reads in part as follows: lRcsolved by the board 6f aldermen of the city of Neo ork. That the Congress be. and hereby is. respectfully memorialized to defeat such ileasure and in its stead to enact such provision o.f law as will liberalize the policy of the Government In respect to Immigrants. It has caused resolutions similar in nature to be passed by the city authorities of Chicago. Ill. . by the cities of Malden.