Speech #680081043

Chairman and gentlemen of the comnlittee. I suppose that every Member of this House has noticed throughout this debate that there have been two elements. two factions. or two blocs. if you want to call theln blocs. On the one side there have been those Members who are opposed to the restriction of immigration. and while they may say they are not opposed to restriction. yet if you will take this REcoRn and look through it since we have been considering this bill. you will see that from this bloc amendment after amendlent has come to raise the quota here and there. to take the age limit of 55 years off the parents and to provide for the renewal of certificates that have been canceled. and so on. At every opportunity their main purpose has crept out. and that is. to open the doors as far as possible. In my opinion. the gentlemen on this floor who have been interested in their fellow countrymen and the members of their race have done a greater injury to their race than any other thing that has been done. There is no prejudice in this country against any particular race unless there is a fear that that race is becoming strong enough to influence legislation in the American Congress. Whenever there is a group that is strong enough to send their Representatives to this floor and their Representatives devote their time to seeing how many of their former countrymen call be brought in. it produces in the mind of the general public of America the conviction that there is danger from foreign immigration. The real test of whether or not an individual or a group of Individuals of any particular nationality have become Americanized is whether or not they are far enough removed from their native country. far enough removed from the interests of their native country to have only one interest. the interest of America. In the committee we witnessed the spectacle of a man thlat I believe is foreign bornif not. he is of a foreign racewho is now on the supreme bench of the great State of New York. coming before the committee. representing his fellow countrymen of his native country. and pleaded with the committee not to cut down the representation of that country. Why? Because. he said: Our immigrants are sending back to that country nilllons of dollars a year. and if you pass this bill it means a loss of $70.000.000 a year.