Mr. President. the purpose of offering this amendment at this time is that it seems to be necessary that it lie decided on. so that the Senate may intelligently pass upon the census method to be used in the meantime. If the Snate shall not actept the amendment which has just been read by the Secretary. then the quota which is adopted. based on the percentage of a certain census. will he the permanent policy of the United States in immigration restriction. while. on the other hand. if the amendment just read should be adopted the quota method of restricting immigration will be only a stopgap in force for the two years preceding July 1. 1926. It is difficult. the efore. for the Senate to vote on the census method until it shall have first determined whether this " national origins" method is or is not to be the policy for regulating immigration. May I further say that the amendment as sent to the desk has been changed on the printed form in which it stands in that the total of immigration. which in the original form was 300.000. has been reduced to 150.000. that being about 10 per cent less than would be allowed by the 2 per cent method based on the census of 1890 and about 80.000 less than the aggregate if the quota were fixed at 2 per cent oil the basis of tile census of 1910? Tile amendment therefore is more restrictive than any of the census methods If the 2 per cent quota shall be fixed. I have also stricken out the word " racial" at the end of line 6. on page 1. as it appears In the printed amendment. and tie word "and " following it.
Keywords matched
immigration