Speech #680083425

There it is that labor must come in contact with competition. If the standard of living at home has been built higher than it is accustomed to be maintained abroad. and then the lower standard is brought in contact with the standard at home. of necessity the lower standard has a tendency to draw the higher one down to its level. Therefore. the principal purpose for which legislation to restrict immigration into this country has been entered upon Is to protect American labor in its efforts to maintain the high standard of wages and the proper standard of living which it has built up in the decades that lie behind us. Restriction of immigration is primarily a question that addresses itself. first. to the American laborer and the ideals of American labor. and there we find the basis of our Republic. It is that great class of citizens who toil for their living. that great class of our people who must fight through their lives In order that they may have comfortable homes for their families and suitable education for their children. who deteFmine the real standard and on whom the success of the American Republic depends. To those who are in comfortable circumstances. to those who do not have to toil for their daily bread. this issue does not present itself. and. on the other hand. although those in comfortable circumstances in this country do their part by the Government. often being the captains that direct the force of energy. yet the real position. both in peace and war of the American Republic. is determined by the standards of the American toiler. So. that I regard this. bill establishing a permanent policy for the restriction of immigration as one of the great and vital legislative endeavors that has come before the Congress of the United States in my time. I say "pernanent" because we all recognize the fact that. although some years ago we passed a bill restricting immigration along this line. at the time of its passage a limitation was placed on the life of the bill and it was more or less regarded as a temporary expedient. but today the Congress Is Invited to enter upon a permanent policy to take its place In the future life of the Nation. Unless labor may have a fair and a living wage. then the whole life of labor in this country must move backward. and the only field in which the wage of labor can be protected and determined. in the last analysis. is the field of competition. You might adopt temporary expedients. you might by law attempt to shelter this employment or that. but in the end. in times of stress and disaster. no law could maintain an artificial standard. The standards of American labor must be maintained and can only be maintained in the great field of competition. and that field of competition is determined by the man who applies for employment who is within the continental. limits of the United States. I recognize that there is something in the argument that is being made that we may bring on a degree of hardship in some of our factories and foundries- or in the development of our agricultural land if there is a continued restriction of immigration. but I think and always have thought that it is far better for the. onward progress of the Nation to move more slowly. to develop more surely. and carry the great ideals of American life and American living along with the Nation as it moves onward. I have always regarded this as one of the most important questions that confronted our country. As far back as the year 1902 I offered in the House of Representatives an amendment to a pending immigration bill providing for an educational test for immigrants coming into this country. It was adopted by the House. and came to the Senate. but the Senate rejected the amendment. and it went oiit of the bill. and for 11 years it stood at the door of Congress inviting enactment. In 1913. my colleague from Alabama. a splendid man and a statesman whose memory may be revered. the Hon. John L. Burnett. of Alabama. reported an immigration bill containing the same clause. It was enacted into law. and is the law of the land today. It was intended to raise the standard of immigration coming into this country so that a higher standard of immigratiqn would be presented on the fighting line where it came into competition with the American laborer. I say this because I want it understood from what I am to say hereafter that I have always believed in restricting immigration and believe in it now. I am in favor of the passage of this bill in its main features as it was reported to the Senate. but there is an Issue presented to the Senate that will come before us for consideration before the final vote.on this bill. and I have taken the floor to make clear my own position in regard to that matter. A few years ago. when we passed the existing law restricting immigration to 3 per cent of the foreign population of this country. as shown by the census of 1910. we adopted the standard of 1910 because it was the latest census report that was available. There was no other purpose in its adoption. It was fixed as the basis of restricted immigration. Before the Great War immigrants were coming Into this country from Europe at the rate of more than a million of people per annum. In some years. I think. it ran as high as a million and a half people. It was a serious pressure on American labor to maintain its standards and meet the inflow of so great an amount of immigration. but after the enactment of the present law the immigration c6ming into the United States was reduced to some 350.000 immigrants. In other words. the inflow of competition at the labor market was reduced to a fourth or a fifth of what existed prior to that time. The dangers and difficulties that confronted the people of the United States were in a large measure removed. and do not exist today. and will exist in a much less degree if the pending bill is enacted. Under the pending bill. providing for the admission of 2 per cent based on the census of 1910. the immigration coming into this country will amount to about 238.000 immigrants. reducing by a third the immigration now admitted into the United States. The census of 1890 showed over 7.000.000 of foreignborn residents in this country from northern and western Europe. and only 800.000 from southern and eastern Europe. but when you come to the census of 1910. by reason of death or removal. the residents of this country under the census of 1910 from northern and western Europe amounted to only 6.500.000. and from southern Europe to 5.200.000. It is perfectly clear. then. to anybody who desires to consider the factsin truth. it is admittedthat the purpose of changing the present standard of the law is to discriminate against immigration coming from southern and eastern Eur6pe.