Speech #680083483

I do not believe in that principle because I think that by the adoption of it I shall give no offense to any other nation. If I mean and intend no offense. I do not fear the giving of offense. and I have tried to make it perfectly plain that in my thinking on the question of Immigration I do not take into consideration so much the question of inferiority or of superiority. or even of equality of raves or of nations. The principle involved in the amendment offered by the junior Senator from Pennsylvania. as I understand it. is this. that after a date. fixed Congress shall fix the total of immigration. to be admitted in any one year. and shall apportion that total to the various nations in exact accordance with their proportionate representation in the whole population of the United States at the present time. with certain exceptions. of course. of those whom thb Senator himself has pointed out. I believe that amendment is a good amendment and is a wise amendment. because I believe that the amendment will in actual application permit to come into the United States a larger number of easily assimilable people and a smaller number. relatively a very small number. of those people more difficult of absorption or assimilation. Therefore. I believe that the principle stated in the amendment is sound. It can not give any offense even to the nations who have a feeling upon the question of emigration. There is but one possible objection to it and that objection is this: As yet the basis to be used in the Senators amendment has not been fixed. at least it is not officially declared. I think it is lhighly desirable that we should finally fix our immigration policy. in other words. I can not think we should longer enact a law which in its very nature expires by its own terms or is understood at the time of its adoption to have only temporitry aptlication. Since Ilie basis on which the quota is to. be applied is now not definitely fixed and determined. or. at least. officially determined. I do not like the idea of passing an immigration law and leaving it open for future action by the Congressthat Is. in the terms of the law itself inviting action by the Congress. Of course. I recognize that the Congress can at any time in the fuVture. and will: from time to time in the future. I have no doubt. deal with the great question of immigration. At the same time. I believe it highly desirable at this time that we settle upon a fixed policy of immigration. and that we put it in effect as speedily as possible. Now. my colleague. the senior Senator from Georgia [Mr. H.\ tas]. has an amendment pending which will exclude for a fixed lieriod all immigration. I must say. very candidly that I do not see the necessity of that amendment. I will vote with my colleague on it because he sees the necessity of it. but I myself do not recognize- the necessity of total exclusion of all minnigration even for a stated or a given number of years.