Speech #680115677

I am not going to detain the Senate longto make any argunluit against this conference report. because I know that it is useless. and I am not in the iallt of making an irgument amd speaking to a question unless I hope to effect something. but this report. I do not hesitate to say. is a very great disappointment to me. We have been working upon this immigration bill for several weeks. It was the general understanding that we were going to effect some real. substantial restriction upon foreign immigratiol. We 1ha1d a very good lill passed by the Senate. here was very great restriction under it. and that bill met tile approbation of the American people. as was shown by letters loubtless to every Member of the Senate and by the press at large without any regalrd to politics. [he American people wanted restriction. We gave them reasonable restriction Il the bill as passed here. and in the conference it has been largely abandoned. very largely. Tlie conference report is some better than the present law. and I will vote for it. largely it is a legislative abortion. Mr. President. we exl)ected a limitation to about 162.000 immigrants by providing that their relatives and fiiends and certain other exceptions should come with preference under the quota clause. and that lnade inuple provision for them. It prevented all hardships. aft of what we might call cruel separations of families. I would not have agreed to t bill that did not provide preferences for those relatives and some chance for them to come here and join those who were already in America and on tile way to become American citizens. This decreased the nuiiiber of other immlgrants. It is well known now that instead of iaving 160.000 mimigrants admitted we will have about 300.000 with these exeeptiours. This includes those coming under the quota law and those excepted.