Speech #700067361

You will see from this that our delegates were attending the convention without authority from Congress. and discussing the very questions which we. in our inomigration bill. had settled. and yet the State Department now recommends that we accept and appoint delegates to this second international conference on account of the fact thttt we participated in the first conference. In view of these facts. to pass such a resolution would be: t ratification of their acts and a reflection upon this body. Many questions were discussed in that conference. such as passport and contracts. emigrants charters. colonization. regulation of recruitment. and tile statements were made tnd insisted upon by many delegates that it was competent to ex-* animie all questions concerning emigTation and immigration. Here are some of the principles finally adopted by that conference for transmission to the governments who had participated: The first. the right to emigrate though restrictions may be embodied for reasons of public policy or economic reasons. or for protection of material and moral interests of the emigrants themselves. the right to immigrate. though restrictions may be imposed for economic and social reasons based in particular upon the state of the labor market and the necessity of safeguarding the hygienic and moral interests of the country of immigration. freedom of immigration and emigration should be recognized In the case of different members of the family of an immigrant already established in the country of immigration. unless there are personal reasons making this undesirable. that emigrants should enjoy such rights on the same conditions as nationals and on the same basis of reciprocity. These are some of the principles that were adopted in that conference. and a copy of which was sent to all the countries who participated. You can readily see from what I have quoted above that various resolutions were passed at that conference about matters of which we have absolute control through Congress. and have already passed laws concerning the same. It was argued by many delegates. according to the proceedings published. that immigration and emigration was an international question. and that the problems of immigration and emigration should be treated internationally. What benefit did this Government derive from this conference? All of the resolutions adopted by that conference were transmitted to this Government. and upon my inquiry of the State Department a few days ago as to what action. or what had been done. with these resolutions.