Speech #710179399

The Senators from Colorado likewise made effective statements. and from the State which I represent in part. the State of California. and from the State which the Senators from Arizona represent. there came various civic organizations. chambers of commerce. agricultural associations. and the like. who all harped upon the one string. the necessity in various industries for Mexican labor. Out of the discussion there finally emergel a measure in the House and one in the Senate. Now for the first time. in reality. there is before the Senate an opportunity to remedy the situation and to deal with the question of Mexican immigration. In order that Senators may understand something of the seriousness of the situation. let me say to them that the vital statistics of the State of California. which have been released but a short time ago. show that onesixth of the births in the State of California today are Mexican. It seems incredible. because there is no such proportion of Mexicans to the whole population in that State. and there is no such proportion in any of the States. I take it. of Mexican population. The controversy has grown acute in the West between those who insist upon the necessity for Mexican labor and those who deny that necessity and desire restriction of immigration. On the one side are the big interests. the farming and agricultural organizations. the chambers of commerce. and the like. begging and pleading that we pass no bill at all. On the other side are the representatives of labor. social workers. and others asking that we enact legislation controlling and restricting Mexican immigration. Long ago it seemed to me essential because of the peculiaritiesI do not care to dwell upon them or to indulge. indeed. in any criticism of peoples of other landsit seemed to me essential that something should be done to curb. at the earliest possible time. with the least possible harm. the immigration that thus is coming to us from Mexico. The committee of the House of Representatives recently held very elaborate hearings. other elaborate hearings were also held by the Agricultural Committee of the Senate. which is presided over so ably by the Senator from Oregon . In the hearings before his committee. held within the last two or three weeks. the representative of the Federal Farm Board appeared. and he made very plainand his view has been no secret during the years--what his view was in respect to immigration. All along the line the same sort of thing has appeared. with the line of demarcation. as I have stated. very plainly shown. and with the difference of viewpoints becoming. with the passage of time. more and more accentuated. The House thought it would find a solution and solve the problem in its bill. There are parts of the bill which seem to me to be somewhat farfetched. but It has one virtue. namely. that it proposes to fix a definite. specific number of immigrants who may come from other countries of the Western Hemisphere and from Mexico. and. I assume upon the theory that has been spoken of here so often. it deals with every country of the Western Hemisphere rather than with one alone. With my peculiar directness of approach to a problem. I would have preferred that we deal with Mexico alone. and reach our conclusion in regard to immigration from that country. because that was the only country which would require upon our part activity and the only country from which came any menace or any danger to our people from immigration. The Senate. however. in its wisdom. has determined that it does not desire to do anything of the sort. and now have come before us two measures. the one which has been apprbved with practical unanimity by the committee of the House of 1lepresentatives. the other. introduced by the Senator from Georgia . which comes from a part of the Senate Committee on Immigration. In the latter I challenge Senators to show upon what basis the computation will be made. or with any degree of accuracy to determine the number of immigrants who shall come from Mexico.