Speech #710181412

I asked the Senator a question and he proceeded to make a speech. Mr. President. it has been charged by some Senators that those who favor the Norbeck amendment. those who opposed the adoption of the nationalorigins plan. those who voted for the resolution to postpone its operation last year are in favor of unlimited immigration. For myself I deny that allegation and. for a number of others who take the same position I have taken. and whose motives and whose feelings I happen to know in reference to this question. I likewise deny it. without giving their names. I want to refer to some rather personal matters because of the charges. Long before I came into public life as a Member of this body I was active in the move to limit immigration. When this matter was brought up by the American Legion. whose name has been used here in behalf of the nationalorigins plan. I was a member of its legislative committee for three years. During the last year. when this matter was particularly pressed. I had the honor to act as its chairmanrather an honorary position. but a position in the occupation of which I at least had something to do with the policy of the Legion on the question of immigration. and had some chance to express my own feelings in that matter. I want to say that so far as I knowand I know something. at least. about the action of the American Legion and a few of the other patriotic organizations in this countrythis nationalorigins plan was sold to them upon two theories. One of them was that by its adoption we would obtain a material decrease in our immigration. Answering that first: As it was presented here last year and as it now stands. the most that anyone claims for a reduction of immigration by the adoption of the nationalorigins plan over the plan that was then in operation is 11.000a total of quota immigrants whichis a very small number as compared with the total number of immigrants that come into this country. either quota or nonquota. The other theory was that by the adoption of the nationalorigins plan we were obtaining as immigrants those peoples who in the past have made up the pioneer stock of America. and that we were obtaining a majority of peoples from northern and western Europe. to be plain. because I believe I know that the patriotic organizations of this country. I believe I know that the people of this country. desire that the majority of our immigration. whatever the number may be. shall come from those countries which are commonly known as white countries. and in making that distinction I say nothing against other peoples of the world. But that Is not true. When this matter was up last year I spent no time on it. but I put into the RECORD a chart which* shows exactly what would happen if we adopted the nationalorigins plana comparison of the law as it then existed with what we would have under the nationalorigins plan. I did not read it then. I desire to read it now. and to call to the attention of the Members of the Senate exactly how this nationalorigins plan works out with reference to the people and the number of the different nationalities who are permitted to come into this country. I want to read first the numbers who came into this country under the law before the nationalorigins plan was adopted. and those who would come in under the national origins act. with their nationalitiesall of them Europeans. Belgium. under the quota of 1890. were permitted 512. Under the nationalorigins plan they were permitted 1.304a gain of 792.