Speech #710316689

I am pleased that this bill. unlike the immigration bill you forced through the House under false and misleading representations. by the professional restrictionists. will be of some benefit to the few Government employees. and I regret that it does not apply to the working people of the United States in general. * I hope that in the near future there will be passed such legislation that will establish not only a 4hour workday on Saturday but also a law that will establish a 40hour week. And if you gentlemen are really the friends of the laboring man. as you profess to be. and as you assure thembefore the electionsyou are. and if you will show but onehalf of the interest for them. in this bill. as you have shown in the immigration bill. such legislation could be passed without delay. The statements made on the floor of the House as to the number of immigrants coming over were untrue and were deliberately made for the purpose of misleading the House and the Nation. For five years I have advocated the restricting of Mexican. Canadian. and West Indies immigration. but the administration and the beneficiaries of this cheap laborneeded for the lumber and textile industrieson the one hand. and the railroads and the cotton planters Sugar and Beet Trust on the other. have had such remarkable influence with these professional restrictionists that they have remained blind to the true situation and have failed to assist me. Under the pretext that it will aid unemployment. this bill was forced through in violation of all the rules of the House. and in a most arbitrary manner. Anyone with any degree of intelligence knows that this is nothing more than a false sham. since these peopleto be prohibited from coming. by this billare for the greater part the wives and children of declarants and parents of American citizens. too old on the one hand. or too young on the other. to "seek the places of the American laboring man." Nevertheless. these false statements are being used constantly to unload on these few unfortunate immigrants the sins of the administration and its staunch "protectionists" in total disregard of their party pledge. adopted June It. 1928. and on which President Hoover and the present Republican Congressmen were elected. which. while favoring continued restrictions. expressly provided: . Where. however. the law works undue hardship by depriving the immigrant of the comfort and society of those bound by close family ties. such modification should be adopted as will afford relief. How strange it is. that in one breath the President and some of you wouldbe leaders on the floor. say that the panic and depression is worldwide. and in the very next charge it to the few innocent children. wives. parents. and relatives of those American citizens who sacrificed their lives for our flag. The most ignorant will see through these false accusations and untrue charges. I am now ready and willing to vote for the restriction of immigration from Mexico. Canada. and the West Indies. and am equally willing to put a complete stop to the immigration from the Philippines. But that can be done only by giving them their independence. For. to first refuse their release on the one hand and to then deny them admission on the other would meet with condemnation on the part of the civilized world. The gentleman from Texas made a statement to the effect thatThe 5.000.000 immigrants in the last five or six years are responsible for the depression. That statement is as untrue as the others made by the proponents of this bill. The reports of the Department of Labor show that during the five months. from July to November. 1930. there were but 69.082 immigrants admitted to our shores. If you gentlemen were in earnest in your desire to restrict Canadian. Mexican. British. and the Indies immigration to the same extent as Europeaneven stopping completely all immigration from Europeyou could have easily done so. at any time during the session. without violating the rights and the privileges of the Members of the House in gross disregard of all the rules of the House. In the palmiest days of Cannon and Cannonism and of Reed czarism. the constitutional rights and privileges of the Members of the House were never so wrongfully and brazenly violated as they were last Saturday night. when all precedents and rules were entirely swept aside by the Speaker. It is to be regretted that in the last few days of his service as Speaker he should have permitted himself to be used and "bullied" by the small coterie of crazy restrictionists to make impossible the reuniting of unfortunate families after many years of separation. If that bill is of such vast importance as some of those representing certain secret. vested organizations pretend it to be it could have been called up for consideration anytime during the last week. Instead of devoting days to the Navy specialists. agricultural. and farmer bloc interests. as the oleomargarine bill. the three battleships bill. the "silk stocking" Navy officers bill. and the real estate steal bill. as well as several other equally unimportant bills. this immigration bill. I repeat. could have been taken up instead. But as is the usual procedure of the Speaker and the manager of the House in the case of immigration bills. they waited until the very last momentSaturday evening at 7. when all the Members were desirous of leaving and were in no mood to consider samebefore calling it up for consideration. And then. after it was taken up under the agreed plan ot a special rule. one hour for the rule and three for debate. at the very last moment. in flagrant violation of the rights of the Members. the Speaker. in a highhanded manner. ignored the rule which was being considered and recognized the gentleman from Washington to move to suspend the rule and pass the bill. thereby depriving the Members of any chance or opportunity of offering any amendment thereto or even debate thereon. Such action is unprecedented. it is to be regretted. for it will plague those responsible.