Speech #770132493

Mr. Speaker. this bill came up before th3 Christmas holidays and there was some opposition to it at that time. Since then tiere has been a special hearing before the Committee on Immigration and Naturalization. and the committee has adopted two committee amendments. one of which I understand is to limit the provisions of the bill to the duration of the wr. and. to a certain extent. a short time after the war is over. If the purpose of the bill is to make It easy to take away the citizenship of men like Fritz Kuhn and bundist leaders and Communists who would cverthrow the Government by force and violence. who have come into this country recently. I think the bill is constructive and should be adopted. with the committee amendments. But if it is to be wide open and take in some 20.000.000 naturalized citizens and place their citizenship in jeopardy by abridging free speech. or because they might have desired to keep out of war or favored one country against another in the war. then of course the bill should not pass. That would be a denial of American democracy and copying the brutal and totalitarian methods of the Nazis. Fascists. and Communists. This bill requires court action to determine the conduct of the individual as to loyalty and allegiance. That protection of the court should be a fairly strong guaranty against war hysteria and hatreds. but nevertheless it should be understood. as has been told me by members of the committee. that the real purpose of the bill is to go after those foreign agents presumably sent over here in the last 10 years by Hitler since he came into power. to become naturalized American citizens. and who then conduct themselves not as loyal American citizens but as naturalized citizens acknowledging allegiance to another country. If that is the purpose of the bill. which I think it is. then I hope the bill will pass without delay. The chairman of the committee has stated to me that that was the main purposeto go after those foreign agents sent over here to become naturalized citizens but not in good faith. and that they are over here to represent the Nazis or the Fasists. or Communists to destroy our free institutions and to urge the overthrow of the Government by force and violence. It is true the bill is very loosely worded. because it just refers to "conduct." "Conduct" may mean anything. but I want to go on record that if "conduct" has anything to do with freedom of speech or of the press or if it means that someone wanted to keep out of war or criticized the administration or the President. or even asked on what terms there might be peace. that should not be included under the definition of the word "conduct" in this bill.