In my great city of Chicago. preparations are being completed for a celebration to be held tomorrow at Christopher Columbus Monument in Grant Park where civic and patriotic groups. men and women of all races and creeds. will join enthusiastically with our worthy citizens of Italian extraction. in paying homage to the brave and courageous mariner whose great and epochmaking discovery brought about deep and profound. yet beneficial. changes in the world in which he lived. And may I take this opportunity to point out the many splendid and useful gifts and contributions which the citizens of Italian descent have heaped upon America during the course of our rapid and sustained progress as a nation. In a speech I made in 1909 upon the floor of this House. in connection with the consideration of a bill to increase Immigration fees which I opposed. I took the occasion then to detail the fine qualities and virtues of the Italian immigrants who came to our shores. many of whom contributed so largely to the building of our railroads and other arteries of communication. while others assumed a foremost position in our social. industrial. and economic life. that. possessed of high character and purpose. carried on everywhere in America in a manner worthy of the traditions of Dante. Leonardo da Vinci. Michelangelo.
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