The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1916-03-25
CALLS congress
AN ALIEN BODY
Cannon Says Less Than Third
of Members Have Ameri-
can Names.
HITS IMMIGRATION BILL
Says There We're No Billy Sundays
Mary Pickfords. RooseveIts or
Pershings in First Census.

Speaking in opposition to the Burnett
bill to restrict immigration, Uncle Joe
Cannon yesterday told the House that
less than one-third Of its members could
fnd their names among the 1881 family
names in America which appeared III the
first census Of 1870.
Moreover. he told them there were
neither Billy Sundays nor Mary Pick
fords in that representative group OF
esrIv Americans. nor were the Funstons
or Pershings. Edisons or Carnegtes, AS
tors or Wattersons And there was no
Roosevelt.
who then, he asked. ARE the native
Americans?"
Il have for years" he continued
tried to find the native element in our
population. I recently turned to a re
port OF the Census Office under the title
Of A Century Of Population Growth IN
which Is given a list Of the family names
which appeared in the first census in lIJO-
There were then 3,1I2,4A white people
in the United states, and less than thirty
thousand family names. These were the
native whites in this country when the
Constitution was adopted and Washing
ton became the first President.
Few Can Trace Lineage.
How many of us can trace our lineage
back to those first American iamlles'
and how many Of US are competed 10
trace our lineage back to the alien i'm
MIGRANT? I tried to trace the member
ship Of this House back to that American
Almanac de GOtha,' and I could not 10
cate one-third Of you. There are lS9
members Of this House whose family
names cannot be found in the hrst CEN
sus Of the United States. These is Rep
resentatives represent the alien imml-
grants to this country. but who will deny
that they have American names?
Il found the name OF the gentleman
from Massa chusetts, Mr. Gardner, who
Is one Of the later pioneers Of this move
ment, written in fifteen different ways.
and that may justify his position l
found the name Of the chairman OF the
Committee on Immigration. who IS the
author of this bill. but few Of the other
members Of the committee can trace their
lineage back to the first families. I was
able to find my own name there spelled
in six different ways. from Cannon to
Canine. but l have other historical rec
ords that some Of my ancestors were
driven out Of New England long before
this first census on pain Of having their
ears cut on if they remained so I have
no particular pride in finding my name
among the first families OF the republic.
I am willing to be put down with the
aliens Of this House.
The Senate is not better represented
in that old list than the House. While
my friend, Mr.. Gardner, of MassaCh
sets, is, as I said, represented by fifteen
different spellings, have been unable
to find the name OF his DISTINGUISHED
father-in-law. the senior Senator from
Massachusetts,, who is one Of the most
brilliant and cultured men in the public
life. That ought to be a consolation to
some of you. II Senator Lodge is an
alien, who among US may not be proud
Of the title?
Roosevelt hot There.
The Congress of the United States
IS not the only place where sCiOns of
the first families. do not mOnopOIize
the membership. I can find in that
list Of first families in 1890 no AgasiZ,
Edison or Westinghouse; no Carnegie,
Hartman. Havermeyer or Mackay; no
AstOr. Belmont. LOrriIlard or Leitre; no
Funston or Pershing; no WattersOn or
Pulitzer: no Gompers or Morrison; no
Billy Sunday or Mary PickfOrd.
These are few OF the names which
would never have appeared in Ameri-
can history had Congress in 1890 seen
fit to Iegislate against the alien immi-
grant But there is one other name
absent from this old list of first fami-
lies with which we have all become
familiar in recent years; for 1t has
appeared in the public prints more,
perhaps. than any other, associated
with stirring events in both military
and civil life; at the head of a rcgi-
ment of Rough Riders, as Governor of
New York, as Vice President and Presi-
dent of the United States; as lion
hunter. explorer. naturalist. disCOverer
Of the River of Doubt: an idol OF
many people who call themselves the
true Americans of this composite peO-
pie; the name of Roosevelt does not
appear in any form, synonym or root.
in the list OF first families.
who, then. are the native Ameri-
cans who have for 100 years periodi-
cally grown hysterical about putting
up the bars to protect themselves
against alien blood, and then opening
wide the gates to welcome immigra-
ton to an enlarged field OF labor in
this melting-pOt of the world, which
has for 800 years been pouring from
its CruCible a new composite Ameri-
can to stand as a type both like and
unlike those of the older civilizations
from which the viriIe blood of Amer
lea has been drawn