The Washington herald., 1920-11-28
FAVOR 1 YEAR
HALT ON ALIENS
immigration Bureau Will
Recommend Immediate
Ban by Congress.
FEAR RADICAL WAVE
Europe Apparently Eager to
Dump Undesirable Sub
jects Here.
FEAR RADICAL WAVE

The Bureau of immigration will
recommend to Congress that all i'm
migration, except of persons who
come of compelling necessity" be
suspended for a period of at least
year, 1t was learned here yester-
day. Chairman Albert Johnson OF
the House committee on immigra-
tion said that IL a bill is not passed
by Congress before March it will
be necessary to suspend immigra-
tion until formal action can be
taken by the bureau
The reasons advanced for such
radical action are the ever-growing
wave of extremism, the increasing
unemployment in the United States,
the menace of the housing shortage,
and the danger of lowering the
American standard of living which
inheres in tine present practically
unrestricted immigration of Euro
pean peoples. especially from the
countries of southern Europe.
Would Exempt Dependency.
Compelling necessity" as inter-
preted by the Bureau of Immigra-
tion. means cases in which the wife
or children, the father or mother,
or some other dependents of per-
sons wishing to emigrate to the
United States. are suffering for lack
of the necessities of life, which can
only be supplied by the immigrant
in American surroundings.
Unless the present rush of immi-
grafton is checked there is every in
dication that the fiscal year 1921
will record a total immigration
more than txice as great as in any
year heretofore. and is regarded as
a reflection of conditions of unprec-
edented severity in Europe.
Both members of Congress and
immigration officials assert that ac-
tion must be taken Immediately to
prevent America from becoming the
dumping ground of the most uDde-
sirable elements OF Europe.
Europe In PowerIess.
European countries, they assert,
have proved totally unable or un-
willing to limit emigration to desir-
ahfe persons, and that there is good
reason to suspect that European
governments are conniving at the
emigration of their most undesir-
able elements to America.
that within the past twelve months
100000 persons have left Italy for
various foreign countries. At least
one-third have come to the United
States ! 1t is pointed out that the
utmost efforts of the United States
cannot prevent the entrance here of
undesirables unless il has the CO.
operation OF foreign nations. So
far this cooperation has not been
forthcoming. On the contrary, Eu-
ropean nations seem only too will
ling to dump their troubIe-makers
on America.
Figures Not Yet Available.
The rush of immigration has been
SO great that complete figures are
not available. 1t is regarded as in
dicative of the rush however, that
while $3.50 aliens were admitted
during July. the number has stead
lily increased until in October 10000
aliens came in through New York
alone.
OfficiaIs of the American Fedora
tion of Labor regard the question
as one of the most important with
which they are confronted. second
not even to unemployment or the
open shop question. In a recent
huAuDCl VI Nic TeucTdllOnlSlr OHlC1dl
organ of the federation the follow
ing statement appears:
with 100000 idle and thousands
of immigrants pouring into the
country every day, the dangers
ahead of labor are so serious that
even the enemies of labor are fear
full of its future.
SIt is absolutely necessary for
every national and international
union. every State and every city
central and local union. to impress
upon members of Congress that
American labor as well as all the
people should be protected from the
menace of excess immigration"