Evening star., 1923-04-22
BY q. GOULD LINCOLN.
ABOR and capital are about to

Y ABOR and capital are about to
engage in another contest
this time over the restrictive
< immigI alton laws of the
United States. Labor, on the one
hand, favors restriction and exclu-
sion of immigrants, as it has in the
past. Labor fears that to let down
the bars Will mean a flood of cheap
labor from foreign countries, with
consequent lower wages for American
labor and a lower standard of living.
Capital, on the other hand, desires
Notwithstanding more laborers
at less wage.
There is an element of selfshness
on both sides of the question and in
both camps. But outside of the de-
sires and fears of labor as opposed
to those of capital there rises the
question as to what is better for the
United States. Should the bars be
kept up as under the present per
cent law. and perhaps raised even
higher. or should they be lowered?
Country Suffered.
Before the world war the United
States was called the melting pot"
the great caldron in which the sons
and daughters of many nations emil
grating to these shores were assimi-
lated and became Americans. But
when the war broke and the draft
law was put into effect 1t was found
that there had been a great deal of
friction about the so-called melting
pot. The country was suffering from
indigestion. The aliens had not been
assimilated. There were too many
thousands of hyphenated Americans,
too many thousands who had neither
learned the language of America nor
acquired the ideals of government for
which this country stands.
And now capital is urging that the
bars be lowered, that immigration of
foreign laborers may be resumed
much as before the war. The call
to battle is already being sounded.
Judge Elbert H. Gary of the steel
corporation has denounced the pres
eRt restrictive immigration laws, say
ing. that. in his judgment. they are
the worst things that have ever hap
'pened in this country, economically.
The United States Chamber of Com
merce is urging less restriction.
Battle Scene to Shift.
No matter how much agitation
there may be for lowering the immi-
grafton bars. one thing is certain:
Ehcy will tot be lowered, if ever,
until after the 1st of next December,
when the new Congress assemblies.
When the legislators return to Wash
ington the battle will be shifted to
the Capitol. 1t is not always safe to
predict what Congress will do. But
1t is possible sometimes to judge the
future by what has happened In the
past. 1t is historically true that the
laws dealing with immigration into
this country have gradually become
more and more restrictive and that
there has never been a backward step
looking to freer immigration. The
laws against importation of contract
labor, against the entrance of defec-
tives and persons not capable of sup
porting themselves. against the i'm
migration of Asiatics, against the en-
trance of illiterateS. and finally the
most recent law restricting immigra
tion in any one year to per cent of
the aliens of any particular nation
ality who were in the United States
under the census of 1919.
The administration may present an
immigration measure for the consid-
GRAFTON of Congress. If it does, Sec
rotary Davis of the Department of
Labor undoubtedly will have a hand
IL drafting the measure, and he is
opposed to lowering the bars to admit
"A flood of cheap European labor. But
in any event ali immigration bill will
have to be handled by the immigra-
tion committees of the House and
Senate and then by the two branches
of Congress itself. While 1t may be
said that the sentiment of the mem
bers of the Senate committee on i'm
migration is more liberal than that of
the members of the House committee.
there will be found many members of
the Senate committee. and of the Sem
ate itself, who will oppose vigorously
proposals to lower the bars. Senator
Colt of Rhode Island. chairman of the
immigration committee, is inclined to
be liberal In the matter of immigra-
,ion. On the other hand, Representa-
tive Johnson of Washington, chair
man of the House committee in the
last Congress, and presumptive chair
man in the coming Congress. is an
e1 clusionist of the extreme type.
House Lowered Number.
During the last session of Congress
there were demands from many quar-
tors that the bars be let down to
permit the entrance of refugees from
Armenia, Greece, Turkey, etc. Har-