Perth Amboy evening news., 1923-02-20
FOR IMMIGRATION
LAW CHANGES UNDER WAY
Daily Letter by Frederic j. Haskin

WASHINGTON. y. c., Feb. co.
There is an old saying that wise men
change their minds: fools, never.
Also, it is said that there can be no
progress without constantly chang
ing policies and plans.
If these statements are true. the
American people are wise and
! progressive. for there probably is not
a nation on the face of the earth
that has SO frequently and funda-
mental changes of mind. 1t would
seem that it must De a good system
because certainly the American pei
| pie have been the most progressive
of any nation in history.
No better example of the muta-
bility of the American viewpoint
could be cited than the right-about-
face in the matter of immigration
which has been executed by the en-
ployers.
No II who reads the newspapers
or listens to the conversation of men
in the street and who has d memory
has forgotten the terrific storm Of
protest which arose during the wal
and Immediately afterwards about
the question of immigration. TIL
~ Dl1til4Ith AilAN u q IL
He was the butt of all manner o.
satirica1 jokes. He was the enemy
within our gates. He was the mas
similable element which was tearing
down our republic. The tradition
that the United States had become a
melting pot for the world was repu-
dated and it was declared that the
Immigrant would not melt and
therefore was an undesirable.
The phrase. Hundred Per Cent
American, was coined for the pitiful
few of US who were described as
standing with our backs to the wall
borne down by the weight of an un-
wanted tide of immigration.
Patriotic societies rose up in hor-
TOR at the flood of immigration that
had come in and that was comir
in. The labor unions could be de-
pended upon to endorse the move
ment against tho immigrant.
The result of this excitement was
the Dillingham; immigration law
which placed a rigid restriction on
the number Of immigrants which
could come 80 our shores each year.
The administration of this law fo'
a relative ely brief period has brought
about a change of a part Of the Ann
erican mind Which is astonishing. To
compare the feYered complaints
against immigration which were
| heard only a few months ago with
the statements now being made
shows a surprising contrast.
Bank Sees the Country Suffering
Take, for instance, the following
| statement issued by the First Ma
| tional Bank of Philadelphia.
"The country is suffering from a
| deficient labor supply which will be
! difficult to make up so long as the
l influx of hard working aliens, whose
| services are badly needed in the
] United States, is restricted as 1t is
| by the present immigration laws.
| Honest workers, willing to give full
/ value for wages received, represent
| an enormously valuable asset OF the
| type most needed IN such a world
| situation as exists today
Could there be a more complete
! change of mind? The foreigners who
/ two or three years ago were being
stigmatized as enemy aliens
Observation-Disclosures "tae ene'
nv within our gates" and many
other opprobrfus terms, arc called
"honest workers" "hard working
alisns'' ct cetera. at least by the in
terests desiring a fresh supply of un-
skilled labor.
This brief statement from the
Philadelphia Institution is merely
typical of many such statements
which are being made all over the
country by interests needing more
labor. II is true that the Quaker
City, being one of the most thor
oughiy American cities IN the ccun'
try with a relatively small foreign
population, took pride q short tins
ago in it's freedom from the blight
of the foreign born. The statansni
today goes on to point out the ad'
vantages which such a city hold
out to the hard working alien"
All over the country individuals
chambers of commerce, boards o
trade, manufacturers associations
citizens associations, politicians and
public otictals are illustrating tn
frank change of mind and are point
ing out the desirabi1ity Of the "hon
est workers" from overseas and urg
ing congress to relax the immigra,
ton restrictions and let the alien
in. The natural result has been tina
bills have been presented in con