The Pleasantville press. (Pleasantville, N.J.) 1912-1929, 1923-05-16

be called a side issue Of opposition.
immigration Problem Again.
There are salient evidences in Wash
ington of an intensive campaign % pre-
pare the way for a congressional act
next winter which shall provide for a
lowering of the immigration bars.
There Is just as strong and active d
campaign In evidence to prevent con
gress from doing anything Of the Kind.
Both Republican and Democratic po-
litical leaders seem to think that the
immigration law should be left as It
is until after the presidential cam
palgn. The leaders Of the parties seem
to be afraid that the injection Of the
immigration matter In d sharply out
lined form might work a danger TO the
ambitions of each party's candidate for
the presidency.
1t is said that the attempts to make
the President urge legislation to lei
down the immigration bars a little are
only second in volume and persistency
to those intended to make hin change
his mind on the World court proposal.
There has been a feeling that the adj
ministration has been somewhat in
favor of a change In the immigration
law to admit a greater number of
what ordinarily are spoken Of as day
laborers, Blu. 1t is known that in1uen-
tial administration supporters have
been trying and still are trying to in
duce the President to say nothing pub
licly about immigration changes except
as they may refer to a time well In
the future.
Recently Judge Gary Of the steel
Industry made public reasons which he
thinks are sufficient to o congress
to change the law as it stands to-
day. No sooner, however, had Judge
Gary spoken than Col. Robert NJ.
Thompson, also a large employer OF la
Dor, spoke in. opposition to the Gary
pronouncement, and said the time had
not yet come when more aliens than
the present law allows safely can be
let into the country.
s~terIing's Selective Law.
Senator Sterling of South Dakota,
In a recent address to the Sons of the
American Revolution made a plea for
his bill for ~selectiye immigration
which means the obtaining of an ade-
quate knowledge of the physical and
moral conditions of every intended i'm
migrant before he Is allowed TO leave
the other side of the water. There
have always been supporters for a law
of this kind, but seemingly there are
difficulties in the way of securing the
passage of such a law because of what
it is claimed will be the great cost of
its operation. Some of the students
of immigration see visions Of American
representatives abroad virtually being
mobbed by great crowds of intended
immigrants bent on receiving the off
cial O.. X.
1t is possible, at least so the feeling
seems to run In Washington, that some
such selective law may be passed at
the next session of congress, but 1t
should be understood that an act of
this kind car be put upon the statute
books without in any way affecting
the numbers of immigrants which shall
be admitted to the country. The pro
posal is not in any way supposed to in
terfere with what may be called the
numerical admission law.
Those leaders of the two political
parties who are opposed to any pres
ent change in the immigration Law
seemingly have sensed what they thinl
is the fact, that some great organized
bodies of citizens In the United States
utterly are opposed to letting the barr
down. Labor, as a body, as everybody
knows, is against the proposal. 4
great many ex-seryice men are againsi
it, and the Americanization societies
generally seem to be against 1t.
Stand of Labor and Service Men.
OF course, labor, almost solidly, ant
the former service men, In large part
are opposed to an increase in immi
grafton over the numbers of ineomer:
allowed by the present law. because
they think that a greater Influx mean.
a lowering of wages, and the possible
loss of jobs by Americans. Some o.
Tie OfbdHlLdlIOuS VI cA-SST wee ue0
however, 1t Is said, stand in opposition
not because they are particularly anx
ious TO keep the ports of the coun
try sealed against foreigners, but be
cause they want to make sure tina.
those who are here now shall be thor
oughly Amerieanlzed before enough
more are allowed to come in to make
Americanization impossible.
This seemingly Is the view taker
also by many other American organ
fzations whose members say thai
Americanization is progressing SLOWLY
now, not necessarily because of 8
lack of workers in the cause, but be
cause many of the foreigners object Il
being A-merieanized. 1t is said thai
a great many of the foreigners il
America who have been here for 6
long time still show a determination
to live In colonies, to speak their ma.
tive tongue, and to build up commu
mites which take just enough part in
American life to allow their inhabit
ants TO earn their living.