New Britain herald., 1924-02-15

Probably the best organized and | most unanimous opposition come from
 the Italian clement in the United
 States, as Italy would be one of the
 nations hardest hit by the restrictions in the Johnson bill. A particularly clear statement of the position of the Italians is contained in q memoran- dunn prepared for submission to the
 president, the cabinet and congress
 by Hon. Salvatore A. Cotillo, justice of the supreme court of the state of New York, and grand master of the Order of Sons of Italy of the state of New York
 Under the terms of the Johnson
 bill the yearly quota of immigrants from any nation admitted to the
 United States would be two per cent
 of the number of natives of that na-
 ton residing in the United States in 1890, plus two hundred. The present
 law allows a quota of three per cent on the census of 1910. The effect of the proposed law. as applied to Jtal- ian immigration, would be to cut the annual quota from 42,057 to 4,112, or more than ninty per cent. Other na- tions of southeastern Europe would
 be similarly affected, while the num- Der of. immigrants from the United
 Kingdom, Germany and other north ern and western European nations would be reduced nothing like this amount.
 This legislation. it is declared, evinces a spirit of discrimination against Italy. which is both dispar- aging to nation whose children have contributed nobly and gener- ously to the up-building. development and defense of the United States. and contrary to the ideals upon which the government of the United States was founded.
 While it is only fair that the in terests of this commonwealth should be paramount" Judge Cotillo de- clares, ''it is unfair, unjust. and in- equitable to discriminate against the immigration of certain countries which have fought with us and shed their blood with us and helped to build what is known as the Great American nation.
 "The Italian comes here and brings to our shores a strong hardihood and physique that is rarely excelled. His temperament is that of a buoyant. joyful optimistic type that makes life at all times seem very interesting,
 During the past forty years labor CTS have been a higher portion of Italian immigration fin the United States than any other important i'm. migrant people.
 Rarely less than one-half, usually one-half to two-thirds of a years Italian immigrants have been general laborers. Years of labor in the sunny fields of Italy, a life almost continu- ously out-of-d doors. have served to en- rich the Italian with n physical con stitution and endowed him with rug ged health that stands him in good stead. Within the past half century the unskilled labor of the Italian inn migrant has contributed much toward the building up of the country. They have built our railroads, dug our tun- nels, mined our coal and other metals | erected our buildings, increased our manufactures, built up our industry. and onrcommerce."
 Judge Cotillo also dwelt on the | contributions Of Italy to the profes- l sions and 10 commerce and the arts 1 He cited figures to show that crim- final statistics favor the immigrant as more law-ablding than the native born In the World War. he show. | ed, nearly ten per cent of the Ameri- l can military forces were Italian speak ing, while the Italian constitute only ! four per cent 2f our population. The Italian immigrants. he declared, come from the best part of the population Of the country. Commercially restric- ! ton of the Italian immigration to the i point proposed would destroy the for eign commerce of this country with Italy, and would thus work hardships Il