The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-05-25
PRESERVE TYPE IS
 CHIEF OBJECT OF. IMMIGRATION ACT.
America As Melting Pot Is No More, Says
 Senate Sponsor
By DAVID A. REED, Senator From Pennsylvania, writ. ing In The New York Times

THE immigration pplicy upon which
 the two Houses of Congress have
 now substantially agreed marks q new departure in the American atti- tude on this subject. Until now we have proceeded upon the theory that America was "the refuge of the op- pressed of all nations," and we have indulged the belief that upon. their ar. rival here all immigrants were fused by the melting pot" into a distinc- tive American type. During the last 40 years we have, it is true, establish ed certain physical and moral stand ards with which our immigrants must comply in order to be permitted to en- ter the country but these tests have operated only to exclude the cases of gross unfitness, such as those with contagious diseases and the insane and the notorious criminal
 Until the years 1853-S5 the sources from which the greater number of our immigrants came were the same sources from which our country was originally cole nized, and as a result of this fact the immigrants were easily assimilated in our population upon their arrival here. Beginning about 1885, new types of people began to come. For the first time in our history men began to come in large numbers from Italy, Greece, 7 Poland, Turkey in Europe, the Balkan states and from Russia. As these new sources of immigration began to pour out their masses of humanity upon our shores the old sources in northwestern Europe seemed to dry up, and whereas in 1890 the natives of southern and east. ern Europe constituted about 8 per cent of our foreign-born population, in 1910 they constituted 30 per cent.
 This change brought new difficulties in the problem of, assimilation. These new peoples spoke strange languages. Ii was not to be expected that they would readily fuse into the population that they found here. It was natural that they should not understand our insti tutions, since they came from lands in which popular government is a myth.
 Fate Of Roman Empire Recalled
 Thoughtful men began to apprehend that the United States was going the way that Rome went. They remember ed how the Roman ofA200 B. O., prided himself upon physical fitness and upon his readiness to undertake manual la, Dor, no matter how arduous. They re membered how the vast inpouring oi captives and of alien slaves had changed this viewpoint of the Roman citizen so that he came about POO A. D., tc regard all manual labor as demeaning Rome had developed her white-togs class, and there was no Roman so hum lble as to do manual laborg From thai day the power of Rome waned and she sank into an impotency which made hel the prey of every barbarian invader.
 America has taken this historical fact to heart and has determined that $ similar fate shall not befall her. Shs has not been detefred from taking this step by the clatnor of those who have insisted that the labor supDly mus consfantly be imported afresh. Sh, reaIizes the failacy of this when shs sees how Great Britain, France, Ger many and the other countries of Flu rope find their Tabor supply'' at home She realizes thht the reason Americant are loath to do manual labor is not because they consider themselves toe good for such tasks, but it is because of their unwillingness to associate in intimate daily contact with men of alien speech and thought and habits. It is the association to which they object and not the toil itself, and it is thil objection that would eventually make the white-collar class include the whole of our native-born Americans.
 Purposes Of Law
 Nor has America allowed herself to be disturbed by the cries of alien groups who are already here. The objections that these groups have put forward to the new immigration law have doubt. less been put forward in good faith, but with complete misunderstanding oi the purposes of the new law. These purposes are three:
 First-America realizes that she is no longer desert country in need oi