Southwest Washington labor press. [volume] (Hoquiam, Wash.) 19??-19??, 1924-03-28

gratory instinct, gypsy strain-call it
what you will-brings foreigners to
this country still restless and seeking
for something they can not name. I'm
familiar with our institutions and
restless, they wish to mold our ideals
and institutions to suit some ~ism7
doctrine that they absorbed with their
mothers milk. They are ammunition
for the professional. agitator, these
foreigners. Yet America stands by ig-
noring the menace they are, making
no successful attempt to educate them
teach them our ways and curing their
discomfort by training them to our
standards of living.
Must Close Gates
Such being the case--and no think
ing man, l believe, viii dispute it.
there remains but one thing to do.
We must close the immigration
gates until we have assimilated those
now within our borders. It is the SEN
sible thing to do. If you have indiges-
ton you do not continue to gulp down
the food that caused it. Any physi-
clan would direct you to stop eating
until the trouble had vanished.
That is exactly what the American
Legion advocates. Until Congress can
work out an migration policy that
will protect the immigrant, protect
American citizens and American in
situations, we urge a total suspension
if immigration. It may take five
years; il. may take one. Whatever the
length Of time, there should be total
prohibition to meet present exigencies.
Settling on a number of immigrants
to be admitted yearly from any one
country, does not settle the imigra-
ton question. Any migration policy
should include Americanization fea-
lures. If we are going to admit immi-
grants we are bound to educate them,
for our sakes and for their own. At
present, however, no provisions-no
adequate provisions, at least-have
been made to this end. If they had,
there would be no immigration prob
lem
Have migrants Examined
With regard to the admittance of
immigrants after total suspension has
been removed, the Legion advocates
the examination of potential immi-
grants in their homeland. The hor-
rible travesty of making entrance to
the United States contingent upon
speed of ships and the risks a captain
is willing to run for dollar-gain,
should be stopped. Lives are needless
ly endangered.
When quota for country is de-
termined upon, believe we should
have some sort of physical, mental,
and moral examination followed by
consular wise of passports. Thus, only
those who are desirable can sail for
this country; and no more immigrants
will be permitted to sail than can en-
ter.
In all the foregoing, do not get the
idea that the Legion is antagonistic
to migrants or foreigners even tho
we do preach America for Americans.
With proper machinery, proper re-
striction, migration should after a
time be reopened, because as l said
elsewhere, the Legion believes that a
man does not have to be born in this
country to become a good American.
Until we provide machinery to
teach migrants how to live up to
American standards of living, our
ideals, our traditions, we should sus-
pend migration, no matter how long
or short period of time it will take.
1t is something that must be done
to keep America a true democracy.
And that is the American Legion's
only policy of Americanization-
America true democracy.