The Denver Jewish news. [volume] (Denver, Colo.) 1915-1925, 1925-05-14
UNPARALLELED IN HUMAN
HISTORY, SAYS MIR. MAR
SHALL, is PLIGHT OF THE
$4,000 STRANDED JEWS.
Broadcast Appeal for lielp-iiursirets
Of Listening IN" Meetings, in Scores
Of Cities. Hear Address IN Nation
Wide Mass Meeting.


history was the description applied by
Louis Marshall In an address over the
radio April Is, to the experience OF 49,
900 men, women and children, holders
of American visaS, stranded in Epro-
pean seaports and IN Cuba for more
than year, because they have been
barred from this country, through the
operation OF the United States Immi-
grafton law.
In scores Of cities and towns, rs
far west MS Minneapolis, and south TO
the Gulf, hundreds of listening in
meetings were held IN homes and syn
agogue yestries, constituting a nation
wide mass meeting, as Mr.. Marshall
broadcastcd from WEAF the story OF
the plight of the stranded and ma
rooncd Jews, and described what the
Emergency committee is doing to allie
viate their distress, release them form
the trap IN which they have been
caught and save others from Il SINH
lar fate
THE story of these refugees is uni
que in human history. said Mr. Mar
shall. 1T is the outcome of change
made In the immigration laws of the
United States and in our immigration
policy, operating in such n manner that
the necessary adjustments were not
made which would have enabled the
new law to 20 into effect without occa-
sioning untold hardships. For more
than century the American policy
was that of encouraging the immigra'
ton of men and women who were men
tally, morally and physically normal
and the rapid growth of the United
Stats, the development of its resour'
ces and the wide extent of its prosper
! ity to u great extent have been due tC
the carrying out of this policy. From
| time 10 time the law was amended, Sc
that by 1917 it became what is aptly
characterized as selectlve immigra
ton policy. BY that is meant, that
those who were undesirable because OF
mental, moral and physical defects OF
because Of their opposition TO organ
/ lied government were excluded.
After the war, however, as n re
suit of the hatreds, suspicious ant
animosities which grew out of it, ant
o. the emphasis sought to be placed OF
/ nationality, the Quota law was Ell
acted by Congress, which limited til,
number of immigrants who might com,
/ from various countries according to 1
percentage based on the number of i'm
migrants from the several lands who
1 had previously come to this country a.
shown by the census of 1910. After
/ this law had been in operation fOl
years the immigration Act of 1924 wa,
passed. which reduced the percentag,
| basis to two per cent. calculated OF
I the census of 1890. This led to far
| greater reduction in the number o
those who could come to this country
and its operation was especially oner
Gus to those seeking TO come here from
Eastern and Southern Europe. from
which. prior 10 1890 there had com,
"a comparatively small body Of immi
grants
While the Quota Law was still il
force, and acting In strict conformity
with that law. considerable number
1 Of intending Immigrants procured theil
passports, submitted them to the Unit
/ ed States COu-uls in the countries In
(which they lived. obtained visaS from
\ these consular officers. paid the sub
Istantiul fee that was required to be
paid, and thcreupou disposed Of then
property purchased steamship tickets
! 10 the United States. and proceeded IL
the various ports of embarkatiOu
When they arrived there, eight thou
! sand Of these people. who were pos,
seSS"d Of the pioneer spirit. learned for
the first time that the quotas assigned
10 their countries had been exhausted
and that they would have to wait al
the ports until after July 1924, when
the new fiscal year would begin.
Before that time. however, the I'm
migration Act of 1924 went into effect
with an entirely new method Of proce
dure and which cut down the number