Evening star., 1926-12-16
BACKGROUND OF EVENTS
BY PAUL Y. COLLINS.

| number of such wives and children re.
naming In the old countries who
would be equally eligible to be- brought
| over, except for what appeared to be
the arbitrary limitation Of $4,000
| fixed in the Wadsworth. .Perlman
amendment. For six months the
amendment has been before Congress,
and its opponents have cited the esti:
| mate accredited to the State Depart.
ment, based upon alleged reports
from the American consuls in all the
world. 1t has been claimed that this
information, through the Department
| OF State, indicated that the total
. eligibles would exceed 6OO,0O and the
argument then was advanced that If
we undertook to make such harsh
discrimination and favoritism as to
admit $4,000 wives and children. and
bar $685. to $4,000 equally worthy.
we would simply add to the discomfort
by brutal injustice.
In the last session Of Congress the
amendment received its defeat be-
cause the State Department. through
the work OF a subordinate, gathered
figures from consuls, which became
the basis OF the estimate of 6OO, ,OOO-
or finally as high as 622, 22,70O-eligibles.
and the argument was made that the
measure was means taken with the
intent to break down all immigration
restriction.
In the hearing on the subject Mr..
Henry Curran, who has been commits
sioner of immigration at the port of
New York ever since the first restric-
ton was adopted in 1921, testified as
an expert, and instead of 600 900 he
estimated the total number of de-
pendents, including parents as well
as wives and children, at 10000. Since
then all soldiers who had fought in
the American Army have been admit.
ted with their families, and the Wads
Worth-Perlman amendment now .omits
the parents, so that it is believed that
the limit of $4,000 will include all who
are actually eligible. The original
State Department estimates are con-
strued to cover not only the wives and
the children under 18 years of age. but
also the parents, children up to 21
years of age, brothers, sisters and
other relatives of the immigrants al
ready here, who want to come over
outside Of the quotas an "endless
chain Of collaterals."
side light was thrown upon the
problem during the testimony of
Commissioner Curran, who urged the
immediate admission of the immi-
grants children. He said:
Il want to say that one of the
greatest problems, I think, that we
nave before us, as see it from
Ellis Island, is the problem of Ameri-
can1zing the seven or eight million
foreign-born aliens we have in the
United States. A great help in doing
that Is to have the children educated
in the United States rather thor
abroad. The adult aliens come here
as immigrants and can never entirely
change the whole of their hearts, in
my experience. Neither could you or
l., II we migrated to France or Rus.
sia, suddenly become French or Rus.
slams for life. No, it doesn't happen.
There is a tragic side to it. The
immigrant brings his children over.
and they are never at home on either
side of the ocean. All we can do by
way of giving the children a head
start, believe we should do. I be-
lieve we can do more for them when
we let them come in at the youngest
possible age. If you compel them to
wait until they are ii or Is or 1s or
20 years of age, we won't be able to
do so much for them"
X ss n X
There are scores of bills new pend
ing In both branches of Congress to
amend the general immigration law.
The MOST important, according to
Chairman Johnson of Washington
State, is the proposal to include Mex
leo and other American countries in
the quota law.
One Of the alleged -ifreak proposi.
|tions is-tos admit. asidS from quotas.