Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-01-29
BACKGROUND OF EVENTS
BY PAUL Y. COLLINS.

What's the use of building cruisers to
keep the enemy off cur. shores, and then
letting him come in through the steer
age of every passenger vessel that
| crosses the seven seas? That seems to
be the problem now facing the Senate.
For the Senate is getting used to twin
measures under simultaneous consid-
Grafton. First, the Senators had to
choose between the treaty outlawing
war and the cruiser bill making war
unwholesome to the enemy; now 1t is
| bordering over the cruiser bill and the
immigration problem. Which shall take
| precedence?
All Americans agree that unless we
| limit admittance of foreign immigra-
ton. we shall be overwhelmed with the
millions of "outlanders" fleeing from
| intolerable conditions of poverty and
oppression in their home lands, SO there
| Is no open debate over the need Of i'm
migration restriction. But, what kind OF
immigrants may be acceptable even un-
der limitations? >~e = -
Immediately after the World War,
millions of Europeans were discovered
planning to swarm into America. We
| actually received, in 1921, 100000. 900
| from Italy, Poland and the southeastern
European nations, while the State De-
| partment estimated that 1850, 900 Ger
mans, 350,0o0 Polish Jews and 100000
| Italians were planning to join US the
following year.
Congress fastened to shut the gate
by passing a law limiting immigration
| to per cent of each nationality of for
eign- born residents already here in
| 1910, according to the 1910 census.
Later the limit was reduced to Q per
cent. That law continued in force up
| to 1924.
But the practical result was discover
ed that upon that 1910 basis OF resi-
dents actually born abroad 40 per cent
of all immigration came from South
eastern Europe, although only Is per
cent of our total population had origi-
| mated from southeastern European
| birth.
This original basis was not put upon
descent frcm foreign ancestry. but upon
actual foreign birth Of the immigrants
| then in America. AS the immigration
of recent years had come largely from
| Southeastern Europe. that gave a
larger number of foreign birth" &C
| tually here, constituting basis OF the
per cent quotas.
| To change the census, on which to
| base calculations, to the 1920 census
| did not improve matters OF selection OF
| nationalities, for still the large number
of recent immigrants had come from
Southeastern Europe-Greece, CZecho-
slovakia. Jugoslavia and Italy. The
| 1890 basis, which was suggested. would
have given 81 per cent of our immi-
grafton to our recent enemy-Germany.
1 rrlN-- 1Af hnffnF
as a basis of quotas. Up to 1924 all
| that was thought of was to count each
nationality within our country, and see
how many had been born abroad, then
lay out quotas based upon fixed per-
centage of the foreign born already
admitted. That did not take into ac-
count the second generations OF foreign
born parentage, but born in America
/ after the parents had immigrated.
Much less did it recognize Americans
whose ancestors had come over in the
Mayflower or the Dove before the war. q"
| X X -
| In 1924 Senator David A. Reed OF
! Pennsylvania introduced a bill which
discovered that America was primarily
inhabited by Americans, and these had
as much interest in preserving the pure
| bloodS as they had in the exact proper
ton of miXed-bloodS from Europe. II
was In that bill that the whole popu-
iation was taken into consideration, and
the basis of quotas of immigrants to
be accepted was taken on the general
basis of the nation in which the citi-
zenS had originated, even back to an
cestry. Americans are recognized as
we'll as foreigners in preserving the
American country.
This meant that by examining the
census it was to be ascertained from
what lines of ancestry the people had
come-in what general proportion.
Also, the total limit was fixed at $50 900.
aside from immigration coming from
countries Of this hemisphere, for there
! is no restriction on Canadians, Mexi-
cans nor any other nationality born in
North or Central or South America
more's the pity. perhaps, according to
| the restrictioniSts.
I u y X X
] This. Reed bill was passed. to go into
| effect July l, 1923, but subsequently
Congress postponed the date for its