Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-05-26
NYE AND BOXA ARGUE.
NATIONAL ORIGINS
North Dakotan Attacks
Clause as Texan Defends
1t in Radio Forum.

df our country at its inception back in
the colonial days. If n given percent
age of our whole population traced its
ancestry back. let US say to Norway,
then under the national origins plan Of
immigration quotas TING number Of i'm
migrants admitted annually from Nor
way would be the same percentage Of
the total number of immigrants to be
admitted, the total number being fixed
at 10000. Tl1Ht was the theory Ut
the national origins plan. Who could
complain against such plan? None
dared to; nome wanted 10.
TinB ts Work Quotas.
However. it was at the time cuncEded
that 1t would take some little time 10
work out the quotas ON TINS basis and
theory and it was necessary 10 SET up
Sune Temporary machinery TO govern
quotas until the national origins quotas
SHOULD be determined. 1t waS deter
mined to admit from eHcf1 OF the quota
countries per cent, of the total foreign
l1Br1 population fhunds in America frUnI
those quota countries by the census OF
1890. This would bring us appr0Ha-
nately 100000 the SHINE number SIS
was provided for in the national origins
uian. Under this plan. II the census
OF 1890 showed population OF 25s6OD
in America who WE'RE born IN Belgium.
then Belgium, under thu temporary
quota basis, would. bF entitled To send
SD immigrants to uE annually, TINS
being 2 per cent of ti1Et total.
It is this basis of immigration quotas.
based upon the 1890 CELSIUS OF foreign
born in America, which has since 1924
been operative and which Will continue
TO operate until the national origins
Milan becomes effective or until change
Is made in the law.
Ia the immigration act Of 1924 Con-
sgHess providstf for a commission To
etietermine Whist tiIE quotas would BIZ
Under the national origins CLAUSE. This
commission consisted of tfie Secretaries
of StHte, Commerce and Lab6r in the
PRESIDENTS cabinet. They were Secre-
'tardeS Kellogg, Hoover and Davis. This
commission straightway put experts TO
the. task of feTTetinE. ont the facts upon
ywfaich to base quotas under the national
origins plan and from 1924 until very
recently these experts have been at
work.
Congress Postponed Date.
In 1927, after nearly three years OF
study, figures were. submitted by the
commission to Congress. They were not
hacked by that confidence which
seemed essential and uncertainty as to
their ACCURACY caused Congress- tor post
origins plan for a. yezx.
The,experts and the commission sub
1nitted another set OF figures in 1923.
Again were they declared to- be mac
rcurate and not final.
In each case, the commission itself
made clear It's lack of conffdence in the
figures, and again there was postpone
rTient of the effectiveness of the ma
rtional origins basis. Then. this year, in
February, another statement was SUBJ
united by the experts showing what
they had again concluded would be
the quota for each country under this
national origins plan. In many cases
1T was 'as1di1erent from the last state
nlent submitted as there Is difference
between night and day.
Following the submission of the last |
statement and late in tl1e life OF the
hast session OF Congress; Z introduced
"a resolution which again called for
1ooStponenaent, but fight ending in a
aiiibuster against the move Ia postpone
was undertaken. At this new and spe-
ccial session of Congress bills to repeal
send resolutions to- postpone have BEEN
offered, but they have bSen tied up I'm
committee so as to- deny to Congress
the chance to vote upon the question
cof repeal or pcstponement. However. an
agreement now seems to prevail which
will afford the Senate, some time next
strength upon the issue. So evenly di-
vTided is sentiment upUI this question:
that one or two votes in the Senate is
rquite apt todaetermine the result.
Fear rEstimxtes MRie..
I have recited the differing cunrii--
eeions which have been reached by the
Commission saEd it's experts In the
sstudy of the question which has been
submitted 10 CDOngTUsS No lesss than
flour such estimates; for estimates and
uncertainties they must now be- ar
ceepted as being, ,hapd been submitted by
the same commissions and experts. And
what variety Of @lesses they were!
Indeed, 1t Is little wonder that. the
three members of the commission Sec-
rretaries Kellogg, Hoover and Davis de-
cleared the national origins plan to be-
inaccurate and mot rpra1tiCziie. Let us
seee how thesesestama teS have varied I'm
THE cases of ,affewocf the countries:
The four Austrian estimates we're aE
follows: 2, III, 1s1e6, .d3R Lag!
The Betgaancquota7wash eSt estimated
eat Isl. Then later estimates deciazEsf
11304
The frstggnesseen -ths French qiota
vwas 1,772, then 1887, tiIeiT $500 and
a6nally 3,086.
Germany was first rplacat at 2uog8
s0b1o CdSl1 ouDcCAHDx1U EcSI1fIlHGCr IddSeu
THE total unit the -1fnal nfiures declared
Germany entitledsto735s5T.
Hungary was first Sset at 1,s21, aE1cf
subsequent studies and estimates
brought 1t down TO S69
Ireland was first ggiven $3.50 ay it's
quota. Then following eestimates saw its
gradually increased to more than twice
that number
variation of s2ooo Is shown in THE
various quotas rNaekPfs71{ned rSiisp pola,1pfs
RuSsia'S quotas, as arrived at by the
experts, wobbled all the way from 4OO2
70 2,7S4. Switzerland was first de-
clared entitled 10 783 under the ma
tional origins plan, and aater figures
gave 1t 1907
And so 1t sgoes throughout the list
OF countries coming under the quota
laws. -Four different sstudies brought
four different conclusions 1t all goes.
TO demonstrate how inaccurate must be
conclusions as to just what percentage
of our population traces its origin to
this, that and the other country. It
all gives us an understanding of what
prompted Mr.. Hoover, sas a candidate
for President, 10 declare his belief that
the national origins plan was mac
curate and ought to be repealed. and.
further, what prompted him 10 ask in
his first message to Congress, for it's
repeal.
Any basis Of immigration quotas must
be reasonably accurate before people
generally can be expected TO accept ID
as proper basis. But, in spite of this
very intelligent opposition to national
origins, a determined effort is being
made to force national origins to be-
come effective July / of this year, as
it will become effective if it is not
repealed or postponed before then.
If figures were: available showing i'm