Evening star., 1934-05-05
Further Reasons Why Perkins
Committee Report Should Be Lost

To the Editor Of The star:
The letter of Mr. G. w. Butt in
your columns recently headed Sec
retary Perkins Committees Report
Should Be Pigeonholed, gives several
cogent reasons for such deserved con-
signment. But l am sure Mr.. Butt
had not seen a copy of the report,
which has finally Just been made ac-
cessible to the public: for if he had.
he would have given even more cogent
reasons for such a worthy disposition
of it.
The Perkins committee report. alter
admitting the imperative need of i'm
migration restriction and alien depor-
tation legislation. utterly fails to make
single additional restrictive recon-
mendation, and even goes on III Its
80 specific, pTo-alien and anti-Amer-
lean recommendations to urge the re-
peal of every existing alien depOrta-
ton provision of a mandatory char
acter contained in existing law. Quite
the reverse are the recommendations
Of the committee appointed previously
by the President, which was directed
by executive order, dated April 70,
1888. to submit its recommendations
in time for submission TO the next
tthat is. this) session OF Congress.
According to an address delivered
by Prof. Martin Of the University oil
the State of Washington. who was
member of the Presidents lmmlgra-
ton Committee-the other members
being equally representative geograpn-
ically as we'll as unidentified with Or
ganized anti-reStrictiOn and pro-anen
organizatiOnS-Stat that the report
of the Presidents committee was
made in writing to Secretary PERKINS
the middle of last December ana,
among other things, recommended
that existing European quota restric-
tions be applied to countries OF IIlls
hemisphere, the admlnlstfatiVe anu
alleged arbitrary reduction OF lmmi-
grafton by the hundreds OF thouSanos
through visa refuSalS tsee adureSs ol
John Farr Simmons IN press release
of the Department OF States AprH II,
1890 be put on basis Oh law anu
even that there should be lnlVerSai
enrolment of all persons in the Unlteo
states SO that the bootlegglng OF
aliens could be curbed and the ferret
ing out of gangsters, gunmen anu
racketeers made possible.
Not only should the report OF the
Perkins Committee OF the 40 Ne"
Workers. many of whom nave Deeh
identified for years with pro-aheh
and anti-restriction propaganda, DC
niOaonholed. but the report OF the
Presidents Committee shoulo oe uli-
pipeonholed. Instead OF the DepaIE-
ment of Labor transmitting nVe DiliS
to Congress as administration MEAS
ures' carrying out the anti-restrlctloii
racommenda tions of the Perkins COM
noittee one of which. H. r. 1868, pro
noses the absolute repeal OF every eX-
isting mandatory provision VI existing
alien deportation legislation and the
unoualified repeal of provisions ike
that in section 19 of the act OF Feo-
ruarv S. 1917. deporting aliens VINO
teach and preach the overthrow OF
o,1r Government by force and even the
assassination of public ofhclalS, tnere
ought to be administration meas
ures" applying the same restrictions
of immigration that now are appheo
to European countries to some coun-
tries of this hemisphere, and no such
comforting of autocratic power on the
Secretary of Labor as that proposed
in H. r. 1868, whereby she could de-
port or not deport an alien convicted
Of crime. as she thinks it in the pub
lie interest" To quote from a letter
written by President Roosevelt on the
28th ultimo with reference to another
bill. H. R. 1907. the ''vesting' of any
such autocratic authority lis incom-
patible with American ideals of lib
erty. It is destructive of the char
acter and self-respect of a great race"
and the President might we'll have
added that ~ such unlimited power