Montana labor news., 1939-08-31
legislative news
LETTER


rumors that so-called anti-alien bills
would be quietly buried in Senate
committees and not acted upon at
this session are now completely
spiked. What happened this week
should stir into action those who
have rested easy and confident in
this perniciously false hope.
l. The Senate Judiciary commit
tee unanimously recommended pas
sage of the Hobbs Concentration
Camp Bill, previously passed by the
House. I
2. The Senate immigration COM
mittee reported without dissenting
vote a bill based on n of the most
vicious and drastic of all the pro-
posals of Senator Robert Rice Reyn-
olds, the 'Tarheel Fuehrer."
Readers of this newsletter are
sufficiently familiar with the Hobbs
bill, which institutes the principle
of MISUNDERSTANDING up to
life-without trial, in the United
States, to recognize the tremendous
dangers it contains. 1t sets up in the
United States precisely the same pro-
cedure of Imprisonment of political
opponents that characterizes Hitler's
concentration camps.
Among other things, the Reynolds
bill as reported out IS. 400 with
committee amendments), provides
for registration of all aliens, obliging
them to carry Identification cards.
This would mean that citizens would
have to carry proof of citizenship
also, to answer any challenge which
might be made by police officers
who might suspect, OF pretend to
suspect for their own purposes, that
they were aliens. It means, and
Senator Reynolds wants it to mean,
a domestic passport system whereby
every citizen would have to carry a
registration card before he could
buy a railroad ticket, travel by al
from city to city, rent a dwelling
place, register at a hotel, etc, It
means also a government-made labor
blacklist.
The Reynolds bill provides for
suspension of all immigration for
five years-so that the United States
cannot receive any refugees from
fascist countries. Demagogically, the
committee threw into this bill also
the provisions of the Wagner bill
for admission of 10000 refugee chill
dren per year from Germany. They
hope to do some trading-if you
want the refugee children, you have
to take the fascist stuff that goes
with it. Fortunately that is not the
case. The entire Reynolds bill can
be defeated without prejudice to the
refugee children bill.
The present practice of permitting
aliens who entered illegally many
years ago, helped to build the coun-
try, acquired families, etc, to regu-
larize their status here is forbidden
by the Reynolds bill.
Extension Of visas to refugees who
came here as visitors beyond twelve
months is forbidden, and their re-
turn to Germany or whatever other
fascist land they came from is made
mandatory upon the expiration of
that period.
There are other technical amend
ments to the present immigration
law, to make life more difficult for
non-citizens-likely to inspire the
alien with anything but love for the
government of the land of his adop-
ton.
Altogether this is a bill to gladden.
Hitler's heart, as it warns the blood
pump of the bucolic demagogue
from North Carolina.
The danger of actual passage of
these measures in the Senate-which
would make the Hobbs bill law and
send the Reynolds opus to a sym
pathetic House-is very great. The
Judiciary committee has eighteen
votes all by itself, and swings a lot
of weight besides. Measures favor
ably reported by it or by the immi-
grafton committee are almost in
variably passed unless there is a
tremendous protest movement de-
veloped.
Real quick action now, irrespec-
tive of what may have been done
before by organizations and individ-
uals, is needed.