Dirva = Field. [volume] (Cleveland, Ohio) 1915-current, 1947-05-16
BY Ralph w. Page

HEARINGS before the Judiciary
Committee of the House and ma
tional debate will shortly open upon
measure (H.R.2910) introduced by
Representative William j. Stratton
(R-Ill).
The "Stratton Act" permits 100,-
600 refugees now in detention camps
in Germany, Austria and Italy to be
admitted into the United States each
year for the next four years. They
must all be people who have become
homeless due to the war, and who
are unable or unwilling to return
to their own country because of per-
secution or fear of persecution be-
cause of their race, religion or po-
litical opinions. All of them are
held in this terror because of their
opposition either to Nazism or Com
munism.
These people arc mainly Poles,
Estonians, Latvians, Lithua n il s.,
Yugoslavs and Ukrainians fleeing
the vengeance of the Soviets. They
have been classified as farmers, con-
struction workers, skilled mechanics,
nurses, domestic servants, teachers,
doctors, dentists and engineers. Each
one will have to conform to the
immigration law showing means for
his support, and preference will be
given to those with relatives here
and those who fought in the u. S.
Army.
Much of the opening discussion is
centered on a trivial and almost ir-
relevant argument. This is that the
only consideration should be the
purely selfish question of whether
this small trickle of immigrants
would be an assest or a burden to
the country.
/ suppose this has to be argued
for the benefit of those who still
believe that national policy should
be exclusively selfish, isolationist,
non cooperative and essentially in
different if not hostile to the well
fare or interests of other people.
The conclusive answer to these
folk is that so few have come here
in recent years, that these entries
will still fail to fill the quotas pro-
vided for in our stringent immigra-
tion laws for the period; that these
people bring needed skil]s and SER
vices; that in any case the number
is SO small that it can make no inn
preston upon any community -
and that for $50 years we have easi-
ly absorbed to our benefit millions
upon millions of such people. In
fact, we are these people.
But citizens should know that all
this is SO immaterial as to be neg
ligible. Today our country faces a
world crisis in which it is the main
stay and champion of human free
dom, national and international mo-
rality, and the rule of law through
out the world. To this end we are
engaged in gigantic effort to en-
list upon our side those who are
still free and who still think in
terms of government by the people
and not by dictators. And in this
contest we are spending billions of
dollars and maintaining military, Dip
lomatic and civilian agencies across
the globe.
We have trusted Secretary Mar
shall with the command of this en-
endeavor. He has taken the assign
ment upon the only possible under
standing, which is that the policy
of the United States is determined
exclusively by the moral law and
our conceptions of justice and an
unalterable resolve to carry out our
share of all responsibilities.
One of the greatest impediments
to the recovery of our allies in this
situation-and expense and detri-
ment to our own administration in
Europe-are these barbaric concen-
tration camps filled with people who
are desperate only because they
espoused our cause. Responsibility
for dispensing them to permanent
homes lies with the United Nations
and particularly with the democracy
that we are supporting.
The Secretary has emphasized that
it is ipconceivable that we should
repudiate this responsibility, create
throughout the world the impress
sion that we will not even take our
share of the burdens Of information.
al harmony, and actually insist upon
maintaining this evil in the danger
Gus areas of the conflict. To do