Evening star., 1953-04-29
Asylum for Refugees

It requires little Imagination, even for those
who have never through force or equally COM
pelling circumstances been driven to abandon
their homes, to feel great sympathy for the
refugee populations of the world. In our time
there have been many such unfortunate groups.
The conflicts of the Far East, the Near East
and Europe -aftermathS all of World War IL
have created new communities of the homeless,
living on the scant hope either of returning to
their own lands or finding asylum where secu-
rity and dignity may once more be attained.
President Eisenhower was addressing him.
self to only one of these problemS-that of
Central and Western Europe-in his proposal
to Congress for emergency immigration legisla-
ton. Even at the end of World War I the cold
hand of communism drove Balts and white"
Russians from their own countries, and the
development of much of Central Europe behind
the Iron Curtain in the past seven years has
added greatly to this drift westward The
heaviest of these population flights within
Europe has occurred in divided Germany as an
estimated several hundred thousand persons
have streamed out of Russian-c controlled East
Germany seeking sanctuary first in West Berlin
and eventually in some of the free nations
where they might begin new lfe In the past
four months alone, approximately 100000 have
taken refuge in the allied sectors of the former
German capital
To West Berlin and to the Federal Republic
of West Germany, the problem has become
critical one of housing and OF livelihood for
the refugees. Significantly, the character of
this escapee population has changed during the
recent years-starting with heavy proportion
of Jews, intellectuals and small business men,
shifting later to a larger proportion of farmers
and agricultural workers. then to great numbers
of youths who seemingly were fleeing from
enforced military duty, and latterly to an in
creased number of skilled and SemiSkilled in
duStral workers.
For these and other blocS Of refugee
Europeans, the President has proposed that
Congress enact emergency legislation, within
the framework of the immigration laws" which
would permit an extra 100000 to come to the
United States within two-year period.
1t is not surprising that the initial con-
greSsional reaction should be a guarded one.
While 900 would be a small number per-
centagewise in our present population of more
than $50 million, there are understandable
questions about the qualifications for Self-Suf-
f1ciency and good citizenship which some OF
these refugees might have There are questions,
too, about national security interests and the
possibilities for adequate screening OF indi-
viduals who are coming from behind the Iron
Curtain. Authorities in West Berlin, for ex-
ample, are making every effort to weed out
those who might be Communist agents but it is
admitted that such checks as are possible are
not alright
Nevertheless, the United States is one OF
the countries where a certain proportion of the
good and the able among this homeless popula-
tion might proftably and humanely be absorbed.
The President has suggested that proper safe
guards be included in the proposed legislation.
Congress should give the matter serious con-
sderation, within the limitations he has
mentioned,