70 WESTERN HEMISPHERE IMMIGRATION
* The Cuairman. Does the law of the State of California forbid the
marriage of whites and Mexicans?
Mr. CaanpLER. No, sir; I do not think it does.
The CuairMan., Do your laws forbid the marriage of whites and
orientals?
Mr. CHANDLER. Yes, sir,
The Cuarrman. Following out what you say, I have a letter
intended for the committee, from Mr. R. E. Wood, president of Sears,
Roebuck &amp; Co., in which he approves of these bills, which are really
skeleton bills yet to be perfected. He says he has been a student of
immigration for the past 10 years, and wants to go on record in favor
of the passage of these bills. He says:
I think every citizen engaged in merchandising realizes that it is to the best
interest of business to eliminate the immigration of the illiterate and ignorant
laborers, who drag -down rather than build up communities in which they
establish themselves.
Then he says:

As a specific case, the steel industry as a whole bitterly opposed the Johnson
Act when it was originally introduced, saying that if the cheap, ignorant labor
from Europe were cut off, it would be a body blow to the steel industry. Nevertheless
 that industry has prospered as it never prospered before, when there was
no immigration restriction, and I believe the heads of the steel industry would
be disposed to state that they made a mistake.
The CrairmaN. In fact, the late Mr. Gary did so, when he finally
changed front on his attitude that they must have an ever-increasing
flow of cheaper and cheaper labor; that he decided that the present
gain was not worth the future cost. 1 consider that as big a change
by a former believer in cheaper labor as ever made by any big, brainy
man.
Mr. Cuanprer. 1 think he was unquestionably right, and it is
exactly on that basis that I have been willing to go against my private
interest to see the Mexicans come in who do not become citizens.
The Mexican peon does not settles; he comes and earns something
and goes back.
It also makes us better neighbors of Mexico, and we want to be
good neighbors. The peon goes back with a lot of information about
modern methods of farming; and so we are helping him and helping
our neighbor. And I know further than that from my discussion
with leading Mexican citizens that the Mexican Government would
be very glad to negotiate. I have always felt, too, that an exclusion
law would offend a very sensitive people. They would be perfectly
willing to stop this influx. They do not care to have those men coming
 in, except they do not like to be discriminated against, or to have
legislation enacted offensive to them as a race; and I think it would
be bad policy to pass that law on that account.
The CrairmanN. Now, that is where this committee is endeavoring
to make a bill that treats every country on this hemisphere, all the
islands and the countries north and south, alike. We put the shoe on
the other foot. Instead of designating an out-and-out restriction, we
grant a provision for three times as many to come into the United
States as go to those various countries from the United States.
Now, my information is that the Mexican Government would be
pleased if their laborers were not sucked into the United States for
temporary periods.