WESTERN HEMISPHERE IMMIGRATION 79

Mr. Bent. At this moment I would not say we had. We have no
means of knowing. The chamber does not initiate, of itself, questions
of that kind. Questions of this kind are pressed upon it by some of its
organization members.” They send in a resolution, and ask that it be
considered, or that it be sent out with a referendum; and the chamber
1s not only obligated to carry out the wish thus expressed, but to carry
1t out whether 1t meets with the approval of the board of directors or
not.
In 1927 there was an urgent request from members to bring up the
Mexican quota proposition, and since then there has been no action.
Realizing the importance of the question, however, the chamber has
kept up its studies, and intended to make its report within the next
two months.
Mr. Scunvemer. You live in Los Angeles now?
Mr. Bent. Yes, sir.
Mr. ScuneipER. Of course you have, of your own knowledge, a
good idea of the Mexican immigration situation there.
Mr. Bent. Locally.
Mr. Scaneiper. You do not speak now for the whole chamber of
commerce, for any time since 1927, do you?
Mr. Bent. No, sir.
Mr. Scaneiper. Well, are you familiar with the fact that last year
the Department of State, through an agency in its regulation or
method of handling Mexican immigration. cut down the immigration
from Mexico very noticeably?
Mr. Bent. Yes, sir.
Mr. Scuneiper. What effect did that have on production in the
southwestern sections?
Mr. Bent. If it had not been for certain seasonal happenings, it
would have been serious. It so happened that crop conditions
favored us, and the cotton crops could be handled with a diminished
labor supply. If it had been like some years in the past, we would
have lost a great percentage of the crops.
Mz. ScuneipeEr. But production has not been diminished or been
restricted in any way by reason of this restriction the State Devartment
 put on?
Mr. Bent. Not yet.
Mr. Scuvgmer. I think a gentleman testified yesterday or the
day before that the production, to a general extent. had never heen
curtailed any.
Of course you are identified with the business interests of your
Section. You appreciate fairly, between man and man, that this
Mexican situation is a kind of three-cornered situation where the
farmers are naturally interested, where the restriction against immigration
 covers his particular farm labor, but what do you say about
this: Do you not think that the natural increase in the population
of the Mexicans in this country now would be sufficient to meet the
natural increase in the production that you expect in that territory
without any more influx of new Mexican blood into this country?
Mr. Bent. It would be my personal opinion that the natural in-Crease
 in population of the Mexicans now here would be far from adequate
 to meet our heavv demand for seasonal labor. To tend and