220 WESTERN HEMISPHERE IMMIGRATION

The Cuairman, You reslize it is quite a little task to make a
survey of this thing throughout the United States?
‘Mr. Tavror. Yes; I realize that. I do feel, though, that before a
thing of this kind is done, involving as much as this involves, there
should be such an investigation that the evidence that is brought in
will give you the whole story of both sides rather than just one side.
The CrairmMaN. We will give you the volumes of testimony that
have been taken on this particular subject, 15 of them.
Mr. Tavior. I have the hearings of two years ago, covering about a
thousand pages of testimony.
The CuairmaN. Do you have the one on seasonal labor?
Mr. Tayror. All I have is the testimony of two years ago.
Mr. Box. They commenced here in 1919, when 1 had not been on
this committee over 60 days, and told us then that unless we repealed
the contract labor law, the head tax, and the visa fees, we would ruin
the Southwest. That is what they told us then, if we would not break
down part of the law. That is in the hearings, and I invite the
gentleman’s attention to those hearings.
Mr. Tayror. There is no doubt but what you hear all kinds of
testimony.
Mr. FreE. As a matter of fact, this thing has just shifted from one
race to the other. First we had the Chinese to do this sort of work.
Then he was excluded. Then in came the Japanese, and for a time,
particularly in my own State and valley and he did this work for a
time, and then we had a good many Portuguese, and then when the
Portuguese got up into other classes of work, another class was looked
for, and since that time it has been shifting from Filipinos to Porto
Ricans and to Mexicans. In other words, you are eliminating one
at a time, so that it is a shifting picture, dealing with a different race
all the time, with a different picture before you.
Mr. Tavror. That is very true.
Mr. Box. In reply to that, Mr. Free, there is some truth in that,
of course, because Congress must look at this thing from a national
standpoint, and we had to deal with these elements, and all the while
we have been doing this, people in other sections of the country,
manufacturers’ associations and others, have come here and told us
that if we passed the 1924 act it would ruin the country. The coal
industry said it would ruin that industry. These gentlemen are
entitled to present their view, and if they are right they will prevail.
I never try to resist facts, and if you gentlemen are correct in that,
you will prevail. It just depends on which one of us is right.
Mr. Tayror. Take this whole question of the immigration problem.
When the Japanese question was up or the Chinese question was up,
did you hear the agricultural communities saying a word?
Mr. Box. They did on the Japanese.
Mr. Tavror. Not my organization.
Mr. Box. I do not know about these organizations.
Mr. Tayror. But these organizations, who were in many instances
using those people, never said a word. They did not bring the complaint
 that you just raised, and say ‘If you do this you will ruin us.”
Mr. Box. Individuals did. You gentlemen speak ably and eloquently,
 and I know they spoke well.