228 WESTERN HEMISPHERE IMMIGRATION
TREMENDOUS ECONOMIC VALUES AFFECTED

We do not have complete statistics available for all of these States, but when
we tell you that last year over 300,000 carloads of perishable agricultural commodities
 were produced in and shipped out of these States, and that the plant
products of California alone are annually valued at approximately half a billion
dollars, you will realize something of what it would mean to shut off completely
the common labor supply of this territory, or even materially to reduce it.
Stated a little more explicitly, and in regard to a locality with which we are
completely familiar, the Imperial Valley 30 years ago was a desert, and would
still be a desert, were it not for Mexican labor, due chiefly to the character of its
climate. The Imperial Valley to-day, because it has a supply of Mexican common
 labor, produces 50,000 carloads of agricultural products each year, of a value
of from 25 to 35 millions of dollars, depending on market prices.
Can the American Government, without a thorough development of the facts
and careful attention to a future program, afford to dispossess its citizens of that
amount of business, all of which is a definite contribution to the wealth of this
country? I think not.
Then, remember that the Imperial Valley is but a drop in the bucket in comparison
 to these Southwestern States, which would be so vitally affected by the
proposal to apply the quota to Mexicans.

SPECIALTY CROPS OF WESTERN STATES
Speaking specifically for California, the census shows that we have 136,400
farmers in that State.
“Eighty per cent of them are, to the greater extent, one-man propositions up
to the period of harvest, when they require from 5 to 100 casual laborers.”
For instance, one farmer can by himself take care of a sufficient acreage of
apricot orchard to supply sufficient work in the harvesting to require 15 to 20
men in getting off the fruit after it ripens and before it spoils. He can not get
his neighbors to help for their fruit also is reaching maturity at the same time,
and they too must have 20 men for every man required before.
“California’s agriculture is highly scientific, specialized, and her product in
the main perishable, off-season, and highly standardized. Inability of the farmer
to get his crop on the market when ripe spells his ruin.
“’California’s agriculture, due to the high cost of production, distance from
market, and being mainly off-season, is excluded from the possibilities of a competitive
 market’’ on staple crops which may be produced with less peak labor demands
 than can the specialty crops produced in California.
‘““California’s farmers pay $105,346,372 annually for agricultural labor, or 12
per cent of the entire agricultural labor costs of the United States.”
EDUCATION OF AMBRICANS AWAY FROM COMMON LABOR

When we say, without fear of successful contradiction, that it is impossible to
secure American labor to do the major part of this work it is eivdent that the
economic effect of exclusion would be more far-reaching than most of us imagine.
One has but to read page after page of these Congressional hearings to become
convinced that the American whites have been educated away from hard, physical
labor, particularly common labor, and more particularly itinerant labor, and even
the proponents of exclusion grant that the education of the American for higher
pursuits is entirely legitimate and proper. They fail, however, to recognize that
the menial tasks must be performed by some one, and have thus far utterly failed
to tell us where the people to do these tasks are to come from. They cite the
millions of unemployed in the Nation to-day, saying these are the people who
should have the jobs. One of their favored authorities stated in a public meeting
that if the Mexican were removed from the picture ample American labor would
flow in to take his place, and to illustrate said:
“If I put my finger in a glass of water, obviously no water can occupy the
space where my finger is, but if I remove my finger, does it leave a hole? N 0, it
closes immediately. So would it be with American labor were Mexican labor
withdrawn.”
Thus do they draw conclusions from partial statements of facts. They fail
completely to take into consideration the fact that by our educational methods
we are educating our Americans away from hard work and menial tasks, particularly
 agricultural. The result is that instead of having one’s finger in a glass of
Auid water, the water, by our educational processes, has become congealed.
Ve vial of the finger, therefore. does not result in the immediate filling up
of the hole.