WESTERN HEMISPHERE IMMIGRATION 389

properly a function of Congress. In the second place the plea for a
joint committee emphasizes the point that the people who favor these
Mexicans coming into the United States realize the restriction is
coming, and any investigation they are asking for is but a plea for
delay, and the longer the matter is delayed the worse it will get. Tt
is like the question of the indpendence of the Filipinos.
The Cuairman. The chairman has received a number of letters
from business concerns and others in El Paso and Del Rio, Tex,
urging that the committee visit the territory down there and report
on the condition there. There are also communications from Brownsville,
 Tex., Las Crucis and Del Rio Chamber of Commerce, and some
sthers, extending their invitation for the committee to visit their
country and see conditions for themselves. They make the offer at
their own expense.
Mr. Box. I wish the voice of the people should say that this thing
should prevail in Congress. First, I want to deal with the probability
of our having a lot of bloodshed out there, for the American man will
not be driven out of his employment and made to starve in order to
see his means of livelihood pass to foreigners. We might as well be
advised on that now.
I have a letter here from the director of the Delmonte Union in
which he says, in paragraph 8 of the communication, that “the racial
feeling is growing more and more bitter every year.”
Then I have a letter written by a Mr. Lenhart, of Los Angeles.
He says that men were working out there for $4 a day; and they fired
the whole bunch of them and that the Mexicans took their places at
$2.50 per day, adding:

Let us have prompt action from the Senate and the Congress and the President,
 or the common people will take it in their own hands and there will be lots
of bloodshed.
The CrairMaN. This is not for the record. It is not desirable in
this committee that we should by testimony or otherwise make statements
 for the record or not for the record that might lead to bad
feelings in the minds of any or lead to a bad situation. I hope the
newspaper men will bear with me in this request and consider we
were in an executive hearing so far as such comments are concerned.
The committee has tried for years to handle this subject without
prejudice to any race, and we try to handle it without harsh feeling
toward any race, and particularly the Mexicans. But everybody
knows there is a great deal of trouble on edge there and at other
points throughout the country, and it is incumbent upon the committee
 and the newspaper men and the public generally to handle
such matters with proper caution.
Mr. Box. The gentleman from Texas presents this, not because
he hopes anything of this sort will come—not believing that you can
hide the fact by hiding it from this committee—but the fact certainly
exists, and he who hides it from this committee and from the country
is doing both a disservice.
The CuatrMAN. Is there any other witness this morning?
(No response.)
The CrmareMaN. In regard to this situation about Harlington,
mentioned by the witness, there are two letters which have been referred
 to the chairman. one under date of February 3, by the director