WESTERN HEMISPHERE IMMIGRATION 413

“These and the Southwest Texas Chamber of Commerce are interested in
cheap labor, quick profits, and to hell with the good of our country.”—J. Middleton,
 post commander, American Legion, Uvalde, Tex. .
This is one of the reasons that the farmer of Texas finds it impossible to improve
 his condition. He has to compete with the peon class of Mexicans in
raising and selling his cotton crop. 1 dare say that more than 1,000,000 bales
of last year’s cotton crop in Texas was raised by such a class of farmers. This
's one way of giving the cotton farmers some relief, by placing Mexico and other
sountries under the same quota applying to European immigration.”—M. J.
Tibilett, farmer, route 1, Victoria, Tex.
«This is to inform you that the farmers of the Rio Grande Valley are 95 per
sent for the Box bill.”’—Charles Worbs, Las Cruces, N. Mex.

COTTON PRODUCTION CHEAPEST WHERE MEXICAN LABOR USED

“One of the counties, Nueces, and one of the best locations in the county,
Robstown, for producing cotton cheap, tested the cost out on 10,000 acres for
1099. Here the land is level and the rows long. Two rows at a time has the
stalks cut, the land bedded, dragged off, planted and cultivated by tractor or
jeam as preferred. The labor, Mexican, is the cheapest in the belt for both
shopping and picking. The test was made by the county agent in cooperation
with the chamber of commerce and farmers. The per acre cost for one-third
of a bale per acre was $34.43. "—Farmers Marketing Journal, February, 1930.
“If you can get the Mexican quota you will have done more for the cotton
farmers than all the farm boards that could be appointed. The big cotton
farmers in south Texas, who plant thousands of acres, make and gather it with
Mexican labor. They branch out all over west Texas and wind up on the south
plains. All the farmers I have talked with are in favor of restrictions.”’—T. D.
Weddington, aged farmer, Hale Center, Tex.
“Y live in the northern part of New Jersey, in the heart of an agricultural district,
 surrounded by manufacturing cities. There are some Mexicans in this
section, not what might be termed a great many. They are not needed on the
farms or in the cities. They are degraded, dirty, immoral, and wholly undesirable.
 ’—Wm. H. Gould, route 1, Clifton, N. J.
“The native white laborer and small farmer necds protection against this
influx of alien labor. It is the howling minority that clamor for this class of
labor. ’—Ernest Bond, Beeville, Tex. }
“As a farmer and one that speaks this Mexican lingo as fast as they do, can
say that we got all the Mexicans in U.S. A. than we nced and more too. ”—G. N.
Wilson, merchant and farmer, Midland, Tex.

EFFECTS OF MEXICAN POPULATION ON SOCIAL AND POLITICAL CONDITIONS

Many of the Mexican people who have long inhabited portions of the Southwest
 participate in political affairs there. Many of these are, of course, worthy
people, but the majority of even our older Mexican population shows a persistent
 tendency to reproduce, wherever their numbers are sufficient, much the
same conditions which their Mexican compatriots have made and persistently
maintained in Mexico.
Few of the newer Mexican immigrants are naturalized. They stand at or
near the bottom of the list of the percentage of those who become citizens by
naturalization. A majority of the reports collected in this survey indicates
that, in the greater numbers of communities to which these migrating Mexicans
go, they do not participate mlicennly in public affairs; though there are some
295 reports of such participation. nly 115 of these report on the effect of
Mexican participation in political affairs. Nearly all of these come from cities
or sections where native Mexicans and Mexicans brought by older immigration
are numerous. Practically all of the 115 reports on the effect of such Mexican
participation in elections declare its influence to be bad.
All that is said on this subject in these reports may be summed up in a few
words. Generally, alien Mexicans do not have enough intelligence or interest in
public affairs to become citizens or to permit those who can vote to do so; but,
where they have resided long enough and are sufficiently numerous to permit
them to be utilized by political machines, they do participate and exercise an
influence almost wholly bad. This is at its worst in the boss and ring-ruled
cities and regions, where certain classes of politicians and corporations use them
for selfish purposes and with great harm to the public welfare. If their numbers
10526638 ———*"