NATIONAL ORIGINS PROVISION OF IMMIGRATION LAW 145
Senator Rep. Fifty-three million are immigrants and descendants
of immigrants since 1790?
Representative McCormack. Since 17901
Senator Reep. That is fair, is it not?
Representative McCormack. No, I do not know whether it is or
not. The means of ascertainment are so indefinite that nobody can
say it 1s fair.
In any event, the Congress is passing the buck, to my way of
thinking. The President’s commission, that refuses to other than
transmit to the President, who in turn transmits to Congress the
quotas, which the six gentlemen appointed by the three department
heads have established, and their reports bear the greatest evidence
of uncertainty. Take Captain Trevor’s statements, which of course
are unreliable, but take the first report of Doctor Hill and his
associates, where they stated it would be approximately correct; and
take their second report and note the marked difference.
The quotas will affect those of Norwegian, Danish, or Scandina-
vian descent, Swiss descent, those of southern Ireland and of German
descent; and the very elements, if your want to give weight to
the representative of the American Legion’s argument, that con-
tributed most prominently with the English to the building up of
this country are the ones who would be discriminated against.
Senator Regn. You mean the Germans?
Representative McCormack. The Germans, Irish, Danes, those of
Scandinavian descent ; the rest will be slightly discriminated against,
as well as the Swiss.
Senator Reep. You mean discriminated against in that they would
have their present quotas cut down; is that what you mean by
“ discriminated ”¢
Representative McCormack. Oh, no.
Senator Rrep. Do you think that the German element in the
United States is half again as large as the British, Scotch, Welsh,
and Ulster element?
Representative McCormack. Why, from my study of immigration
and applying matters of common knowledge as to the productivity
of the Germans, for which they are to be complimented. I would
not be a bit surprised but what 1t is more.
Senator Reep. Do you think it is more than half again as large
as the British?
Representative McCormack. I would not want to say that, Sena-
tor; I am not going to express my opinion as to how much more.
Senator Rerp. Do you think it is more?
Representative McCormack. Yes.
Senator Reep. Does it strike you as odd, then, that in the studies
5f the German element made by Germans, such as Faust’s book on
the German element in the United States, they should claim only
17 per cent? It is singularly modest. is it not. for a prevonderance
aroup ?
Representative McCormack. I will not talk about the modesty.
But it must be borne in mind that the English immigration to Amer-
ica decreased considerably after the two wars; at least it was not as
great as it ordinarily would be if we had still remained a colony.
England was concerned with colonizing her own possessions as she
should have been. and she subsidized immigrants going to her vari-
