148 NATIONAL ORIGINS PROVISION OF IMMIGRATION LAW 
incident to the independence of this country. Under the 1890 status 
the late comers who did not share in the hardships and sacrifices of 
the founders of this Republic are given preferential consideration 
over the parent Anglo-Saxon stock to the exclusion of the latter, to 
such an unwarranted degree as to make the present basis not only 
unsound but dangerous. 
The two principal reasons for the enactment of the immigration 
act were (1) the necessity of not further deranging our economic 
life by a flood of immigrants from countries with specially heavy 
war burdens and (2) the reduction of the number of immigrants 
to a point where they can be assimilated. We discovered after we 
entered the World War that the ‘influx of foreign population had 
been altogether too great to be assimilated. As this is an English- 
speaking Anglo-Saxon country, it is clear that English-speaking 
people from other countries will assimilate much more readily than 
people from countries not using the English language. For this 
reason, if there is any preferential basis to be established. it should 
be given to people of Anglo-Saxon origin. 
I do not mean to intimate for a minute that there are not large 
numbers of people from countries other than English-speaking who 
have done their full share as citizens since they came to this country, 
but that does not entitle their country of origin to an unwarranted 
preferential basis over the countries from which the bulk of our 
parent stock originated. 
Proponents of the Nye resolution have used a few complications in 
the matter of origin of individuals in an attempt to show the futility 
of determining the country of origin, but such cases would amount to 
only a small fraction not sufficient to detract from the soundness 
of the national origins basis. 
From my observations during the World War I do not believe 
that doubt in national origins cases would exceed 15 per cent, and, to 
my mind, a proposition which shows a margin of 80 to 85 per cent 
of definite determination is certainly a sound one. 
From data which has come under my observation from time to 
time the doubt as to the workability of the national origins basis 
has been initiated by those who know the unsound basis of the 1890 
foreign-born population, under which certain countries get a prefer- 
ential status to the detriment of other countries. Under the national 
origins basis the 1890 census basis would be replaced by a more 
equitable basis, under which this unwarranted preference would be 
eradicated. 
We recognize fully to-day the necessity of the assimilation of for- 
eign elements, if the country is to remain in control of its Anglo- 
Saxon founder stock. If the World War had not forcibly brought 
this fact to the front it is possible that this country would have 
suffered the fate of the Roman empire, which fell because of the 
great influx of foreign elements who were not assimilated, and for 
that reason were not interested in the principles on which the Empire 
was founded. 
In 1908 A. P. Schultz, in Race or Mongrel, page 257, states: 
Up. to the middle of the last century a distinct national character was 
developing in the United States and certain distinctive traits were forming. 
The addition of millions of other races has caused a recomposition which pre- 
vented the endurance of these characteristics and caused this development to 
PR SO—