NATIONAL ORIGINS PROVISION OF IMMIGRATION LAW 43
There were no big cities with a mixed, congested population at that time and,
consequently, I feel it is more accurate.” .
Furthermore, Mr. Hill not only pointed out that with the quotas of admissible
immigrants limited to a total of 150,000, an error of 60,000 in a racial appor-
tionment of the inhabitants of the U nited States would result in only a differ-
ence of 100 in the quota of admissible immigrants, but also he testified * with
regard to most nationalities that that portion which came from 1790 stock
forms only a relatively small part of the total quota, and you might have a
considerable margin of error in that part without affecting the total very
much,”
The executive committee does not deem it necessary to discuss the methods
by which the committee of Government experts have evolved their analysis of
the population of the United States. This has been explained in detail to the
Committee on Immigration and Naturalization by the Asxistant Director of the
Census in the hearings to which reference has already been made. It will
suffice to say that previous studies by experts of the Census Bureau, supple-
menting those embodied in A Century of Population Growth, and published
in another volume entitled, “ Increase of Population in the United . States,
1910-1920,” have been reviewed and revised. The perplexing difficulty of the
differential between native and immigrant fecundity has been overcome by what
is characterized by Mr. Hill as a novel and scientific plan. The committee say
in their report to the Secretaries of State, Commerce, and Labor, that while their
work has not been completed. the figures. though provisional and subject to
revision, indicate approximately what the result will be. For the information
of the members of the chamber the quotas under the present system of basing
immigration on 2 per cent of the foreign born in the United States in 1890, and
the national-origins system, which has temporarily been suspended by action
of Congress in the last session as a result of alien political agitation, are to
ye found in the appendix of this report.
Finally, it seems to the executive committee that the following quotation from
a memorial to the President, Senate, and ITouse of Representatives, dated Janu-
ary 4, 1926, signed by 34 scientists, including Db ologists, physiologists, psychol-
ogists, sociologists, economists, ete, drawn from the leading institutions of
the United States, should demonstrate to any layman the futility of arguments
advanced by the protagonists of certain races in the United States:
wo We further urge the prompt putting into effect of that provision. of the
immigration act of 1924, whereby the quota, after July 1, 1927. at present deter-
mined by the number of foreign born of each nationality here in the year 1890,
are to be adjusted so as to conform to the officially estimated number of persons
pow in the country of each national origin, either by birth or descent. We
believe that this permanent basis for fixing the quotas, already provided for by
(aw, is sound in prince ple and fair to all elements in the population. Only by
this method can that large proportion of our population which is descended from
fhe colonist and other early settlers, as well as the members of the newer immi-
gration, have their proper racial representation in the quotas. We believe that
Jongress wisely concluded that only by such a system of proportional repre-
sentation in our future immigration could the racial status quo of the country
pe maintained or a reasonable degree of homogeneity secured. Without such
basic homogeneity we firmly believe no civilization can have its best de-
velopment.”
While it is impossible to foretell what action’ Congress will take in the
premises, it is very significant that the chairman of the Committee. on Immi-
gration and Naturalization of the House of Representatives has announced
his intention of meeting the alien agitation by the introduction of a bill cutting
the quotas substantially in half. the reduction to be accomplished by gradual
steps jn the course of five years. Other restrictionists are advocating total
suspension of all immigration, as the only solution of the Americanization
preblem. When the political activities of certain secret societies, credited
with a large membership in a standard work of reference, are taken into con-
sideration, there is much to be said in favor of this viewpoint. The executive
comnmittee, however, feels that the consistent and just attitude to take, is that
the integrity of the present law, as passed in 1924, should be upheld in so far as
it relates to the apportionment of quotas in accordance with contributions by
all nations, to whom the quota principle is applied, since the establishment of
the United States. This ix much better than to abide by a purely arbi-
trary method to meet political exigencies, or to curtail, to a greater degree,
immigration from Europe whereby the problem of reuniting families will be
accentuated.
