Possiblity of a reconsideration of that part of the Johnson Immigration Bill which fixes as a basis for quotas the 1890 census, increases daily. It now appears that the House Immigration Committee has not definitely adopted the 1890 census. Chairman Johnson, at Thursday’s session of the committee, stated that he is obtaining figures from the Census Bureau concerning the probable effect on immigration if 1910 or 1920 census figures were fixed as a basis, it is learned.
The newest substitute plan is that proposed by Commissioner of Immigration W.W. Husband, the nature of which, although presented to the committee under greatest secrecy, has been learned by the Jewish Telegraphic Agency correspondent. Commissioner Husband’s plan, which is somewhat complicated, proposes that immigration be based on three different percentages, based on the proportion of naturalization according to the 1920 census of the foreign population which was included in the 1910 census. Commissioner Husband’s plan would allot a two percent quota for those nationalities of which 25 percent of the immigrants prior to the 1910 census had become naturalized before 1920; a four percent quota for those nationalities with naturalizations up to 50 percent, and eight percent quota for those over 50 percent naturalized.
Opponents of the Johnson bill have stated that the Husband plan is also discriminatory inasmuch as the non-Nordic races from eastern and southern Europe would have allotted to them the lowest quota.
The next meeting of the committee will be held Tuesday, January 29.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
