Adoption of Dicksten and Macgregor Bills Regarded As Unlikely

(Jewish Daily Bulletin)

Judging from tentative decisions reached by the House Immigration Committee yesterday, the Committee, upon its final vote, will reject the bills of Congressmen Dickstein and Sabath to grant nonquota status to the wives and children of declarants and the parents of American citizens, now in the preferential class.

At yesterday’s meeting the Committee voted tentatively to accord nonquota status to the children up to twenty-one years of age, the limitation now being eighteen, and the husbands of American citizens. As to the wives and children of declarants, the Committee voted to grant only a preferential status to such wives and children under eighteen and to the children up to eightteen of agriculturists, the limitation now being sixteen. Both of the last mentioned classes are to receive such preference only after the exhaustion of fifty percent of the quota now granted under the law to the parents of American citizens and agriculturists. The Committee will probably vote to exempt from the quota former American citizens who have expatriated themselves, this applying mainly to women who have married foreigners.

The Committee is considering two or three other proposals which were not disclosed, but which, it is understood, would not materially modify the present law. The Committee will meet again next Wednesday, at which time final vote as to the contents of the bill to be reported will probably be taken.

The Committee’s tentative decisions yesterday in effect rejected Congressman MacGregor’s bill to eliminate the existing preference given to agriculturists and transfer this preference to the wives and children of declarants. Congressman Sabath stated yesterday that he was extremely dissatisfied with the decisions and that he will continue his fight for more satisfactory provisions at the next meeting. Congressman Sabath pointed out that the decisions, if accepted, would practically eliminate all further immigration of non-relatives from Eastern Europe and that in his opinion it is the purpose of the restrictionists to secure discontinuation of such immigration rather than to grant relief of a substantial character.

A Rhode Island post of the Jewish Veterans of Foreign Wars of the Republic has been formed in Providence with more than 50 Jewish world war veterans constituting the unclens of the organization. Governor Norman S. Cass, Mayor James E. Dunne of Providence and Judge Max Levy of Newport were the speakers at the organization dinner.