To safeguard freedom and ensure progress of civilization on this continent was advocated by Samuel Gompers, president of American Federation of Labor, in a speech delivered at the Federation Convention held here. It was unanimously decided to instruct the Executive Council to aggressively oppose with all the strength of the movement any attempt to amend the existing law by a modification of its protective features.
Gompers’ speech is important in view of the fact that it has been recently rumored that the American Federation of Labor would modify its stand of opposition to the requested changes in the Immigration policy. His statement was received with tremendous applause. In his statement Gompers says, “The people of one of our Latin-American countries (meaning Mexico) found it necessary to adopt immigration laws to protect themselves from their neighbors. It struck very deep into my mind that even the dollar a day workmen with their standard of life found it necessary to protect themselves against peoples of other countries who have failed in their development in defense of and advocacy of a standard of life in the twentieth century to conform to the standards of civilized society.
“This in itself is an answer to the whole world of adverse criticism upon America and America’s workers that we must find if we intend to safeguard the freedom and ensure the progress of the civilization of this continent. It is necessary that we shall not be overwhelmed by hordes of underpaid and underdeveloped workers. It is not a question of pure nationality or nationalistic feeling but the men who will not defend their standard of life and progress will not protect the chastity of their homes. Self-protection is the first law of nature and it is not the duty, as I see it, of men of the higher standards of life and progress to help the toilers who have lower standards in their own countries, to relieve their countries by allowing hordes of men to leave them and emigrate to the United States but to supply means to relieve the situation there.
“If people must fight for rights let them fight as best they can in their own land and not lower the conditions which exist in another.”
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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.
