Christian Notables Back Wagner-rogers Bill; Approval by Subcommittee Held Certain

Leading Christian personalities joined Government leaders today in supporting the Wagner-Rogers bill for admission of 20,000 refugee children in two years as hearing on the measure continued today before a joint immigration sub-committee.

Speakers for the bill included Bishop Bernard J. Sheil, representing Cardinal Mundelein on the Non-Sectarian Committee for German Refugee Children; Dr. Samuel McCrea Cavert, of the Federal Council of Churches of Christ in America; the Rev. Dr. Maurice Sheehy, of Catholic University; Newbold Morris, president of the New York City Council and treasurer of the non-sectarian committee; former Wisconsin Governor Philip LaFollette, Senator William H. Smathers, Representative Edith Nourse Rogers and Katherine Lenroot, chief of the Women’s Bureau.

Asked by Senator William H. King if the reported horrors in Europe were overestimated Mr. LaFollette, who has just returned from Europe, replied: “They are underestimated. It is a great mistake to call this a Jewish-Catholic question. It affects the entire population. After leaving Germany, I constantly looked over my shoulder to see who was listening.”

In reply to a question by Representative Charles Kramer, Mr. LaFollette declared that a “secret, untrammeled vote would show 75 per cent of the German population opposed to the present regime.”

Miss Lenroot estimated that the child foster load in the United States would be expanded only eight per cent by the admission to this country of 20,000 refugee children. Dr. Cavert said there was no public question in which ministers were more sympathetically interested, regarding it as a practical expression of the spirit of religion.

Senator Smathers termed the bill “a wonderful piece of legislation,” with which he was “heartily in accord.” Asked by Senator Arthur Capper if the measure would interfere with adoption of American children, Representative Rogers, its House sponsor, said that there were more applications for adoption on hand than there were children. She reminded the committee that “we were all aliens once.”

Dr. Sheehy predicted that 10,000 to 15,000 adoption applications would be filed within 48 hours after the bill was passed. Declaring there was ample room in the United States for a limited number of the refugee children, he said: “Defeat of the measure will be interpreted as a triumph of the Nazi policies. There is a temporary madness or insanity besetting the German Government which the German people do not share.”

Bishop Sheil urged that America “do its share to preserve the sanctity of the lives of children.” Mr. Morris said that all children admitted who could not be placed in private homes would be taken care of by privately subscribed funds in a foster home. He pledged that the full transportation cost and other obligations would be met.

Senator Robert Reynolds (Dem.,N.Car.) was present at today’s session as a listener. He is preparing an opposition argument, but the bill is believed certain to be reported favorably and probably unanimously to the full immigration committees.

Others testifying for the bill were D. Robert Yarnell, of Philadelphia; Elizabeth Eastman, of the Young Women’s Christian Association; Jacob Kapocs, of the Jewish Children’s Bureau in Chicago, and Robert C. Dexter, of the American Unitarian Association.