House Committee Gives Reasons for Repeal of National Origins Plan

Wants Immigration Quotas Easily Explained and Easily Understood (Jewish Daily Bulletin)

The reasons for its recommendation to repeal the “national origins plan” of the Immigration Act of 1924 are given by the House Immigration Committee in its report on the resolution.

“It seems far better to have immigration quotas for the purposes of restriction fixed in such a manner as to be easily explained and easily understood by all,” the Committee declared in its report.

The report continues:

“The committee having considered the text of Senate Joint Resolution 152 to postpone for one year the going into effect of the national origins provisions of the immigration act of 1924, is of the opinion that at the end of one year from July 1, 1927, the same uncertainty as to the results of regulating immigration by means of the ‘national origins’ plan will continue to exist.

“That the Secretaries of State, of Commerce, and of Labor will have little if any more positive evidence on which to base quota findings than at present.

“That too much uncertainty exists as to the requirement of the law that ‘the President shall issue a proclamation on or before April 1, 1927,’ when read in conjunction with further provisions of the law. That the uncertainty will continue from year to year.

“That it seems far better to have immigration quotas for the purposes of restriction fixed in such a manner as to be easily explained and easily understood by all.

“One of the great purposes of the immigration act of 1924 was so to reduce the inflow of immigration as to end the idea of nationalistic groups in the United States and to permit amalgamation and homogeneity. After liberal immigration for so many years, this is a most difficult process, and will require many years, under favorable circumstances, even with the closest possible restriction of immigration.

“Had there been no 1890 census quota plan worked out ahead of the national origins proposal, it is probable that the national origins plan would not have met the opposition it now meets. But quotas having been fixed and in use for nearly three years, the change brings protest from many groups, who feel that the countries their members came from are being discriminated against (by comparison, of course, with the 1890 quota figures). In the future this will happen with any proposed change. If it is proposed to use the 1920 census, the protest will come just as it now comes, though perhaps from different groups.”

Rabbi Isadore Goodman was installed Sunday as rabbi of the Congregation Talmud Torah of Flatbush, Brooklyn, N. Y.

Fellowships have been contributed to the Training School for Jewish Social Work in New York by three Jewish federations of philanthropies, it was announced by Maurice J. Karpf, director of the Training School. The United Jewish Charities of Detorit, the Federation of Jewish Charities of Cleveland and the Jewish Federation of St. Louis are three organizations contributing the fellow ships, valued at $1,500 each.