Senator Walsh Attacks Immigration Measure Separating Families

(Jewish Daily Bulletin)

The present immigration law, resulting in the separation of families, was attacked by Senator David I. Walsh of Massachusetts in an address to the Council of Jewish Women of this city.

“Think how cruel our Government has been, how heartless,” Senator Walsh said. “Families are not able to come together, to be united because of heartless immigration laws. My heart bleeds at the thought that our citizens can understand so little about things they ought to know about. An immigration bill was introduced into Congress last week. The Young Women’s Christian Association, The National Catholic Women’s League and other women’s welfare organizations are behind it. It means so much for the spiritual and mateerial welfare of those coming from foreign countries.”

Senator Walsh paid tribute to the Jews as a race and the work of the Council of Jewish Women. He said:

“The founders of the Jewish Council realized that the Jewish group needed aid, support and encouragement. New groups should be given aid in not a cold and statistical way, but with love and sympathy and understanding born of a common heritage. It is a fine thing to know that the women of the Jewish race to whom the Almighty has been generous in position and in fair measure of prosperity have been prompted to come together to do something for those of their own race who can be benefited and helped on the road of life by a little sunshine.

“The world is all too full of seeking, striving, fighting to get for ourselves all that we can in the way of material things of life. ‘How much can we get?’ is the blinded, materialistic conception of success. Success should not be measured by how much we can get but by how much we can give. The man that we respect and have an affection for is the man or woman who has given. This is the spirit of the council, the spirit of service, the spirit that thinks of other than of self. The council can answer the question, how successful am I, how much have I given, by saying that we have given of our love, smypathy, charity, of our affection; we have made sacrifices to bring cheer into the lives of others, the lowly poor, abandoned, misfortunate just landed in the community, who is under foreign skies, for away from loved ones we have helped these people whose history is our history, for we too know what it is to suffer.

“There is no race in America that have sacrificed more to relieve suffering and misery among its own than the Jewish people. You have displayed the quality on many occasions. I want to urge you to continue your interest in this welfare work,” the Senator declared.