(Jewish Daily Bulletin)
Chairman Johnson of the House Immigration Committee has issued a statement explaining the possible operation of the so-called National Origins Provision of the present Immigration Law, which will become effective July 1, 1927. According to Johnson’s statement, tables of computation have been prepared by Senator Reed of Pennsylvania, member of the Senate Immigration Committee and John B. Trevor. According to these tables, among the changes that would take place in the annual quotas of various countries are the following:
Present Law Origins
Poland 8,872 4,509
Russia 1,792 4,002
Lithuania 302 444
Hungary 488 1,259
Germany 50,129 22,018
Great Britain and Ireland 62,458 91,111
The national origins provision will also reduce the total admissible under all quotas from 164,667 to 150,000. The present basis is two per cent of the number of foreign born individuals resident in the United States as determined by the 1890 census with a minimum quota to each country of 100. Under the National Origins Provision, the arbitrary total quota of 150,000 will be allocated not according to the number of foreign born residents in the United States, but upon the basis of the proportionate numerical strength of nationalities among the whole population of the United States in the year 1920.
The National Origins Provision prescribes that the national origin of the birth or ancestry of the population of United States is to be determined not by tracing the ancestry or descendants of particular individuals, but shall be based upon statistics of immigration and immigrants, together with rates of increase of population as shown by successive decennial United States censuses, and such other data as may be found to be reliable, this determination to be made jointly by the Secretaries of State, Commerce and Labor.
The quotas to be established as a result of this determination will not be governed by the Reed-Trevor tables, which are only informal estimates prepared by these two individuals. Chairman Johnson stated that final figures on the quotas will vary at least 15 percent from the estimates under these tables.
It will be observed regarding Jewish immigrants, that they will probably be affected adversely by the national origins plan on the basis of the Reed-Trevor tables. Thus the change for Poland would involve a loss of about 4,300 of all immigrants of Polish origin, which might be off-set to some extent by the Russian increase of approximately 2,000.
Chairman Johnson indicated that various protests have been received against the National Origins Plan including one from the Friends of Irish Freedom which states that under this plan out of a total annual immigration allotment, the plan gives 85,000 to Great Britain and Northern Ireland and only 65,000 to be divided among the rest of the world, (the foregoing tables give the figure as 91,111 instead of 85,000). Chairman Johnson also mentioned that bills were introduced during the last session of Congress to repeal the National Origins Provision and to continue in effect the existing quota arrangement.
Senator Reed of Pennsylvania, who was the author of the National Origins Provision urged for its adoption that it would insure a predominating Anglo-Saxon or “Nordic” stock in the United States.
It is understood that before Congress adjourned a sub-committee of the House Immigration Committee was appointed to study the National Origins Plan and bring in a report upon the reconvening of Congress next December
Summer camping for the boys and girls of the Hebrew Scout Organization of Palestine will be inaugurated August 11 on Mount Carmel, according to an announcement made by Young Judaen, New York. One thousand dollars has already been cabled to Palestine by Young Judaea for preliminary equipment. An appeal is being made to the Jewish children in the camps of America to help aid the project by contributing at least a penny a day for every day they spend at camp.
The B’nai B’rith Infirmary Building of the National Jewish Hospital at Denver will be formally dedicated on Thursday. Sept. 2.
The building which was crected at a cost of $500,000, is the gift of the Independent Order B’nai B’rith.
DEFENDS MENORAH EDITORIAL POLICY
{NOTE}(Communication to the Editor){/NOTE}Sir:
In your issue of July 26th you quote from an article by Rabbi A. H. Silver in “The Jewish Tribune,” purporting to be an answer to several essays in “The Menorah Journal,” and you state ” ‘The Menorah Journal’ refused to publish Rabbi Silver’s reply.”
To avoid any misunderstanding or incorrect implications, will you be good enough to let me say the following.
Rabbi Silver required that his manuscript should be published “as is” and without comment. After most thorough consideration, “The Menorah Journal” finally rejected the article chiefly because, in the editorial judgment, Rabbi Silver failed to grasp and to meet the main contentions and proposals of the writers criticized.
For example, in the very portion of Rabbi Silver’s article which you quote, he would seem to imply that the “Menorah” critics disapproved the building of synagogues and temples (“Judging from the jeremiads of our critics this is to be taken as positive proof of Jewish decadence and disintegration”). What our writers insisted on was a clear and honest view of the actual state of Judaism in this country, and a reasoned, well-proportioned policy of upbuilding Jewish life in all its necessary parts.
So that in rejecting Rabbi Silver’s article, as in the case of very many other articles we reject, “The Menorah Journal” has not receded from its position as an open forum, hospitable to every point of view, provided necessarily that the contributions come up to our established standard of substance and style. Ample opportunity is given in our pages for fullest disagreement with the views of the editors; for example, in our forthcoming number there will be an article by Maurice Samuel subjecting the “Menorah” viewpoint to the most searching criticism.
All the questions and issues raised by Jewish life at home and abroad will continue to be discussed from all points of view in the pages of “The Menorah Journal,” but without personal aspersions and with the aim to promote truth rather than apologetics.
HENRY HURWITZ, Editor, “Menorah Journal New York, July 29, 1926
An appeal to the Jewish Women of America to devote greater study to the problems of world peace was made by Mrs. Arthur Brin of Minneapolis, National Chairman of the Committee on Peace and Arbitration of the National Council of Jewish Women.
“Convictions on peace are far more valuable than sentiments for peace. The former are less easily shaken, since they are built upon the solid foundation of facts and information,” Mrs. Brin stated.
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.
