A statement by Congressman Meyer Jacobstein, praising Governor Smith’s stand on immigration in his acceptance address, was issued by Democratic national headquarters in New York City. The statement read:
“Governor Smith is a red-blooded American but has a background and a heart which enable him to appreciate and understand the immigrant. He is a statesman and therefore recognizes the importance of protecting labor by placing restrictions on competitive labor that desires to migrate to this country. Placing American interests above all others he naturally must accept the principle of selective as well as restrictive immigration.
“Governor Smith, however, correctly criticizes the present immigration act on the ground that it arbitrarily and unfairly discriminates against certain nationalities. Governor Smith is absolutely sound in condemning the use of the 1890 Census as a basis for admitting immigrants into this country.
“Starting from this position Governor Smith must necessarily throw into the rubbish heap that provision of the present law which would accentuate the discrimination by the position. This absurd immigration policy foisted upon the American people during a Repubican administration was so full of dynamite that Mr. Hoover himself has been forced to repudiate it. The fact that this repudiation came during a national campaign suggests that it was done for vote catching purposes. As Secretary of Commerce and as a member of a committee appointed by the President to make recommendations to the President, Mr. Hoover had four years in which to protest against this obnoxious provision of the Jaw.
“Governor Smith, known for his broad sympathies, can be trusted to amend the Immigration Law so as to reduce to a minimum the unnecessary hardships in the administration of this Act.
“Governor Smith’s deep interest in Labor’s welfare is the only assurance we need that he will do nothing on Immigration or the Tariff which might in any degree lower the standard of living of the American worker.”
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.
