The CHAIRMAN. Do you care to express any opinion either of yourself or of the Legion with respect to that portion?

Mr. TAYLOR. No, sir; I would not care to.

Senator MEANS. Isn't it a fact that the Legion believes in restricted immigration and that their only utterance has been to suspend it entirely so far as immigration to this country is concerned? Mr. TAYLOR. Except so far as veterans and their families are concerned; yes, sir. In 1923 we favored suspending immigration for five years. In 1924 we favored restricting it to the limit except so far as the veterans are concerned.

Senator MEANS. So that by your appearance here you do not attempt to say that the Legion in any way favors any portion of this bill except that which refers to service men?

Mr. TAYLOR. You are correct.

Senator WADSWORTH. May I make this observation: One of the resolutions adopted by the American Legion favors the admission of former veterans and their families, provided that they are of the race and nationality eligible to American citizenship and also provided that they are mentally and physically qualified, and, I assume, financially responsible. Of course, there is no proposal in this bill to suspend those provisions of the law. Any person who would come under the provisions of this bill would still have to meet those conditions.

The CHAIRMAN. We thank you, Mr. Taylor. Are there any more witnesses, Senator Wadsworth?

Senator WADSWORTH. There is a representtive here of the disabled veterans.

The CHAIRMAN. We would be glad to hear from him.

STATEMENT OF THOMAS KIRBY, WASHINGTON, D. C., NATIONAL LEGISLATIVE CHAIRMAN OF THE DISABLED AMERICAN VETERANS

Mr. KIRBY. Mr. Chairman, our interest in this bill is limited largely to the former-service section and particularly to the part referring to disabled veterans.

There are approximately 2,000 men outside of the United States now to-day on an active compensation basis with the Veterans' Bureau; and our experience in attempting to adjudicate these claims of the men still overseas is extremely difficult and the same trouble is experienced in the Veterans' Bureau. They are not familiar with the law. They are not sufficiently educated at times, so that it can be fully explained to them; and we feel that some of the most pathetic cases that come before our organization are these men overseas, whose situation has been explained by Major Curran. Take the case of the disabled man begging in front of the Athens consulate. We feel that these men who have gone overseas and given their lungs or their heart or other parts of their body in the national service should be given a particular preference outside of the quota.

I will be extremely brief. The Disabled American Veterans wanted to go on record as whole-heartedly supporting the veterans' end of this legislation.

The CHAIRMAN. Senator Wadsworth, have you any more witresses?

Senator WADSWORTH. Mr. Chairman, will the committee hear Mrs. Foxlee, who is a member of one of the welfare organizations of New York City?

The CHAIRMAN. Yes.

STATEMENT OF MRS. JOHN FOXLEE, NEW YORK CITY, MEMBER OF THE IMMIGRATION AND FOREIGN COMMUNITY DEPARTMENT, NATIONAL BOARD OF THE YOUNG WOMEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION, NEW YORK CITY

The CHAIRMAN. You may proceed in your own way.

Mrs. FOXLEE. While Senator Wadsworth has used most of my ammunition, nevertheless I think you will probably be interested to hear what we in our daily work among the foreign-born people observe and what are the social problems that come to our attention. We are very much concerned about the children. We have found that there are very many American-born children who have been taken by their mothers for a visit in central Europe, southern Europe, and northern Europe and could not return within the six months specified by law and when the quota law of 1921 came into effect they were not able to return. Sometimes there has been an additional child born, and the mother, with two or three Americanborn children, must remain in that country until her husband can naturalize.

Senator REED. But the American-born children can come here.

Mrs. FOXLEE. Can they come without their mother? The mother has the responsibility of the child. We believe that the family should remain together.

We have seen many children whose parents came to this country as pioneers. They left their children with their parents, either because the old mother could not bear to be parted from her grandchildren or because economically it was impossible for them to bring the children. In the meantime they become too old to take care of the children, and these children have been growing up without discipline and without proper family care. If they could be brought to this country in order to get an American training it will mean that this country, the United States, will have as its future citizens children who are American trained and who have the American background instead of having children who are aliens. In our work with foreign-born women and girls we sense their daily need of early American training if they are to fit happily into the American background.

Then there is the class of people who usually become citizens and think that that will settle all of their problems, but the process of naturalization is a lengthy one. By the time that the naturalization certificate has been received some of the children have passed beyond the age of 18. Then the mother is confronted by the question as to whether she shall remain with the daughter, who has just passed the age of 18 and who needs her care and advice just as heavily as does a daughter under 18, or whether she shall abandon her daughter and go to her husband, leaving children on the other

side. Sometimes the husband does not understand the emotions that move the mother. They think that she does not want to come, but she is moved by the desire to protect and care for her daughter. In our work among foreign-born people-and we come in contact with practically all the nationalities in the United States-we have come across very serious cases of estrangement between husband and wife. There is the husband who does not understand the application of the immigration law, who has sent his wife a steamship ticket three years ago. He sees other women coming from his country to join their husbands and yet she does not come. He believes that she does not want to come. She may have made many useless journeys, expensive journeys, to the city where the American consulate is established. There have been some instances where men have actually set up housekeeping with another woman because they believe that their wife does not want to come, while in reality she was doing everything in her power to get permission to come.

Then there are the wives who are pining on the other side, hoping and waiting to come to the United States. They see other women in their town departing to join their husbands and they are still waiting and they think that their husbands do not care, that they are on the point of leaving them. That wife can not understand how our law works.

Daily reports come to us of what is happening to the lone men living in this country without their wives. The social life of the average European of the middle and lower classes is the family life. The social life is usually so circumscribed that it is usually confined to the family circle. That man comes to this country and the only thing he can find to substitute for the family life is the boarding-house life, which is a very poor substitute, as everyone knows who has had a chance to see it in our foreign communities. This estrangement, this living apart from the right sort of environment, brings about a break-up in the marital relationship, which leads either to a common-law marriage of that husband in this country or to a divorce. We have found instances where men of all nationalities have divorced their wives who are living in Europe without giving them an opportunity to appear in court and defend their rights. Sometimes they divorce their wives, we find, without telling their wives that this has happened. If you ask them why they did it, they invariably answer, "Because I couldn't bring my wife here and I had to have a home; I wanted a home maker."

We have here a number of cases that we would like very much to have filed.

The CHAIRMAN. They may be inserted as part of your statement. (The paper referred to is as follows:)

The following are some instances of separated families known to our workers in different cities:

From Brooklyn: Sophie Perzenowska, born in the United States, is now 21 years of age. She is the only child of Natalia Perzenowska, a widow born in Lithuania, 63 years old. Five years ago Sophie and her mother went to visit relatives in Lithuania. They remained longer than six month; then the quota law came, the mother could not be admitted, and a steamship agent advised them to return to the United States through Cuba. Sophie was forced to leave her mother there and to proceed to the United Sates alone, with the hope that she, being an American citizen, could send for her mother. However, at

that time she was not 21; therefore she could not file an application for her mother's entry. The mother had to wait in Cuba until Sophie became of age. Now that she is 21 she has filed the application (Form 633), but the quota for Lithuania being only 344 the prospect for their reunion lies in the far future, unless the immigration law is amended.

From Brooklyn: Ramon Perez Garcia, 17 State Street, Brooklyn. Wife and two boys aged 10 and 12 are in Padron-Curuna, Spain. He expects to receive his citizenship papers next month, but has paid out over $500 during the past year to an Italian lawyer, James Rimondi, who convinced him that the wife and children would not be allowed to come in unless lawyers, chief of police, and officials at Washington were put to work on the case. Rimondi also told him that he would arrange the passports for wife and children on payment of $100. From Jersey City: Mrs. Kierwa, of 772 Jersey Avenue, Jersey City, and her entire family lived in the United States before the war. After her husband's death she took the youngest child and went to Poland for a visit, leaving the two boys in care of relatives in this country. In the meantime the war broke out and she found it impossible to return.

Since 1923 she has been making every effort to return to this country. The little girl is now 12 years old and, of course, she has permission to come as she is American born but her mother is unwilling to let her come alone. The two sons who are in this country are, respectively, 17 and 19 years old, but being minors are unable to bring their mother to this country. Both boys are working and well able to support their mother.

From Jersey City: Mrs. Jankowska, of 152 Seventh Street, Jersey City, N. J., has been living in this country for eight years. Her husband is dead and her only child, a girl of 18 years, is living in Poland with her grandmother. It is a great hardship to this woman that she has to be separated from this only daughter. Just recently Mrs. Jankowska applied for first papers.

From Yonkers: Mrs. Polak, living at 37 Clinton Street, Yonkers, N. Y., has been in America 11 years. Neither she nor her husband are citizens of the United States, but Mrs. Polak has taken out her first papers in November last, so it will be at least two years before she will become a citizen. She is anxious to get her daughter, Mary, 16 years, over here. The daughter is living with her uncle but he has been called for military service and the girl will then be left alone. The girl has a passport and ticket, all of which are in the hands of the consul in Uszhorod.

These cases can be multiplied by the hundreds in the numerous branches of our organization throughout the cities where they are active.

Mrs. FOXLEE. We have always had a perfectly dispassionate attitude. We don't allow ourselves to shed tears or to become emotional over the situation. We believe in the enforcement of this law. But we do believe very much that these hardships, which not only touch the family who suffers but also touch us because they are beginning to be a part of our own life, should be eradicated. The CHAIRMAN. All right, Senator Wadsworth.

Senator WADSWORTH. Will the committee hear Miss Eastman? The CHAIRMAN. Yes.

STATEMENT OF MISS ELIZABETH EASTMAN, WASHINGTON, D. C.

Miss EASTMAN. I am a member of the national board of the Young Women's Christian Association. I merely want to supplement what Mrs. Foxlee told you by saying that our position is strongly in favor of restricted selected immigration.

We wish simply to put on record our feelings that through these personal contacts and experiences of a good many years we feel that there is a great deal of official injustice being done and that this is really a menace to the security of the country on account of its being a menace to the American homes.

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you.

STATEMENT OF COERT DUBOIS, WASHINGTON, D. C., AMERICAN CONSUL DETAILED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE AND ASSIGNED AS CHIEF OF THE VISA OFFICE OF THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE

The CHAIRMAN. Will you kindly state what you want to say as to your views upon the bill under discussion, Senate bill 2245? Mr. DUBOIS. Senator, may I be excused from giving my views on the bill? I should be delighted to furnish any information that I can, but I am an executive officer and if I have any views I am going to try to keep them to myself.

The CHAIRMAN. I should not have suggested that. Could you tell us the number of people who would be affected by the first part of the bill, Senate bill 2245, section (a)?

Mr. DUBOIS. You will remember that under section 4(a) of the immigration act of 1924 wives and children of American citizens are nonquota and that fathers, mothers, and children between the ages of 18 and 21 are entitled to preference within the quota. That preference is gained by filing a petition under section 9 with the Department of Labor.

There have been 25,000 such petitions filed, covering fathers, mothers, and children between the ages of 18 and 21, with occasionally the husband of an American citizen. That gives a pretty good indication, I think, of the number-around 20,000. Those people the bill would take from a preference status and put into a nonquota status.

Senator REED. In other words, it would enlarge the nonquota status by 20,000?

Mr. DUBOIS. Yes, the nonquota classes.

Senator REED. It would have the effect of taking 20,000 people out of the quota class and putting them into the nonquota class? Mr. DUBOIS. I think so.

Mr. REED. And thereby enlarging the quota by 20,000?

Mr. DUBOIS. Yes. Now, as to wives and children of aliens resident in the United States. On February 12 of this year the Department of State sent the following telegram to the American consuls at London, Dublin, Paris, Barcelona, Lisbon, Berlin, Riga, Kovno, Amsterdam, Antwerp, Oslo, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Helsingfors, Genoa, Prague, Vienna, Warsaw, Athens, Constantinople, Beirut, Jerusalem, Sofit, Bucharest, Belgrade, and Budapest:

For the information of House Immigration Committee. From your own knowledge of the local situation, telegraph your best estimate of number persons who would wish to come to the United States from country to which you are accredited if fathers, mothers, wives, and minor children of aliens resident in United States were given nonquota status. Department does not desire that local authorities be consulted, for obvious reasons.

Senator WADSWORTH. There was no mention made in that telegram to the consuls of the upset date?

Mr. DUBOIS. No, sir; and I would be glad to explain why it was impossible for the consuls to give any sort of estimate based on any given date of residence in the United States.

Senator WADSWORTH. Of course, that is the controlling part of the bill.

Mr. DUBOIS. It is the controlling factor. I will go on and explain a little later, if I may, about that.