experience are men that make good citizens and are able by their capability of earning to establish their homes within a short time. They are men of good morals, and in much demand in the capacity of sculptors and wood carvers. Our application for another artist has been filed at Washington since last October. Mr. E. Hackner traveled in Europe last summer and made it a special point to find a suitable man for the position, and we can assure you that this gentleman is of good character, and well recommended by his professors. We are in favor that artists and mechanics shall have a proper recommendation of their capability and morale. Hoping that you will attain success with the effect of your bill introduced, we remain, Yours very respectfully, THE E. HACKNER CO., By E. HACKNER, President. Mr. FREE. I may say that I wrote and asked some of these people for details as to the kind of help they required. The next letters read: Hon. ARTHUR M. FREE, House of Representatives, SAN FRANCISCO CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, Washington, D. C. MY DEAR MR. FREE. I sincerely hope you can make some progress with your bill authorizing the State Department to give a preference within the quota to skilled artisan immigrants. It is a most important measure to American industry and should have the sympathetic consideration of Congress. I know of several instances where American industry suffered because no such law was in effect. Some time ago, northern California chambers of commerce and industrial leaders decided to experiment with the raising of silk worms. Their plans got so far that they had communicated with Italian silk culturists who agreed to come to the United States and help organize this new industry. We, of course, could not bring Japanese to California, and the Italian specialists seemed the only alternative. We soon found, however, that it was impossible to do this under the law and as a result the whole matter was dropped because no one else could be found in the United States or who could be brought to the United States legally, who knew anything about the culture of silk worms. Another case I have in mind is that of a California industry producing the fancy terra-cotta designs used on buildings. The modeling of these designs is a work of real art, but American workmen knew nothing of this sort of thing. Two artists from Italy were imported, who began teaching this art to American boys and men. Through some inadvertence, one of these experts was admitted only temporarily, while the other was admitted permanently, although they both came at the same time and apparently with similar passports and visas. For five years this California industry struggled with the Department of Labor to keep them from deporting this "visiting" artisan. Finally, in desperation, the department admitted an error had been made in this alien's original admission record, and he was permitted to stay. It would have been a serious blow to the California company if this man had been deported. Furthermore, they could use other Italian modelers and they would increase their business and employ more American labor and teach this art to additional American boys if it were possible to import more of these skilled workers. The rotogravure industry has a complaint of a similar nature. There is an Englishman who knows more about rotogravure production than anybody else in the world. He can do better work at less cost than anybody else found so far. He could not be retained permanently and had to leave the country. His place can not be filled. Mr. P. F. Snyder, the Assistant to the Secretary of Labor, can tell you of many similar instances that came to his attention while he was clerk of the House Immigration Committee. Sincerely yours, C. B. DODDS. Mr. FREE. I have read these two letters simply to give you an idea of the kind of artisans needed in this country. Mr. SCHNEIDER. Are those the only letters you have received from inquiries as to the need for help of this kind? Mr. FREE. NO; I have a goodly number of others. The thing changes from time to time. I had a lot at the time this bill was up last year, and I have some of those now. I suppose I have a list of 20 or 30 different concerns, but perhaps Mr. Husband or somebody else from the Department of Labor could give you a more complete list than I have. Mr. ESTERLY. During the activities in connection with the tariff bill last year I had a gentleman come to me from Allentown, Pa., who makes wooden items of furniture and tell me that unless the tariff was raised on wooden furniture, he would have to discharge 50 or 60 of his men, men who were especially trained in that wood work. He told me his main competition came from Italy, and that things were imported into the United States and sold at one-half the price they could be produced for here in America. So that it seems to me that if a suitable tariff is not placed on such items, we will not need any skilled help here in America. We will continue to import such things and therefore not have to worry about a paragraph of this sort. Mr. FREE. I might say that I have a letter here [indicating] from Mr. David Theodore Langrock, of New Haven, Conn., describing conditions in the textile industry where they feel that if they could get a special design of some sort, they could resuscitate the textile industry in that section of the country. Do you desire that I read it? Mr. SCHNEIDER. No. I just wanted to know the number of people required and the number of applications that have been filed in connection with this matter. Mr. FREE. The only way I get information is from those who read in the public press about my bill and then write to me about it. Perhaps the Department of Labor has a larger and more complete list, as has been suggested. I just picked out a few typical letters on the subject and brought them with me this morning. Mr. SCHNEIDER. I asked Commissioner General Hull the other day to furnish the information I have in mind-to give us a summary of the help wanted; the character of help wanted or needed-and the number. Mr. ESTERLY. I should like to have the gentleman read the textile letter if he will. I am rather interested in that industry. Mr. FREE. Certainly. It says: DEAR SIR: Confirming receipt of your letter dated January 16, I desire to inform you that I was very much interested in the proposed bill. The following is the story: Due to the fact that English clothing manufacturers have made inroads into the ready-made clothing industry of the United States, the writer, having been in the clothing industry in New Haven, Conn., for 36 years, and having established a business which supplies clothing to retail stores, has found that the competition given to his industry by clothing manufacturers of England has become very serious, and so much so that they have cultivated the taste of Amer icans to wear English or British clothes. For that reason he secured the services of an English designer who could guide us in this country to properly style and manufacture our clothing in competition to the clothing now made in Great Britain. He had considerable difficulty in securing the services of this man because he could not come to this country on the quota. I took this entire subject up with our legal department and with the United States Chamber of Commerce, and after considerable difficulty we could not secure any help of any source in retaining this gentleman, who was obliged to leave and is now working in Canada. In the meantime we could not leave his position open and was obliged to replace his services. We feel that any bill which you could present that would assist manufacturers from conducting their business in competition to other countries when it comes to importing their manufactured product is in keeping with the growth and the soundness of the industries of our country. Assuring you that I should be very glad of the opportunity to answer any questions at any future time, and if you desire you could call on Saltz Bros. (Inc.), 1341 F Street, Washington, D. C., which is a store featuring Langrock fine clothes in that city, and I am quite sure that the Saltz Bros. would be very glad to explain to you the type of product we make and anything pertaining to this subject, I am, Yours very truly, D. T. LANGROCK. Mr. FREE. About two months ago I was in New Bedford, where, probably, they have the greatest tragedy in the textile industry, and I was told of certain types of men that if they could be brought to the United States to change the style of the textile industry, that industry could probably be resuscitated, while they are now in very bad shape. Mr. ESTERLY. From where, if you know, are the Southern manufacturers getting their help? They seem to be leading the market in that particular class of merchandise. Mr. FREE. I rather think the northern manufacturers appreciate that the southern manufacturers have a decided advantage over them by way of cost of labor. The southern people, obviously, pay less for labor. The only hope of the northern people is to get into the textile trade some innovations that will enable the northerners to compete with the southerners. (Mr. Taylor is now presiding.) Mr. TAYLOR. Let us now proceed to hear Mr. Husband. STATEMENT OF HON. W. W. HUSBAND, ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF LABOR Mr. TAYLOR. Please proceed, Mr. Secretary. Mr. HUSBAND. Mr. Chairman, I may say that the Department of Labor has not given consideration to the general proposition of extending the selective principle to our immigration for a good many years or for the past four or five years; and in that connection, of course, it has given careful consideration to the bill introduced by Mr. Free and other bills that have been introduced with the same object in view. As to the department's attitude toward the subject-the general subject of selective immigration-perhaps I can no better than read from the report of the Secretary of Labor. I think that report states as clearly as may be the position of the Department of Labor in this matter. I am now about to quote from the report of the Secretary of Labor for the fiscal year 1929, beginning at page 11. It says: APPLICATION OF SELECTIVE PRINCIPLE NEEDED I am convinced that our present system of immigration control is lacking in one highly important particular, for, as I have repeatedly pointed out, there is no authority under existing law for selecting our immigrants with a regard to their economic or occupational desirability. I can best explain my meaning by referring to the present situation in Europe, where upward of 2,000,000 persons are said to have taken some step toward securing immigration visas at. the various consulates, while the annual quotas of the countries concerned are only about 150,000. Under the present law the fathers and mothers of American citizens; husbands of citizens by marriage occurring after May 1, 1928 (husbands of citizens by prior marriage have nonquota status); the wives and minor children of aliens lawfully resident in the United States and persons skilled in agriculture are entitled to a preference in the issuance of visas, 50 per cent and in some instances an additional 25 per cent of the allotted quotas being available for this purpose. Otherwise the visas are necessarily issued on the principle of first come first served. I would not, of course, deny the preference privilege to applicants whose near relatives are waiting for them in the United States, but I have long been convinced that the remainder of the various quotas ought to be utilized when necessary to expedite the coming of immigrants for whose services along some particular line there is legitimate demand in the United States. I would not increase the present quotas for this purpose, because I believe they are large enough already, but would simply give a preference to immigrants who are needed here after the demands of preference relatives have been satisfied. Cases are constantly arising in which some American industry, institution, or interest can very clearly demonstrate that it needs the service of some particularly qualified person resident in a foreign country. But there is no provision for expediting such immigration. A man whose services may be sorely needed as the key man in some new industrial development which, when under way, might afford employment to hundreds or perhaps thousands of Americans, simply has to wait his turn with other visa applicants and before that turn is reached possibly hundreds of immigrants, or even several thousands, with no family ties in the United States, may be permitted to come here to seek employment in some industry in which there is already a surplus of workers. Obviously this is wrong, and I have repeatedly recommended and shall continue to urge that Congress extend the principle of selection, strictly within the allotted quotas, so that persons whose services are actually needed in the United States, and whose coming might provide profitable employment for American workers, may be admitted in advance of those whose entry would bring no needed labor, but, on the other hand, might directly or indirectly increase the unemployment that constantly prevails in some of our great industries. I recall an instance in which a European manufacturer was ready to buy an abandoned factory in a New England city and with his own capital establish an industry, the products of which are now imported. He wanted to bring his family here for permanent residence, and also two or three key men who were experts in the manufacturing processes involved and their families. Because of a long waiting list of applicants for quota visas in the country concerned this group faced a delay of upward of two years before visas would be available and under the law no relief was possible. We admitted from that country last year 228 miners, 3,422 clerks and accountants, 1,615 locksmiths, 198 textile workers, more than 1,000 followers of needle trades, and hundreds of other workers who came because of their own desire rather than because there was need for their services in this country. In another case a native of a European country was needed to superintend a large plant devoted to manufacturing a comparatively new article for which there is the kind of phenomenal demand that occurs only in the United States. The man wanted was a recognized expert, who was not subject to the contract labor law, but when he applied for a quota visa he could only take his place at the end of a waiting list of 100,000 carlier comers. We admitted 1,000 miners, 200 textile workers, and nearly 1,500 clerks and accountants from the same country last year. In several instances it has been amply demonstrated that the services of a foreign scientist, chemist, engineer, or member of some other learned profession was actually needed in the development of some industry or in connection with some highly important undertaking involving research. In a few cases the need to bring in a limited number of highly skilled workmen has been shown, but earlier applicants for quota visas, who were coming for no specific purpose, had to take precedence. The solution I have in mind is very simple. It would provide that industries or other interests in the United States needing the professional services of some particular individual could allege to the Secretary of Labor that it was necessary to bring the needed talent from a foreign country. The Secretary, after full hearing and investigation, would authorize that a preference in the issuance of immigration visas be accorded to the particular person named. Other cases might arise in which there was an alleged need to bring in certain skilled artisans because like labor, unemployed, could not be found. In such cases possibly interested parties would be notified, open hearings granted, and full investigation made, all for the purpose of determining whether there is a bona fide and probably continuing need for such skilled labor which can not be supplied in this country, whether labor trouble of any nature exists in the industry concerned, and whether wages to be paid imported labor are up to the American standard. These facts having been favorably determined, the Secretary of Labor would authorize that preference visas be given to a specified number of applicants who possess the qualifications desired. With such authorization the various consuls could go over their record of applicants and if among them were found individuals possessing the needed qualifications they would be accorded a preference without reference to the particular place they happen to occupy in the long waiting list that may be on file. Mr. SCHNEIDER. You spoke about admitting so many miners, textile workers, and clerks and accountants last year. If the quota was filled last year, then a provision to use the unfilled quota would not be a solution? Mr. HUSBAND. It would not. Mr. SCHNEIDER. To provide for use of the unfilled part of the quota would not provide any relief in case the quota is filled. That is very obvious. Mr. HUSBAND. That is right. The Free bill shall apply to relatives. There shall be no priority privilege between the two. Mr. FREE. Yes. Mr. ESTERLY. What would be the required number of such men. Would there be a certain allocation made of these immigrants? What is the judgment of the department in that regard? Mr. HUSBAND. The idea is that the demand should be met, whether by one or more than one individual. The preference would be applied as need was shown. Mr. ESTERLY. You would not advocate bringing a whole industry over here in bulk, would you? Mr. HUSBAND. Not unless there was need for it, which is a difficult. situation to imagine. Mr. ESTERLY. How many of these skilled technicians would you allocate to a manufacturer? What is your judgment? Mr. HUSBAND. That, of course, would be difficult to say. Mr. ESTERLY. Would, say, 10 be a maximum, in your opinion? Mr. HUSBAND. I can hardly imagine a case where more than 10 would be needed in most instances; so far as the scientific branches are concerned it would be limited, usually, to one man and his family. Mr. ESTERLY. Referring to this fashion knitting trade, one importer in New York City has 42 of these men here on a six months' permit. Is not that a rather large number to allow in? Mr. HUSBAND. I am somewhat familiar with that. They brought in one or two at a time under the plea that they needed them to set |