OCR Text |
Show MALLON Can We Absorb 400,000 Refugees? CONGRESS failed to enact the Stratton bill admitting 400,-000 400,-000 displaced persons from Europe. This is bestirring considerable bitterness among people who can make themselves them-selves bitter about such matters, believing the United States should be a refuge for anyone who needs a political haven. These people had spread their own impression that a critical emer gency on the issue requires immediate action. There are perhaps 1,000,000 Europeans who do not wish to return to their homes for political or social reasons (they fear to go under the wing of Communism). About 21 per cent are children; chil-dren; 13 per cent are over 44 years old; 20 per cent are Jews; 65 per cent are Catholic; 15 per cent Protestants; a majority was in agriculture before the war. Congress realized the problem could not be solved simply by opening American immigration gates to let the mass flow in, although some evidence indicated many had relatives here who might support them. Perhaps a faster part-answer to the problem will be found at th forthcoming meeting of foreign ministers of the Americas. Certainly Latin America is a young and growing area in which immigration and colonization coloni-zation is needed more than in the United States. Better opportunities for the DPs may exist there. For us to absorb some may be found economically eco-nomically feasible for both them and us. An All-America agreement would certainly be better than a United States decision alone. -4- -a- -J, u. |