150.01/799
The Rumanian Chargé ( Nano ) to the Secretary of State
The Chargé d’Affaires ad interim of Roumania presents his compliments to the Secretary of State and, acting under instructions from his Government, has the honour to inform him that the bill known as the “Johnson Bill”, now pending in Congress, is viewed with much concern by the Government of Roumania. While conceding absolutely the undoubted right of the United States of America to limit or even to entirely suppress immigration, the Roumanian Government cannot but be painfully surprised when it contemplates the possibility of a bill becoming law, the undisguised purpose of which is not only the reduction in the total number of admissible immigrants, but more particularly the practical elimination of immigration from southern and southeastern Europe, including Roumania. Under the terms of the bill now before Congress, which adopts as a basis for the quota the census of 1890, the quota of certain countries of northern and northeastern Europe would be but slightly modified, whereas the Roumanian quota would be reduced to a wholly negligible figure, probably around 10 to 15 percent of the present one. No attempt is even made to justify the selection of the census of 1890 as a basis for the immigration quota.
The Roumanian Government feels compelled to draw the attention of the Secretary of State to the painful impression and the disappointment which would be caused in Roumania should the bill above referred to become law in its present form, the more so as the United States of America have always expressed their determined opposition and aversion to discriminatory policies. Further, [Page 214] it should be considered that the adoption of the census of 1890 would not only deeply wound the pride of the Roumanian people but also strongly affect their material interests, inasmuch as Roumanian immigrants by their savings increase the amount of stable currencies available for commercial and financial purposes in Roumania. This, in turn, would not fail to have a detrimental effect on the chances of Roumania to speedily attain its goal, economic recuperation, an aim which cannot be indifferent to any Government interested in assisting the world to recover from the consequences of the world war.
[No.] 535/1