DISCRETION

One of the problems of immigration has at last received official attention and seems likely of solution. The Stobbs bill now before the House of Representatives aims to avoid in future some of the cases of individual hardship that have been incurred from time to time under the hard and fast rulings necessary to control the rush of foreigners to this country. One of the most recent instances of the sort was the admission of an alien whose permits were satisfactory while his wife, American born, was detained by officials under a technically. The Stobbs proposal purposes to deal with difficult situations by allowing the secretary of labor to grant at his discretion some of the many unused permits that remain for countries where there is no rush for admission to individuals from, countries where the quota is exhausted.

At first sight such a policy might seem inequitable, but it is provided that the qualifications for admission will remain unaltered while the number of immigrants will not be enlarged. It is pointed out that every year some 2000 certificates remain unused. How better could they be applied than to avoid the shortcomings of necessary provisions? The mechanics of immigration regulations is a matter for experts, but the most inexperienced can appreciate an effort to introduce a measure of discretion to problems where an Iron-clad ruling cannot fall, sometimes to be unfair.