Session #54 · 1895–97

Speech #540100354

We differ as to the causes for there b~ing so many. That there are a great many. no one questions. Every immigrant who comes into the country is some of the unemployed of other lands coming in here. I will confess that I am very radical upon this question. I should be glad to see immigration stop until everymanand woman seeking workin this country have employment. Women certainly work for low wages. and the lines of work for which they compete are overcrowded. I think that that which makes it desirable to exclude the male immigrant makes it just as desirable to exclude the female immigrant. The illiteracy test is simply an effort to adopt a test which shall restrict immigration. lower the number of immigrants coming to this country. and do it by shutting out the most undesirable class. That all persons who can not read and write are undesirable. no one will contend. No form of exclusion can be perfectly accurate. but it comes as near to it as any test. If Senators will take the trouble to read the very careful analysis made in the report of the committee they will. I think. find what I say on that point justified. This test. if it had been applied during the last year. would have shut out 75.000 immigrants. according to the last report of the Commissioner of Immigration. That is sufficient argument for me. I do not see how it can be advisable to add constantly to the volume of the employed in this country in that direct way.
Keywords matched
immigrants immigration immigrant Immigration

Classification

Target group
Sentiment
Negative
Stereotyping
No
Confidence
100%
Model
gemini-2.0-flash
Framing
Economic threat

Speaker & context

Speaker
HENRY LODGE
Party
R
Chamber
S
State
MA
Gender
M
Date
Speech ID
540100354
Paragraph
#0
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