Speech #620138092

President. the question is not whether this test will still leave it possible for some people to come in who ought to come in. or whether it will keep out certain people whom it would be well to keep out. but whether such a test will be beneficial to the people of the United States. It seems clear to me that it will be beneficial asa whole. I think there is a general and wellfounded feeling that we have been taking in immigrants from the Old World in recent years rather more rapidly than we have been assimilating them. They have been coming in rather more rapidly than they have been acquiring American habits of thought and the American spirit of government. and it could not well be otherwise in view of the fact that of the 9.555.000 immigrants who have come into this country during the 12 years following the War with Spain. 2.238.801 over 14 years of age were unable to read and write. with the result that we have many great communities composed of people gathered together unable to speak the English language. unable to read the newspapers or the magazines or the books. through the agency of which a knowledge of what is going on in the world and a knowledge of the principles of our Government may be communicated to our people. These communities of foreigners. speaking a foreign tongue. with foreign habits and thoughts. cut off by inability to read from the great body of the people of America. cut off from our ideas. from our thoughts. our sentiments. our feelings. our purposes by their own ignorance. are encisted in the body politic of America and the body social of America and are not a part. in fact. of the organized community which we call the United States.