Speech #620257991

Mr. Speaker and gentlemen.. that It was an amateur who. drew it and not an expert.. It was on the 18th of January that the Committee on Immigration of the Senate reported the bill The gentleman complains of the committee of which I have the honor of being chairman about the delay that we made In the reporting of the Dillingham bill. That bill was never reported by the Senate until Congress had been. in session a month and a half. and when it was reported. although our commission had recommended that the most feasible manner of restricting undesirable immigration was by the reading and: writing test. and although there were two members- of that commission on the Senate Committee on Immigration. In some wayI do not charge that the gentleman had anything to do with thatthat bill was reported with the illiteracy test stricken out entirely. and for that reason. it simply amounted to nothing. so far as its restrictive elements were concerned. Now. how long did the Senate hold it? I desire to contrast the time within which our committee took action upon it and the time that the Senate Itself took action. Although when the bill was passed there were only 8 or 10 against it. yet it was not until April 19 that that Senate bill passed. and on April 20 it came to our committee. - The gentleman states that we gave audience to representatives of steamship companies and others who were opposed to restriction of immigration. We gave three days to those who were opposing the Root amendment and to those who were in favor of the Root amendment and those who were opposed to a clause in the Dillingham bill which required that certificates should be provided to people upon their landing. I stated to the speakers before our committee. although occasionally they would break over. that already we had reported what was known as the Burnett bill. which stood straight by the illiteracy test. and that that question should not be discussed. and It seems to. me that is the only way we could really do it. if they really desired to restrict immigration. Some months before that time the Burnett bill had been reported. on April 16.