Speech #620312896

I mention this. Mr. President. merely to prove that some of us have given long and patient thought to this question. with no desire to discriminate "Igaitst any race or any nation. but with an earnest wish to render the immigration to this country as valuable as possible. and at the same time as little harmful is possible. Objections can be made to this legislation as they can be made to any other form of restriction or selection. All other forms have been carefully examined. but this is the best practicable form of selection and restriction which it has been possible to devise after 20 years of careful consideration. It has been proved over and over agaiu. and beyond question by successive investigations. that the illiteracy test would exclude more who tire undesirable and fewer who are desirable immigrants than any other. It has been shown over and over again that the illiterates form a very ltrge proportion of those inlinigrants who are congested ill the worst parts of our great Eastern cities. The objection is constantly made thatt the illiterIcy test: would not exclude criminals or anarchists. because criminals and anarchists usually read and write.