Speech #630132975

I have asked for this limited time today because I shall not be able. unfortunately. on account of serious sickness in my family. to be present and vote on the measure when the roll is called. It is on that account that I wish to express myself in favor of this bill. as I did at the last Congress. when I also voted for practically the same bill. It has seemed to me in considering the arguments that have been made in opposition to the measure. both at this session and In the former Congress. that one important fact has been overlooked. and that is that if we are to undertake to please everybody and to meet with everybodys views we never will have any kind of restriction adopted to prevent the indiscriminate immigration which we have seen coming to our shores in such alarming volume within the last few years. As an illustration. we heard a good many arguments made against the recent banking and currency law. but everybody admits now that there was need of reform in that direction. If we had waited to conform to the views of every financier and everyone who thought he was a financier. we never would have had this law or any other kind of law on our statute books. This leads me to observe. in criticism of the arguments of my very good friend from Missouri . that. however serious may have been some of the objections to the banking and currency law. I did not hear anyone bold enough to urge as an argument that because the conditions that then prevailed in the country as regarded the banking and currency laws of 100 years ago were satisfactory we should have no other system or policy now. And for the same reason it seems to me preposterous to undertake to compare conditions that existed 100 years ago with reference to immigration laws to the very serious problems that confront us today. when during every year more than onethird as many people come to our shores from foreign countries as were living in this country in those colonial days. So. Mr. Chairman. if we are to wait until we get a perfect bill we never shall take the initiative. I admit here. having examined the subject somewhat with care. that this literacy test is by no means conclusive. Of course it is not. The mere fact that a man may be required to read some language. even his own. may not make him a good upright citizen in every respect. but it is a step in the right direction. and if we are today to answer the appealthat which I believe to be the almost universal sentiment aid desire of ninetenths of the people of this countrywe certainly will take some forward step at this time and put a law upon the statute books that will make for reform.