Speech #630133046

New York. California. and Kentucky were "KnowNothings." The slogan of the "KnowNothing Party " was that Americans must rule America. and their greatest strength was in the Thirtythird Congress. from 1854 to 1856. when they claimed 43 Representatives and 5 Senators. Ten years later. however. in the Thirtyeighth Congress. there was not a " KnowNothing" Representative in the House. and the " KnowNothing Party" disappeared without having accomplished anything against immigration. The truth is that in 1864 Congress passed a law to encourage immigration. especially the importation of contract labor. This law was repealed. however. in 1868. leaving on the statute books the act of 1819. amended slightly by the acts of 1847 and 1848. providing improved conditions in the steerage of immigration ships. The law of 1864 stands out as the only attempt on the part of the National Government to promote immigration. The States. however. have frequently made such attempts. New York. in 1824. passed a law requiring all masters of vessels arriving at the port of entry to make a written report. giving the name. age. and last residence of every person on board during the voyage. and whether any of the passengers had gone on board any other vessel with a view of proceeding to New York. Another section of the law gave. the mayor of New York City the power to require bond of every master of a vessel to indemnify the mayor and the overseer of the poor from any expense incurred for passengers brought in and not reported. This law was held to be constitutional by the Supreme Court of the United States.. and in 1829 the State of New York passed another law. which provided that the master of every vessel arriving from a foreign port should pay to the health comiuissioner $1.50 for every cabin passenger. $1 for every steerage passenger. mate. sailor. or marine. and 25 cents for every person on a coasting vessel. In 1837 Massachusetts passed a law requiring the owner of a vessel to pay $2 for each alien passenger brought to her ports and to give bond that certain immigrants should not become a public charge. Both the New York and the Massachusetts statutes were later held in part to be unconstitutional. California and Louisiana passed statutes looking to the limitation of immigration. which were held to be unconstitutional. In California the question of Chinese immigration was so acute that recourse was had to the Federal Government. which resulted in the Burlingame treaty. which was proclaimed on July 28. 1868. and which was the first treaty to deal with Chinese immigration to the United States. The attitude of the United States in this treaty toward Chinese immigration was not popular in the Pacific Coast States. and they continued their agitation for further restriction of Chinese immigrants. which resulted in the Congress of the United States passing the act of March 3. 1875. aimed at iunigrants from China. Japan. and other oriental countries. This law prohibited the importation of convicts. women for immoral purposes. coolie labor. and Chinese and Japanese subjects without their free and voluntary consent. and fixed heavy penalties for a violation of the provisions of the stattite. Later other treaties and Chinese and Japanese exclusion acts forbade the immigration of Chinese and Japanese to this country as well as Korean laborers. skilled or unskilled. And that is the way the matter stands today. So the bill now before the House is not intended to exclude Chinese. Japanese. or Korean laborers. skilled or unskilled. as that is already provided for. And while the National Government was experimenting with immigration in this way the various States had from time to time. as I have said. tried their hands at it. New York. Massachusetts. California. Louisiana. and other States passed imnigration statutes of one form and another. the constitutionality of a number of which in time reached the Supreme Court of the United States for final decision. It became apparent that the subject of immigration was too big for State control. and in a very unusual decision of the Supreme Court of the United States on March 20. 1876. that court decreed thatWe are of the opinion that this whole subjectOf immigrationhas been confided to Congress by the Constitution. that Congress can more appropriately and with more acceptance exercise it than any other body known to our laws. State or national. that by providing a system of laws In these matters applicable to all ports and to all vessels. a serious question which has long been a matter of contest and complaint may be effectively and satisfactorily settled. This decision virtually put the subject of immigration under Federal control. and on July 6. 1876. following the decision of the Supreme Court In March of that year. Senator Conkling and Representative Cox. of New York. introduced bills In Congress for the national regulation of immigration. No legislation. however. of this sort was put on the statute books until August 3. 1S82. This law provided. among other things. that a head tax of 50 cents each be levied on all aliens entering the ports of the United States to defray expenses of regulating immigration and caring for needy immigrants after landing. that lunatics. idiots. convictsexcept for political offenses--and persons likely to become public charges should not be permitted to land. and that the Secretary of the Treasury be charged with executing the provisions of the act. and that he be empowered to enter into contracts with such State offices as the governor of any State might des:gnate to take charge of the local affairs of immigration within such State. On February 26. 1885. the first act of Congress was approved forbidding the importation of contract labor to the United States. This law was defective in that no arrangement was made for Its general execution. no Inspection of the alien was provided for. nor deportation of the contract laborer. if found so to be. This act. however. was amended by an act of February 23. 1887. which gave the Secretary of the Treasury authority to deport within one year from landing any alien who had come to this country contrary to the provisions of the contractlabor act. In 1889 a standing committee on immigration was established In the Senate of the United States. and a select committee on immigration and naturalization was established in the House. In 1890 these committees were authorized to make a joint investigation of the immigration question. and especially to look into the various State laws on the subject. These committees. In making their report. suggested that while no very radical changes in the immigration laws were atthat time advisable. still they found that throughout the country there existed a strong sentiment for a stricter enforcement of feese laws. The fact is that in the year 1890 one or more political parties in 23 different States demanded additional regulation of immigration. Responsive to this demand for stricter immigration laws and regulations. the Congress of the United States passed. and it was approved on March 3. 1891. an additional immigration act amendatory of previous acts. This act added to the list of aliens heretofore excluded those "suffering from a loathsome or contagious disease." "polygamists." and those "whose ticket or passage Is paid for with the money of another or who is assisted by others to come." except. however. that any person living in the United States could pay the way of a relative or friend. provided. of course. that the relative or friend did not belong to some of the excluded classes. This act strengthened further the existing contractlabor law by prohibiting the encouragement of immigration by promises of employment through advertisements published in any foreign country. and steamship companies were forbidden under penalty to solicit or encourage immigration. The law of 1891 also created the office of Superintendent of Immigration. and instead of some State officer. by appointment of the governor. having charge of the execution of the immigration laws in that State. as provided for in the act of 1882. the whole question of immigration for the first time was completely under Federal control. This act also provided that the commanding officer of every vessel carrying aliens to our shores should furnish to the proper immigration officials the name. nationality. last residence. and destination of all immigrants on board. that medical examination of immigrants at United States ports should be made by surgeons of the United States MarineHospital Service. and within one year after arrival any immigrant might be returned who had come to this country in violation of law. and that. too. at the expense of the transportation company that brought him. For the first time inspection of immigrants on the Mexican and Canadian borders was established. While this was the most stringent immigration act passed by Congress up to this time. still the subject of immigration continued to be much discussed. and a strong movement for further restriction developed. owing largely to the industrial depression from 1890 to 1896. Investigations more or less extensive were conducted by joint committees of Congress and also by the Indus.trial Commission. In 1894 an act was passed raising the head tax from. 50 cents to $1. but President Cleveland vetoed another bill passed by both branches of Congress providing for a literacy test. Based upon the report of the Industrial Commission made to CongTess February 20. 1902. a bill was introduced in the House providing for a complete codification and rearrangement of all immigration acts from March 3. 1875. to the act of 1894. An amendment was offered to this bill and passed by the House by a vote of 86 to 7 providing that all persons over 15 years of age who were unable to read the English language or some other language should be excluded. making an exception in favor of wives. parents. grandparents. and children under 18 years of age. The bill so amended passed the House May 27. 1902. When it reached the Senate it eliminated the educational test. raised the head tax from $1 to $2. and made it unlawful for any person to assist in the entry or naturalization of alien anarchists. The House agreed to these amendments. and the bill was approved by the President March 3. 1903. It was not until February 20. 1907. that any other immigration act of much import was passed by Congress. although by an act of February 14. 1903. the Department of Commerce and Labor was established and the Commissioner General of Immigration was placed under that department. his official position being that of a head of a bureau. On June 29. 1906. the Bureau of Immigration was changed to the Bureau of Immigration and Naturalization. a uniform rule for the naturalization of aliens was provided for. and the administration. of the new naturalization law was charged to this bureau. A little history ofthe immigration act of February 20. 1907. the latest now on the statute books. with a small amendment of March 26. 1910. and the one sought to be amended by the bill we are now considering. may not be amiss: A bill introduced by Senator DmLiNGIIA1. of Vermont. was favorably reported by the Senate committee on March 29. 1906. This bill sought to amend the immigration act of 1903 by increasing the head tax from $2 to $5. by adding imbeciles. feebleminded persons. children under 17 years of age unaccompanied. and persons "who are found to be and are certified by the examining surgeon as being mentally or physically defective. such mental or physical defect being of such a nature which may affect the ability of such alien to earn a living." were added to the excluded classes. The section of existing law exeluding prostitutes was amended by adding "women or girls coming into the United States for the purpose of prostitution or for any other immoral purpose." A division of information. was created in the Bureau of Immigration and Naturalization. and steamship companies were for the first time required to furnish to the proper immigration officials lists of outgoing passengers. In the Senate the bill was amended by the insertion of literacy tests very similar to the one this House is now considering and which I will later quote. and the Senate bill as amended by the literacy test passed the Senate May 23. 1906. When the bill reached the House it was referred to the Committee on Immigration and Naturalization. and they amended it by substituting one of their own. in many respects similar to it. including the literacy test. In the conference between the House and the Senate conferees the head tax was made $4. the literacy test eliminated. and a commission composed of nine members was authorized to make a complete Investigation of the immigration question and report its findings to Congress. Composing this commission were to be three Members of the House. appointed by the Speaker. three Members of the Senate. appointed by the President of the Senate. and the other members of the commission to be appointed by the President of the United States. This commission. after an extensive investigation. both In this counry and in Europe. costing $1.000.000 and covering a period of four years. made a voluminous report covering 42 volumes of printed matter. covering all phases of the immigration question. This commission. after a most thorough investigation of the immigration question. found certain facts to exist and made -some specific recommendations to Congress. In the first place. the commission found that there were too many immigrants coming to this country. that there is now an oversupply of unskilled labor in the basic industries of the United States. that restrictive legislation ought to be passed by Congress. and that the literacy test was the best single method of accomplishing the desired end. Let me quote the exact words of the commission: Zhe investigations of the commission show an oversupply of unskilled labor in basic industries to an extent which indicates an oversupply of unskilled labor In industries of the country as a whole. a condition which demands legislation restricting the further admission of such unskilled labor. It Is desirable in making the reduction that a sufficient number be debarred to produce a marked effect upon the present supply of unskilled labor. And after enumerating more than a half dozen ways by which this reduction could be brought about. the commission added : A majority of the commission favor the reading and writing test as the most feasible single method of restricting undesirable immigration. And this is not a .partisan political report for political purposes. It is a report by men of both parties after a most care-. ful and painstaking in.vestigation. The fact is that the question of immigration is not a political one. So from what I have said you will see that the policy of this Government fnom the time it took any notice of this immi-. gration question at all has been one of restriction. and every bill. With the one exception. that has been passed by Congress. from the .earliest history .of this Government down to now has. been one restricting and not encouraging the flow of immigration to this country. In the face of this legislation. showing beyond any doubt that one class of undesirable immigrantsi after another has been excluded by Federal legislation. I do not understand :how Members can assert that by and through the bill before us we are reversing our policy as a Nation toward immigrants coming to this country. I have briefly reviewed the legislation on this .question. and: before taking up and beginning to discuss the merits of the bill! now pending before this House I want to adduce some proof to show that the question is nonpolitical and that restrictive legislation has been demanded in the national platforms of -the two: dominant political parties in this country. Awa.y back in 1896. more than an eighth of a century ago. when the evils of immigration were not so great and not so well known as now. the Republican Party in its national platform of that year not -only demanded a Testriction of immigration but specifically indorsed the reading and writing -test as a means to accomplish that end. The plank in the platform to which I refer is as follows: For the protection of the quality of our American citizenship and of the wages of our workingmen against the fatal competition of lowpriced labor we demand that the Immigration laws be thoroughly -enforced and so extended as to exclude from entrance to the United States. those who can neither read nor write. This is one of the planks in the platform upon which the beloved McKinley was elected. and in his inaugural address he specific.ly indorsed the immigration plank and recommended an intelligence test to alien immigrants. to the end that American citizenship be protected and American institutions preserved. . In the iepublican national platform of 1900 -we find this: language: In the further interests of American workmen we favor a more effective restriction of the Immigration of cheap labor from foreign lands. etc. In his first message to Congress in 1901 exPresident Roosevelt. indorsed unequivocally the restriction of immigration and an educational test. He used this pointed language: The second object of a proper immigration law ought to be to secure a careful. and not merely perfunctory. educational test. some intelligent capacity to appreciate American institutions and act sanely as Amer-: lcan citizens. The Republican national .platform tlis year (1912). the latest .expression of the party on the subject. reads -as follows: We pledge the Republican Party to the enactment of appropriate laws to give relief from the constantly growing evil of induced or undesirable immigration. which is inimical to the progress and welfare of the people of the United States. That the Republican Party stands for a restriction of immi.gration there is no room to doubt. The Democratic Party. too. has put itself on record in regard to this great question. In its national platform of 1896 it used this language: We hold that the most efficient way .of protecting American labor is to prevent the importation of foreign pauper labor to compete with it in the home market. In its national platform of 1900 the Democratic Party. while containing no plank upon the general subject of immigration. dndorsed the Chinese exclusion law and recommended its application to the same classes of all Asiatic races. And the Democratic national platform of 1904 contained :no plank upon the general subject of immigration. but did specifically oppose the admission of Asiatic immigrants in this language: We are opposed to the admission of Asiatic immigrants. who can not. be amalgamated with our population. The Democratic national platform of this year (1912) indorses more stringent immigration laws. This is the latest expression of the Democratic Party on this Important subject of immigration. Not only have the two dominant political parties in this country repeatedly expressed them-: selves in their national platforms in favor of restricting -Immigration. but the Republican platform of 1896 and the Republican President elected upon the Republican platform of 1900 have in express terms favored the literacy testsuch a literacy test in substance that we are now considering. And what is that literacy test and what are the terms of ithe bill now before us? I will insert at this :point section 3 of the bill before .us. which covers -the -classes of alien immigrants to be excluded: �Sxc. 3. That the following classes of aliens shall be excluded from admission into the United States: All Idiots. imbeciles. feebleminded persons. epileptics. Insane persons. and persons who have been insane within five years previous . persons who have had one or more attacks of Insanity at any -time previously. paupers.. persons likely to become a public charge. professional beggars.. vagrants. persons afflicted with tuberculosis in any form or with a loathsome or dangerous contagious disease.. persons not comprehended withinany of the foregoing excluded .classes .who are found to .be and are certified by the examining surgeon as ibeing mentally or physically -defective. such mental or physical defect being of a nature which may affect the ability of such alien to earn a living. persons who have been convicted of or admit having .committed a felony or other crime or misdemeanor involving moral turpitude. polygamists. or persons -who -admit their belief in the practice of polygamy. anarchists. or persons who believe in or advocate the overthrow by force .or violence of the Government of the United States or of.all formsof law. or .whodisbelieve in or are opposed to organized .government. or Who -advocate the assassination of public officials. or .Who advocate or teach the unlawful destruction of property. persons who are members of or affiliated with any organization entertaining and teaching disbelief in or opposition to organized government. or who advocate or teach the duty. necessity. or propriety of the unlawful assaulting or killing of any officer or officers. either of specific individuals orof officers generally. of the Government of the United States or of any other organized government because of his or their official character. or *who advocate or teach the unlawful destruction of proporty .prostitutes. or women :or girls coming Into the United States -for .thepurpose of prostitution or for any other immoral purpose. persons xwho procure or attempt to bring in prostitutes. or women or girls for the purpose of prostitution or for any other Immoral purpose . persons who are supported by or receive. In whole or !in part. the proceeds -of prostitution. "persons hereinafter called contract laborers who have been Induced. assisted.encouraged. or solicited to migrate to this coun:try :by offers or promises of employment. whether such offers or promises are true or false. or in consequence of agreements. oral. written. or printed. express or implied. to perform labor in this country of any kind. -skilled or unskilled. persons who have come in consequence of advertisements for laborers printed. published. or distributed in a forelgn country . persons who .have been deported under any of the provisions of this act and who may again seek admission .within one year from the date of such deportation. unless prior 15 their roombarkation at a foreign port the Secretary of Labor shall have consented to their reapplying for admission. persons whose ticket or passage Is paid for with the money of another. or who is assisted by others to come. unless It is affirmatively and satisfactorily shown that such person does not belong to one of the foregoing excluded classes. persons whose ticket or passage is paid for by any corporation. association. society. municipality. or foreignGovernment. either directly or indirectly . stow.aways. except that any such stowaway may be admitteddin the discretion .of the Secretary of Labor. all children under 16 years of age unaccompanied by one or both -of their parents. at the discretion of the Secretary of Labor or under such regulations as he may from tine to .time prescribe. tpersons who can not become eligible under existing law to become citizens of the United States by naturalization. unless otherwise provided for by existing agreements as -to passports. lor .by treaties. conventions. or agreements that may hereafter be entered into. lihe provision next foregoing. however. shall not apliy to persons of the following status or occupations.: Government officers. ministers or re.liglous teachers. missionaries. lawyers. physicians. chemists. civil engi.neers. teafhers. students. authors. merchants. and travelers for curiosity or pleasure. nor to their legal wives or their children under 16 years of age who shall accompany them or who subsequently may apply for admission to the United States. but such persons. or their legal wives or foreignborn children who fall to maintain in the United States a status or occupation placing them Within the excepted classes shall ibe deemed to be.In the United States contrary to law. and shall be subJect .to deportation. as provided In section 19 of this act. That after four months from the approval of this act. in addition to the aliens who are by law now excluded from admission into the United States. the following persons shall also be excluded from admission thereto. -to -wit : All aliens over 16 -years of age. physically capable of reading. who can not read the English language. or some other language or dialect. Including Hebrew or Tiddish : Prouidcd. That any admissible alien or any alien heretofore or hereafter legally admitted. or any citizen of the United States. may bring in or send for his father or grandfather over 55 years of age. his wife. his mother. his grandmother. or his unmarried or widowed daughter. .if otherwise admissible. Whether such relative can read or -not. and such relative shall be permitted to enter. That for the purpose of ascertaining whether aliens can read the immigrant Inspectors shall be furnished with slips. of uniform size. prepared under the direction of the Secretary of Labor. each containing not less than 30 nor more than 40 words in ordinary use. printed in plainly legible type in the various languages and dialects of miiiigrants. .ach alien may designate the particular language or dialect in which he desires the examination to be imade. and shall be required to read the words printed on the slip in such language or dialect. No two aliens coming in the same vessel or other vehicle of carriage or transportation shall +be tested with the same slip. That the following classes of persons shall be exempt from the operation of the illiteracy test. to wit: All aliens who shall prove to the satisfaction of the proper immigration officer or to the Secretary of Labor that they are seeking admission to the United States solely for the purpose of escaping fromn religious persecution . all aliens in transit through the United States. all aliens who have been lawfully admitted to the United States and who later shall go In transit from one part of the United States to another through foreign contiguous territory : Provided. That nothing in this act shall exclude. if otherwise admissible. persons convicted of an offense purely political. not involving moral turpitude: Provided further. That the provisions of this act relating to the payments for tickets or passage by any corporation. association. society. munici.pality. or foreign Government shall not apply to the tickets or passage of aliens in immediate and continuous transit through the United States to foreign contiguous territory : Provided iurtfer.