Speech #630133046

The Legislatures of the great States of Ohio. Tennessee. Vernont. and other States have memorialized Congress to pass more stringent immigration laws. and have specifically indorsed the literacy test. The various farmers organizations throughout the length and breadth of the land. the great labor organizations all over the country. the patriotic societies. powerful bodies representing charity. commerce. and the like. have upon divers occasions pas.oed resolutions memorializing Congress to enact a law embodying an educational test and more stringent immigration laws generally. There are a greater number of the people of the United States engaged in agriculture than in any other calling. The Farmers National Congress. a body representing the highest ideals in agriculture in all the States of the Union and composed of representative farmers and students of agriculture from all the States. holds a national convention each year. Delegates are selected to attend these conventions by the governors of the various States as well as by the great agricultural organizations and bodies from the most skilled and scientific agriculturists in the whole country. At these national gatherings they discuss the various problems affecting the welfare of the farmer. and often express their views in the form of resolutions. At the last National Farmers Congress they passed the following resolution: Whereas the congressional Immigration Commissions report of 40 volumies has just been published and recommend the very measures which this organization has been advocating in its resolutions for years to judiciously restrict undesirable immigration: Resolved. That we enthusiastically approve the commissions legislative recommendations that the head tax be increased. the Illiteracy test be enacted. the foreign steamships be fined for bringing undesirables. and that other judicious measures be adopted. which are hereby urged upon the Congress of the United States. The Farmers Educational and Cooperative Union has a membership of over 3.000.000. This is possibly the most powerful in point of numbers and influence of any of the farmers organizations in this country. This organization has been much interested in restrictive immigration laws and has frequently indorsed the literacy test: At a recent meeting of this organization it expressed itself in this fashion : Whereas the Immigration Commission. after a four years investigation at home and abroad. involving an expenditure of a million dollars. repers that " many undeniably undesirable persons are admitted every year " . that " there is a growing criminal element in this country. de to foreign immigration ". and that " substantial restriction is demanded by economic. moral. and social considerations ". and Whereas that commission recommends increasing the head tax. excludIng illiterate adults. requiring some visible means of support. fining the foreign steamsihips for bringing undesirables that could be rejected ot the other side. and other measures. law in other new countries. anC urged for years by this organization In its resolutions. before congressional committees. and otherwise. and Whereas it is proposed to relieve the Northeast of its Intolerable Immigration evils and to continue tite unloading of undesirables upon this country by diverting and distributing the incoming. everincreasing influx from southern Europe. Asia. and northern Africa over the agricultural sections of the South and West. Then it goes ahead to pass strong resolutions. and asks Congress to put on the statute books the laws they desire on this subject. The American Federation of Labor. the largest labor organization in this country. has for years at its annual gatherings been passing resolutions and petitioning Congress to pass more strict immigration laws. and it has specifically indorsad the educational testin substance the test we are now considering. The Grand International Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers. the Junior Ordei of United American Mechanics. the Knights of Labor. and other organizations have repeatedly passed resolutions specifically indorsing the literacy test and memorialized Congress to make it a law. And what are the reasons for this widespread interest in favor of stricter immigrations? Why has the American Congress from 1819 to 1907 been adding one restriction after another to the continued stream of immigrants flocking to our shores? The law of 181.0 was but a little makeshift. regulating steerage passengers at sea. The law of February 20. 1907. the latest on the statute books and the one we now promise to amend by adding a literacy test. provides in section 2: 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 two or more attacks of insanity at any time previously. paupers. persons likely to become a public charge. professional beggars. persons afflicted with tuberculosis or witl a loathsome or dangerous contagious disease. persons not comprehended within tny of the foregoing excluded classes who are found to be and are certified by the examining surgeon as leing 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 bee" convicted of or admit having commited 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 government. or of all forms of law. or the assissination of public officials. prostitutes. or women or girls coming into the United States 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 who procure or attempt to bring in prostitutes or women or girls for the purpose of prostitution or for any other immoral purpose. persons hereinafter called contract laborers who have been Induced or solicited to migrate to this country by offers or promises of employment or in consequence of agreements. oral. written. or prnted. expressed or implied. to perform labor In this country of any kind. skilled or unskilled. those who have been. within one year from the date of application for admission to the United States. deported as having been induced or solicited to migrate as above described . any person whose ticket or passage is paid for with the money of another. orwho is assisted by others to come. unless it !s affirmatively and satisfactorily shown that such person does not belong to one of the foregoing excluded classes and that said ticket or passage was not paid for by any corporation. association. society. municipality. or foreign Government. either directly or indirectly. all children under 16 years of age unaccompanied by one or both of their parents. at the discretion of the Secretary of Commerce and Labor or under such regulations as he may from time to time prescribe: Provided. That nothing in this act shall exclude. if otherwise admissible. persons convicted of an offense purely political. not Involving turpitude: Provided ftither. That the provisions of this section relating to the payments for tickets or passage by any corporation. association. society. municipality. 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: And provided further That skilled labor may be imported if labor of like kind unemployed can not be found in this country : And provided further. That the provisions of this law applicable to contract labor shall not be held to exclude professional actors. artists. lecturers. singers. ministers of any religious denominations. professors for colleges or seminaries. persons belonging to any recognized learned profession. or persons employed strictly as personal or domestic servants. This section debars many undesirables. but it needs further amendment. Even under its provisions there reaches the shores of our country every year in the neighborhood of 1.000.000 alien immigrants. from 30 to 40 -per cent of whom can neither read nor write. The question is not the excluding of immigration entirely. the question is not as to the excluding of desirable immigrants. but the question is. Shall this country be flooded each year with some 250.000 ignorant immigrants from the old country? The character of citizenship of any country in the world determines the character of its civilization. the character of its institutions. and the character of its government. Will the dumping of 250.000 foreign immigrants into the United States yearly who can not even read and write add to the standard of American citizenship? If they will do it. then this bill and all that pertains to it is wrong in principle. If. upon the other hand. the bringing into this country and dumping upon our shores yearly 250.000 people who know nothing of American institutions and who are incapable of learning much about American institutions and American life will injure the character of American labor and American ideals. then this bill ought to be supported by every man who wants to elevate the standard of American citizenship. because the purpose of it is to exclude this character of foreign immigration. The distinguished gentleman from New York in his remarks but a few moments ago said that this- country owes much of its greatness to those who come to our shores from Europe and other countries. That is unquestionably true. but the gentleman ought to remember that away back yonder in 1869 there was less than 1 per cent of the character of immigrants which this bill proposes to exclude that came to this country. This bill- in its operation will exclude the north Italiansthose of them who can not readand the south Italians. and the Poles. And in the year 1869 there was less than 1 per cent of this character of Immigants coming to America. while 75 or 80 per cent of the desirable immigrantsthe English. the Scandinavians. and the othersat that time constituted the large part of the immigration coming into this country. But year by year the north Italians and the south Italians. and the Poles. and the Slavs increased in number. and from year to year the desirable immigrants decreased in number. until in 1911 about 80 per centI am not exactly sure as to the accuracy of the percentagebut. in the neighborhood of S0 per cent of the immigrants coming to this country were immigrants from southern and eastern Europe. composed of the north Italians. south Italians. Poles. and Slavs. The argument has been made here that the Southern StatesAlabama. Tennessee. Kentucky. and others--ought to be the last States in the world to protest against illiterate immigrants coming into this country. for the reason that a high degree of illiteracy exists in all those States. and that the negroes of these various States. and especially the people living in the mountain sections of them. are known to possess a good. deal of illiteracy. I desire to say that no section of this Union has brainier or better people than live and dwell in the mountains of old Kentucky. There is there this day the purest reservoir on the American Continent of pure old AngloSaxon blood.