Session #63 · 1913–15

Speech #630136408

Mr. Chairman. we have gone the extreme limit in trying to meet the views of gentlemen who are pleading that the immigrant does not get a fair show when he is examined. We have inserted in this bill two new provisions. We require that when an alien is rejected by a board of special inquiry he must be Informed of his right of appeal to the Secretary of Labor. We also require that on appeal the alien shall be permitted to employ counsel. Now gentlemen propose to allow him counsel at the very time when he ought not to have counsel. at the very time when he is being taken aside. to see what his answers will be when he has no counsel at his elbow. "Bigotry is at the bottom of this demand for the restriction of immigration." says some one. Bigotry. forsooth! Was it bigotry which Impelled the legislatures of 17 States to petition for the literacy test? Was it bigotry which guided the footsteps of Samuel Gompers to our committee room. when he came to plead for this law? Was it bigotry which caused the American Federation of Labor time and again to call upon Congress to enact this very same measure which we are now considering?
Keywords matched
immigration immigrant literacy test

Classification

Target group
Sentiment
Mixed
Stereotyping
No
Confidence
95%
Model
gemini-2.0-flash
Framing
Legal / procedural

Speaker & context

Speaker
AUGUSTUS GARDNER
Party
R
Chamber
H
State
MA
Gender
M
Date
Speech ID
630136408
Paragraph
#0
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