Speech #630380562

All these other questions .now are aside. .They are covered by thebill. lam willing to go -withthe committee.-as far as they like .in excluding the -vicious. the corlkupt. and the dangerous from our shores. and togo further .and exclude ..any race. not because. - as .I said.a moment ago. I have any .feeling against therace. but. because they. are.Incapable of becoming a partof our civilization or.sustaining our Government. :Coming. then. to this ameudment.letus fora.moment see just what the effect will be. It will be.observed. that itrelates only to the literacy test. If a man..possesses .an education. he. must also be free -from the objectionable -characteristics which are prohibited by the bill. andthen we come to an inhibition -which relatesonly to the question ofeducation. and we.are.to.treat that alone. The bill recitesThat the following classes ofpersons 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 tothe Secretary of Labor that .they :emigrated from the country of -which :.they were.last permanent residents solely for .the ..puvpose .of .escaping from religious persecution. Now. the committee admit that if a man .is fleeing from religious persecution he should be :.permitted to come into the United States -whether he -can read !and write or whether he can not read and write. That is an admission of theprinciple that there should be exceptions and that there properly. may be exceptions to the literacy :test asa bar. That provision has been amended so as to cover. political:persecution. Again. if a man flees to escape -political persecution the committee admit that he shouldnot be -excluded. simply. because hecan not read or write. Now. wecome toithe propositionof thisamendment. which is thatAll alienswho -shall prove to -the isatisfacton of the proper Immigration officer or to the Secretary of Labor that they areseeking admission tothe United States to avoid religious or.polittalAnd. now. as amendedreligious. political. or racial -persecution. We might as well discuss the -question of racial persecution with great -frankness. The Senator in charge of "the bill pronounced aeulogy upon theJewish_ people.