Mr. President. this debate. like many another. has drifted far wide of the real merits of the controversy. This bill as it passed the other Ilouse contained what has been called a literacy test. At the samTe time. by excepting those who come here on account of religious persecution it plainly recognized the asylum principle In our immigration laws. It placed among the other tests literacy. and then provided that aliens coming here might be exempt from that test if they could prove to the satisfaction of certain officers that they had come here. on account of religious persecution. There we have the retention of the literacy test. the recognition of the asylum principle. and the extension of that exemption to a particular race. I have voted this morning for certain amendments not to enlarge this exemption. but as I pointed out yesterday to make this exemption plain. so that there might be no question of what it meant. Having done my utmost to make this exemption .plain. and being unable to make it any plainer than it is. and the bill clearly recognizing the principle of asylum extended to this particular people who come from other lands where they have no voice in their government. I could not. of course. vote for the proposed amendment to strike out the socalled literacy test. I do not believe It Is the ultima Thule test of citizenship. On the other hand. we ought to encourage education and discourage illiteracy. I believe this bill is the happy medium in placing the literacy test in the law and at the same .time recognizing that the principle of asylum must still prevail In our immigration laws. only I regret that the exemption might not have been put In terms so plain as to lead to no confusion. as I urged yesterday.
Keywords matched
immigration literacy test