It seeks to all but close entirely the gates of asylum whlich have always been open to those who could nd nowhere else the right and opportunity of constitutional agitation for what they conceived to be the natural and inalienable rights of men. and it excludes those to whom the opportunities of elementary education have been denied. without regard to their character. their purposes. or their natural capacity. It clearly appears from this langnage that the President would admit into this country the ignorant. illiterate. and unAmerican horde coming from every country under the sun. and t is equally as clear to my mind that he is absolutely wrong n his views on this very ilmportant subject. This is the third time that a President of the United States has used his veto prerogative to prevent the literacy test becoming part of the immigration laws that have been passed by both branches of Congress. I am not urging my views on this on account of a narrow view of the question. but.I realize that the very corner stone and foundation of a republican form of government such as ours rest upon the intelligence of its citizenship. and we can never expect to maintain a stable form of government if hordes of illiterates are allowed to come into this country unrestricted as they have been in recent years. The conditions that so recently prevailed in West VirgiiIa. Michigan. and Colorado. which caused such bitter warfare. would never have existed if it were not for the exploitation of these illiterate immigrants by those corporations who have practically made slaves of them. In my opinion those corporations have usurped the power of free government by taking advantage of these people and voting them through their bosses or padrone system. I urge you to pass this bill over the Presidents veto. as at this time there are millions of idle men uuable to procure employmeht in the United States. and among them are millions of illiterates who have come to this country in recent years. I. President Wilson further on in his veto message says: If the people of this country have made up their minds to limit the number of Immigrants by arbitrary tests and so reverse the policy of all the generations of Americans that have gone before them. it is their right to do so. - I am their servant and have no license to stand in their way. But I do not believe that they have. I respectfully submit that no one can quote their mandate to that effect.
Identified stereotypes
The speaker generalizes that illiterate immigrants are easily exploited and cause problems such as warfare and instability.