Speech #640216171

I think it is only fair that the Senate should have the benefit of the statistic gathered by the committee. It is necessary in justification of the point raised by the Senator from Missouri. In 95 years the total immigration to this country from Africa was 14.279. The total immigration from Europe was 29.002.796. The total immigration from Asia was 721.735. The percentage of illiteracyfor there is a clause in this bill raising illiteracy as a bar. declaring that the immigrants must speak and write certain languagesthe percentage of illiteracy from Africa is 83. The number of immigrants that have come to this country from Africa in 95 years14.000is. as has been said. almost negligible. If the literacy test is adopted in this bill. then it might be fair to say that 83 per cent of those that will yet come here will be excluded by virtue of their illiteracy. That means that 83 per cent of those that came were illiterate. We have no figures that enable us to know the percentage of illiteracy in Africa.