Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1902-12-13
Commissioner Sargent Prefers
the Retention of the Edu-
cational Test.
THE HEARINGS ARE CONCLUDED
Testimony Largely in Interest of Leg
isIation - Educational Requirement
Could be Sacrificed Without Destroy
ing Efficacy of BilI-sargent Makes
Plea for Retention of Head Tax.

Washington, Dec. 13.-The hearings
on the immigration bill by the senate
committee on immigration have been
concluded. The testimony taken was
largely in the interest of legislation, and
a willingness was manifested on the
Part of important witnesses to submit
to the elimination of the provision for
ar educational test should such action
prove necessary to secure the success
of the bill.
Commissioner General of Immigra-
ton Frank Sargent said that while he
would prefer the retention of the edu-
eational requirement, he recognized the
tact that that feature could be sacri-
feed without destroying the efficacy OF
the bill. With the other portions OF
the bill uninpaired he believed that
most of the undesirable illiterates could
be kept out under other restrictions.
Mr.. Sargent made an urgent plea for
The retention of the SO head tax, saying
that with the increased vigilance neces-
sary more money would be required to
meet the expenses of the service. He
spoke especially of the necessity for in
creased vigilance on the Mexican from
tier, and said that he recently had Sc
cured information by personal observa-
lion of the smuggling into this country
Of large number of the most undesira-
BILE elements of Mexican poems who
we're willing to work at from % to 35
cents per day. These people, he said,
were fed from the troughs, as hogs
might be, and were treated just as
slaves.
They were finding employment in the
mines of Colorado and New Mexico. We
cid not want such labor as that, and
the Mexican frontier is long and hard
TO guard, rendering the work expensive.
Mr.. Sargent declared there is now
wealth enough in this country to en-
ploy labor at proper remuneration. He
declared that the plea for unlimited I'M
migration is from the transportation
companies alone and not from manu-
facturers and farmers. In this connec-
iton he said that he had no general fault
to find with the transportation compa-
Hies, but that he had complained OF
their schemes to evade the law. On
this account he appeals for tron-clad
requirements.
Among the more important witnesses
of the day was Robert Watchorn, in
charge of the United States immigra-
ton inspection service in Canada, with
Headquarters at Montreal. He said
that at present the Canadian railroads
coming into the United States are
prompt in complying with the require
ments of the inspectors, but that this
compliance was due to the penalty i'm
posed. Without that penalty 1T would
be impossible to secure their compli-
ance. He said that owing to the strict
requirements made by our laws of
steamship lines coming into the United
States there had been an almost entire
elimination of undesirable immigrants
landing at American ports, but that the
reverse was true of immigrants coming
into the United States thru Canada, the
percentage of diseased persons coming
thru Canada being so, while of those
coming direct to the United States the
proportion was only one-tenth of / per
cent. This, he said, was the result of
design and not of accident, the immi-
grafton agents in Europe furnishing
badges to immigrants showing them to
be diseased or not.
Commissioner David Healey, with
headquarters at Victoria, b. c., gave
similar testimony concerning the neces-
sity for guarding the northwest from
tier. He spoke especially of the danger
from an invasion of Japanese coolies.