Charlevoix county herald. (East Jordan, Mich.) 189?-1953, 1909-06-05

and you will oblige a fool friend of mine who
runs an automobile. Yours more or less sim
cerely. -"
1t was a Chicago man who wrote this appeal.
There were others like unto it. The good
roads bill still sleeps.
There are two things which the house of
representatives infinitely would prefer should
never come before the members for consider
ation-regious matters and immigration mat
ters. immigration the house must, of course,
deal with directly; religious matters it is
forced to touch indirectly, much to the in
ward discontinue of many of the legislators.
We are living supposedly in an enlightened
age, and yet religious bodies have not forgot
ten how to use the instruments of coercion. 1t
makes difference at all how utterly with
out foundation the charge of bigotry may be
it always finds its believer and the charged
one suffers personally and at the polls.
An immigration bill which was before the
house Of representatives had no bigotry in
any of its provisions unless it be bgotry to
wish to deny admission to America of a class
of people who can work little but injury to the
land which they wish to enter. The real
reason that the charge of bgotry was en-
tered was because the men making use Of
the accusation knew well that when every
thing else failed the insnuation of narrowness
was bound to have its effect
The bill contained a clause which forbade
entrance to America to illiterates. Unques-
tonably it not the desire of the trainers
Of the measure much to keep out people
who could not read and write as it was to
keep out certain misunderstanding elements
and certain pauperized elements.
Most of the iterate and those who are
likely to become public charges come to
America from certain well-defned sections of
Europe 1t would be utterly impossible for
congress to pass law saying in plain words
that immigrants from these sections were not
to be admitted. If such geographical dis
elimination were made mortal offense would
be given to some nations of Europe, and like
wise mortal offense would be given to the
people already in America who owed former
allegiance to those nations. The illiteracy
prohibition put into the bill as the best
way to accomplish end without giving Of
Tense
AS it was, the members of congress whose
duty ii was to press the measure to a passage
were made bright and shining marks for those
who chose to hurl the "bigot" missile 1t was
a hard duty which the friends of the exclusion
measure had to perform. They knew that
nine-tenths of the Democrats and the Republi-
cans in the house were in favor of the reten-
ton OF the lliteracy clause, but they knew
also that these men feared personal criticism
and campaign antagonsm if they voted for the
bill as it stood The measure did not pass in
its original form, but perhaps 1t will pass at
another session.
Representative a. p. Gardner of Massachu-
setts member of the house committee on i'm
migration and a representative who favored
the passage of the immigration bill as it stood
made a speech in favor of the measure, and
stated openly the floor of the house that
he had been accused OF bigotry because of his
advocacy of the educational test lie defend
ed himself so successfully against