The Yale expositor., 1909-05-21


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-religious matters and immigration mat
tiers. immigration the house must, of course,
deal with directly; religious matters 1t 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 the instruments of coercion 1t
makes no difference at all how utterly with
out foundation the charge of bigotry may be
it always finds it's 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 1t be bigotry to
wish to deny admission to America of a class
of people who 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 OF
the accusation knew well that when every
thing else failed the insinuation of narrowness
was bound to have its effect
The bill contained a clause which forbade
entrance to America to illiterates. Unques-
tionably 1t was 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 illterate and those who are
likely to become public charges come to
America from certain well-defned sections of
Europe II would be utterly impossible for
congress to pass law saying in plain words
that immigrants from these sections were not
to be admitted. II 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 was put into the bill the best
way to accomplish end without giving Of
Tense
AS it was, the members of congress whose
duty il 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 i'm the house were in favor of the reten-
ton of the illiteracy clause, but they knew
also that these men feared personal criticism
and campaign antagonism IL they voted for the
bill It stood The measure did not pass in
its original form, but perhaps II will pass at
another session.
Representative A. p. Gardner of Massachu-
sets. member of the house committee on i'm
migration, and a representative who favored
the passage OF the immigration bill as 1t 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 He defend
ed himself so successfully against