The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1911-09-15

Indicative rl J favorable sItH HtoeisH
tf itt tlntesfhir ifti
in tte lffHis ihf fftNnI iH 1901 uaf
strongly % favof ef ftslfisiion ahd q
voted nim0ai nraHial6unlf ih fafrf "a
nn tirfai'onai test Ihf htai ~ the
commission oa immlrftiion. Senator
nilllnrham. whose name a. 70 ere hill.
h strongly in fayof 81 ihe test Hena'
tor Lodge ~ Maaraehusfits has almost
made this test hobby Tor q number
Of years The South appears 20 be
somewhat divided upon it but the ma.
iofliy Of the southoru senators at that
time strongly favored A.
Mckinley. Roosevelt and Taft are al
on record on The subject. President
Mckinley IN hia inaugural address on
March 4, 1897. used this ihnguagei
i'Our naturalization and immigration
laws should be further improved 10 The
constant promotion Of n safe, n better
and higher citizenship. A grave peril
TO the republic would be a citizenship
too ignorant 20 understand " too vi.
cious 90 appreciate the great value and
benehcencc Of our institutions and laws
and agaisnt all who come here 70 war
upon them our gates must be promptly
and tightly closed.n
Straight Talk.
President Roosevelt in his message
to congress in 1901 used this language:
"Our present immigration laws nre
unsatisfactory. We need every honest
and efficient immigrant fitted to become
an American eitizen-every immigrant
who comes here to stay, who brings
here n strong body, a stout heart, q
good head and n resolute purpose to do
his duty well in every way and to
bring up his children as law-abiding
and God-fearing members of the com.
munity. But there should be a com
prehensive law enacted, with the OBJ.
iect of working a threefold improve.
ment over our present system.
"The second object of a proper i'm
migration law ought to be to secure
by II careful and not merely perfume.
tory educational test some intelligent
capacity to appreciate American inst.
tutions and act sanely as American cit
liens.
This would not keep out all an
archists, for many of them belong ia
the intelligent criminal classes. But il
would do what is also in point-that is
tend to decrease the sum of ignorance
so potent in producing the envy, sus
picion, malignant passion and hatred Of
order out of which anarchistic senti
ment mentally springs.'
President Taft in his various mes
sages has followed along the lines o.
his predecessors.
Uetoed nv Cleveland
| Congress itself had the subject FIRE
quently before it, In the Fifty-fourtl
congress proposition to apply the ed
lucational test to immigrants was passe,
by both houses. 1t was vetoed b.
Cleveland. In the Fifty-ffth congress
a bill embodying the same test passe,
the senate. 1t was likewise passed il
the tifty-seventh congress by the sen
ate.
The present act of 1907 in its origi
nal form contained the educationa
clause, but this was defeated by MAJ
row margin in the house.
Expression of opinion on the part o
! labor leaders and Gompers in particu
! lar, all indicate that organized labo
, will be in favor of both educationi
r and citizenship qualifications. TIL
' public utterances of Gompers are pa
t ticularly strong along these lines.
: The platforms of the two great pa
t ties during the last three campaign
n have all leaned strongly toward excluC
n ing all illiterates and persons not quail
? fed to become citizens.
= A.