The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-12-24
BURNETT GOT BILL THROUGH AF TERRA VERY HARD FIGHT Opposition to Immigration Measure Was Led By Rep-
 resentative Mann SENATE EXPECTED
 TO PASS TT SOON New York and Louisiana Bitter in Op- position and Both Parties Were
 Divided on Question in
 the House
uy c. D. STEW ART

| 1 Washington, December 23.-(Special.)- l The opposition to the Burnett immigration bill, which passed the House last Wednes-
 day, and which must yet run the gauntlet
 of opposition to 1t in the Senate, was not
 large numerically, but was very deter mined.
 l The opposition was lead by Minority
 Leader Mann, though it was not party question by any means, the bill receiving strong support on the republican side and
 some bitter opposition on the democratic
 side. The New York delegation almost to
 a man was lined up against it, as was the 1 Louisiana delegation. Representative
 Mann, resourceful parliamentaran, put
 up strong hlibustering fight and delayed
 the passage of the bill for several days
 until he finally got it over to calendar Wednesday, a sacred institution in the
 House, and he was quite sure his victory l was won, for he felt that Thursday, the
 last day before recess for the holidays there would not be a quorum of the 1 House in the city.
 l Dispense With Calendar Wednesday Immediately after the reading of the
 
 moved to dispense with calendar Wednes- 1 day, which precipitated a fight to ephold
 the sacredness of that day. In this fight MT. Burnett was told before he started | it, there was little chance of success. es- I pecialy as he was deprived of the aid of
 MT. Underwood who was suffering from l a severe cold and had remained at his
 post of duty too long as 1t was. Mir. Un-
 detwood was compelled to remain at home
 both Wednesday and Thursday and the engineering of the fight fell on the shoul-
 ders of MT. Burnett and MT Gardner, re- publican, of Massachusetts, and member l of the immigration committee. They proved equal to the occasion, however. and succeeded in getting a two-thirds vote-which is required-for the suspen- 1 sion of calendar Wednesday.
 l MT. Mann grew eloquent in his defense l of calendar Wednesday. He deplored the 1 temerity of the gentlemen who would l break down this sacred day. "rhe coun- l try hailed with delight" he declared, the reform in the rules providing for calendar Wednesday, for the purpose of insuring one day in the week on which bills re- ported from committee might be consid- cred without either asking the speaker for recognition or the committee on rules for 1 a special rule.
 All the reforms proposed by the other side of the House to the rules they are
 gradually dispensing with,' he cried dra-
 ma tically You have ruined that re- form that you proposed and you now pro- pose to take the bowels the whole life, out of the rule providing for calendar Wednesday"
 Burnett's Reply
 Tt comes with poor grace from the gen tleman from Illinois, said Mir. Burnett, after the motion he made and the at tempt he made yesterday to prevent the consideration of this bill, for him to talk about 1t being an outrage to dispense with calendar Wednesday and call I'D the inn migration bill. We were right on the eve of the passage of the bill Many gentle meG made their arrangements to go to their homes last night and tonight Now if we pass this bill over till Thursday there might not be quorum here. I do not say that this Is the motive of the gentleman, but that would practically be the result. Calendar Wednesday is no more sacred than the rule which provides
 for dispensing with calendar Wednesday by two-thrds vote. It is part of the rule creating calendar Wednesday, and there is no more important measure, MT. Speaker, before this Congress or before the American people, than this immigra-
 tion bill.
 We have had a six year filibuster against this bill. and now we have come to the point of it's passage. concerning which the country is so nsistent and so urgent, and therefore insist that we can certainly suspend one calendar Wednes-
 day in order that we may meet the de-
 mands of the people, and of right for the passage of this bill"
 Calendar Wednesday was suspended
 and MT. Mann immediately precpitated another fight by moving to recommit the bill. Mir. Gardner lead the fight in op- position to this motion and MT. Mann again went down in defeat. and the bill
 was finally passed by the House. Senate Asked to Defeat It | Tn an editorial Saturday the Washington Post calls upon the Senate to defeat the | bill, declaring that the labor conditions in l this country are of such an alarming na- ture. the supply in no section being in any way equal to the demand, that the ex- | clusion of common laborers, whether they l can read and write or not. is unthihnable. | The friends of the measure. however. de- clare that the educational test in the bill will not bar the really worthy immigrants who are coming to this country by the | thousands annually. Nor is it intended | to dc so. But il will keep out certain class of the undesirables from certain sec | tions of Europe, who come here for only
 a year or two. never become naturalzed
 anc never make good citizens, and their exclusion will elevate and improve labor conditio IS in this country rather than in- | jure them.
 ! MT. Butnett expresses the greatest conf- derce that this bill will pass the Senate
 and will become law early in January
 JURY FINDS RAUDE | WAC MTYDnEDEn