Western Carolina Democrat and French Broad hustler. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1913-1915, 1913-03-20
THAT Is WHAT UNCLE gam q
LIKELY SOON TO say TO
IMMIGRANTS.
BILL NOW IS IN coNFERHlcE
President Taft Probably VIII sloa
Measure That 10 Designed to -.
elude People From some Parb
Of Southern Europe.
Rx cEoReE

grafton restriction bin and sent M
over to the house for approval. The
representatives changed the form OF
the bill. passed it and sent It to CON
ference. It is believed that an agree
ment upon the provisions of the q
ure viii be. reached by the two houses
and that soon congress win pass It
and send 1t to the president for his
signature or his veto.
Il ID understood that MI. Taft does
not entirely agree with the provf
which 1t seems certain it finally win
be approved by congress. The law
win contain g provision shutting out
from America all immigrants above
the age Of sixteen years who are I'M
able to read, unless it can be proved
that the aliens are fleeing from reh
gtous-persecution.
While the president Is said not to
be entirely sympathetic with the bill
Il Is believed that In the near future
immigrants win be subjected to the
reading test before they can admitted
to this country. The test viii be IN.
the language which the immigrants
speak. When the measure passed the
senate there was q i've to one vote in
favor Of a provision which would have
subjected immigrants to both reading
and writing tests. The house knock
ed out the writing provision and semi
the bill to conference.
Taft VIII Sign n.
It Is the opinion Of congressme1
who have made inquiry into the matter
that the change Of the form Of the II
Mteracy test will not make much DIFF
ference. It Is held that about 80 out
Of every 100 persons who know how
to read also know how to write. u
seems finally to be assured that q re
strictive immigration measure win
find q place on the statute books IN
the immediate future, for while Prest
dent Taft is known to have somt
doubts in the matter, the general be
lief is that he viii sign the bill
There is no use to try to gloss ovea
the real 81 why congress was viii
ing to put the reading test into thu
new immigration law. The desire Il
TO keep out immigrants whom en-
periepce, IT is said, has proved to BE-
undesirable as a class, and this meant
the exclusion Of certain Of the south
Italians, certain of the Jews, certain
Of the Poles, and men and women 81
other races among whom the per
centage Of ~iIliteracy is high.
The steamship companies AlwayI
have been against "antiimmigratio1
laws" The reason for their opposi
ton needs no explanation. Under tht
proposed law rejected aliens will be
sent back to their native lands at the
expense Of the steamship companies
which bring them yer. The supposi
ton is that the companies will Oh
their own behalf see to it that no one
is allowed on board who cannot &c
through unstumblingly a paragraph q
his school reader.
For years attempts have been madI
in congress to get through an immi
grafton bill with an uliteracy tesi
clause as one of its provisions. II
1897, when Grover Cleveland wai
president, bib very much like the
present one, or like the form In which
1t has been sanctioned by the house
was passed by congress. Mr.. Cleveland
vetoed it and it has been said that att
erward he regretted his act There
always has been strong opposition to
the passage of q measure which would
exclude immigrants because OF ina
bility TO read and write.
Question Really OF Geography.
II congress could have done IT.
would have exempted from the ma
eracy test Immigrants from the north
ern European countries, but Of conrBl
Il could not do this. The issue, 50
far as geographical restriction
concerned, always has been avoided
but when q thing is perfectly plain,
denials and evasion r Of 20 service
Certain kinds Of immigrants : NOD
wanted, and it Is supposed that the u
literacy clause wm keep them out.
The opposition to the ~iliteracy
test has come during the years not
only from n~aturalized Americans whG
do not like to see their homeland
kindred debarred from. admission, but
nom men ana WOm04 VI PEO444uP4S9
In the work of the world and who an
descended from "1mmigrents" VIVA
came to this couAty IA the seven
tenth and eighteenth centuries.
The provision OF the bill which a.
lows iIliterate immigrants to enter
the country II they are trying to get
away from religious persecution opens
up the question Of preof. In certain
countries the Jews are p~erseeuted OF
and on. VIII an immigrant be allowed
to enter because he is In fear Of per
secution, a iear based on past per.
formance?" In other words, must the
persecution be open and active and
must a man be actually fleeing from It
In order to be admitted to this country
without being asked to read his way
int 1T
The n1iteracy test proVision M tn
immigration bill was PASSED By the
votes Of men Of both parties; in fact
party lines were completely oblitsret