Evening capital news. (Boise, Idaho) 1901-1927, 1914-08-23
NO HOPE FOR THE
PASSAGE OF BILL
At This SESSION
immigration Measure Will
Have to Go Over to the
Short Session-Features
of the Bill.

Washington, Aug. 22.-All hope of
passing the immigration bill before adj
journment has been abandoned by
friends of that piece of legislation. This
defers the big battle on the merits of
the much mooted illiteracy test until
the next session of congress. When 1t
does come it is expected to divide the
Democratic party as did the fight on
the repeal Of the exemption of Pana-
ma canal tolls
Such party split is not expected to
profit the Republicans much however,
for the simple reason that the Re-
publicans in the senate will follow the
example they set in the tolls battle
and will split themselves, SO that it
would be difficult to make partisan
issue out of it.
AS the bill passed the house, it con-
tained the illiteracy test, and this is
strongly desired by number of sem
ators, this being shown by the report
of the senate immigration committee
made many months ago. In fact 1t is
generally believed that the friends of
the illiteracy test have enough senat-
ors who think there ought to be some
qualifications for Immigrants coming
to our shores to pass the bill with the
test clause in It. and put the issue UP
to the White House.
Amendments Adopted.
The senate committee adopted a
number of amendments to the house
bill, but the illiteracy test the great
issue which has prevented the mea-
sure from being passed through the re-
fusal of the leaders to allow the time
they know would be taken by the fight
to be given to that subject, has not
been changed in conference, since it
would not be amenable to the rulings
of a conference committee.
The president is known to be OPP
posed to the illiteracy test, despite the
earnest desire of such strong admin
istration senators as Simmons of North
Carolina, Smith of South Carolina and
others to have the measure passed. |
Consequently when the final vote on
that measure does come in the senate
most interesting situation will arise
That the president can scarcely pre-
vent the ultimate passage of the i'm
migration bill with the illiteracy test
in it is admitted by number of SEN
ators opposed to the provision, though |
they say there Will be no difficulty |
about delaying the vote until the next |
session of congress.
Whether the president would carry |
his opposition to the illiteracy test to
the point OF vetoing the whole bill, |
and thus deal slap at the senators
favoring the provision who have sup
ported him through thick and thin, as
for instance Simmons, who reversed |
himself on the tolls question and led |
tho fight for the president. is one of
the angles of the question which gives
it great significance here.
Will Save Much Money.
Incidentally, aside from the big con-
troversial question of the illiteracy |
test, there are a number of points In
the bill, many of them inserted by Of
fcials of the Atlantic coast immigra-
ton states which if passed will have
the effect of saving those states a great
deal of money, as well as granting |
than they now obtain.
One of these relates to the admis-
sion OF the incipiently insane. or, as
one of the physicians testifying before
the committee said, chose who have
the germ of insanity" A provision in
the bill framed to meet this would per-
nit the deportation after several years
of a person who has come, apparently
sane, to this country but who went In
sane due to the stress of American life,
or for some other reason.
Insanity experts and officials of the
immigration states are extremely anx-
ious for the passage of this amend
ment and for another which provides
for more careful examination for In
sanity among the immigrants. The
present examination they say, is
Joke.