The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1914-02-05
LONERGAN OPPOSES
 THE LITERCY TEST.
Hartford Congressman Heard From on the Floor Of the House Of Represen-
 tatives.

In opposing the hteracy test in the bending immigration bill on the. floor tof the house, Representative Angus tine Lonergan of Hartford, brother of Edward Lonergan of the firm of
 Lonergan and Downey. spoke as fol- I lows:
 s'Mr. Chairman. in the consideration of this bill. we should adhere to first principles Since the year 1920. for efgners have come to our shores in greater or less numbers. We are all descendants of foreigners, but none the less true Americans. Men from different European countries not only blazed the way as pioneers and es- tabHshed themselves and reared and descendants were instrumental in the establishment of different form of government. It was they who sub- stituted a popular form of govern nent for q proprietary form of gov l ernment. It was they who furnish l ed large numbers to go to the front in time of need, and thereby exemplified their patriotism and their love of their adopted country An examination
 Of statistics will show in what large
 all American wars. They also dis played their patriotism in other effec-
 tive ways.
 Quotes the Declaration. we, as representatives of the peo- pie of this country, should take cog nfzance of what is incorporated in the Declaration of Independence, when it stated, among other things, in emu merating the grievances against the king of Great Britain:
 He has endeavored to prevent the population of these states;9 for that purpose obstructing the laws of nat Iuralization of foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migra- ton hither, and raising the conditions of new appropriations of lands
 eff the democratic party is built upon anything, my friends, it is built upon the Declaration of Independence. It is the corner stone upon which the party is founded. Our party has a great opportunity-an opportunity to defeat this proposed measure. There is no demand for this legislation. Poll itics ought not to enter the bill under consideration, and our friends on the other side of the house should join in it's defeat.
 What we must determine is whetI1- CT a man is healthy and honest, and not whether he is able to read forty or fifty words to the satisfaction of an inspector. am opposed to this bill on account of the 1iteracy test I1lit-I eracy is not necessarily lack of edu- cation in that all education is not de- rived from books Are we not plac- ing a penalty on those who had no opportunity for schooling. which was the case with hundreds of thousands who came to America and who con
 tributed so materially to the welfare of the country2
 .eWhy should we per init man of y criminal instincts who can read and write to enter this country, and place a barrier before the honest and heal tainments? The. economic value of a citizen should be taken into consid- eration-
 Foreigners of Connecticut.
 sIn the state of Connecticut, the population is 29.6 per cent. foreign. and the men who have adopted that
 state as a permanent place of abode are among our best citizens. They represent the blood of different ceun- tries of Europe. They are indus trious, enterprising, Iaw-abiding peo-
 pie. who raise large families and who become, and whose children become. vital forces in upbuiIding of communi- ties in the inventive state of the Un- ion. They are mindful of the duties of citizenship. They are ambitious in every way to better themselves. They strive by every means to give their children better advantages than those they enjoyed. Some of the foreign born are among our leading business
 men, and those of the second genera ton hold prominent places in many walks or lire
 New York. Feb. -Characterizing ra- dium as lone of the greatest aids which surgery could possibly have,'' Dr. w H. Cameron, of the Pittsburgh Radium Clinic. last night discussed the properties of the mineral as therapeutic agent on cancer and orth- ritis, at meeting of the radiun so- sciety- pr. Cameron said his astound- ing results had been obtained in cases of orthritis.
 Paris. Feb. 51Ado1pho De Lama, who in January resigned his position as Mexican ministers of finance as a protest against Provisional President Huerta's decree suspending the pay nnent of interest on the Mexican Ma tional debt. decided today to return to Mexico to serve again as minister of finance. He will leave Paris on Feb. IT.