New Britain herald., 1915-01-28
IMMIGRATION BILL
 ' VETOED BY WILSON
President Sends Message t0 House
 Disappointing LlIcIdCy Test.

congress saving he diSapprONCd the measure because of the i,cra y test and other restrictive tests which 1t proposes as condition of admls sion of immigrants to the United states.
 Message to House.
 President Wilson's message Gciiv- cred to the house was as folO
 Tt is with unaffected regret tfat l find myself constrained hN clear con~ viction to return this bill Gl. R. 6oGo, an act to regulate the mmiera tion of aliens to and the residents ut aliens in tho United States) without my signature.
 Not only do I feel it to be a se- rious matter to exercise tho power of veto in any case, because II ln- wolves opposing the single judgment of the president to the judgment Of a majority of both holscs ot the con gress, a step which no man Wno real izes his own liability to error can take without great hesitation but al- so because this particular bill Is in so many important respects admira- bly, ell-conceived and desirable.
 Forced to Dissent
 Its enactment into law would un- doubtedly enhance the efficiency and improve the methods of handling the important branch of the public ser vice to which it relates, but candor and a sense of duty with regard to the responsibility so clearly imposed upon me by the constitution in mat ters of legislation leave me no choice but to dissent.
 Tn two particulars of vital conse- quence this bill em mbodies a radical departure from the traditional and long esta ablished policy of this coun- try, a policy in which our people have conceived the very character of their government to be expressed, the very mission and spirit of the nation ill respect of it's relations to the peo-' pies of the world outside their bor- ders It seeks to all but close en- tirely the gates of asylum which have always been open to those who could find nowhere else the right and op- portunity of constitutional agitation for what they conceived to be the natural and inalienable rights of men; and 1t excludes those to whom the opportunities of elementary education have been denied without regard to their character, their purposes, or their natural capacity.
 Have Altered Course.
 Restrictions like these adopted earlier in our history as a nation would very materially have altered the course and cooled the humane ar dors of our politics. The right of political system has brought to this country many man of noble char acter and elevated purpose who was marked as an outlaw in his own less fortunate land, and who has yet be- come an ornament to our citizenship and to our public councils.
 The children and the compatriotS of these illustrious Americans must stand amazed to see the represent tatives of their nation now resolved. in the fullness of our national strength and at the maturity of our great institutions, to risk turning such men back from our shores with out test of quality or of purpose. It is difficult for me to believe that the full effect of this feature of the bill was realized when it was framed and adopted, and it Is impossible for me to assent to it in the form in which it is here cast.
 More Radical Change.
 The iteracy test and the tests and restrictions which accompany it con- stitute an even ID ore radical changed policy of the nation. Hitherto we have generously kept our doors open to all who were not untitted by req son of disease or incapacity for self support or such personal records and antecedents as were likely to make them a menace to our peace and or I +n bn v-n OlnSor11p and essential relationships of life. Tn this bill it is proposed to turn away from tests of character and of quality and to impose tests which exclude and re- strict: for the new tests here en- bodied are not tests of quality or of chara cter or of personal fitness, but tests of opportunity. Those who come seeking opportunity are not to be admitted unless they have already had one of the chief of the oppor- tunities they seek-the opportunity Of education The object of such pro- visions is restriction, not selection.
 "If the people of this country have made up their minds to limit the rumber of immigrants by arbitrary tests and so reverse the policy of all thc generations of Americans that have gone before them it is their right to do so am their servant and have no license to stand in their way. But I do not believe that they have. I respe ctfully submit that no one can quote their mandate to that effect. Has any political party ever avoWed a policy of restriction in this funda- mental matter, gone to the country on it, and been commissioned to con- trol it's legislation? Does this bill rest upon the conscious and universal as sent and desire of the American people? I doubt it. It is because I doubt it, that I make bold to dissent from 1t. I am willing to abide by the verdict, but not until it has been rendered. Let the platforms of | parties speak out upon this policy