The Denver star., 1915-01-23
WASHINGTON DEFENDS RACE.
Head Of Tuskesee Institute Protests
Against Passage of immigration Bill.

Head Of Tuskesee Institute Protests
Against Passage of immigration Bill.
One of the first individuals of the
race to "oice his protest against the
immigration bill when it came up for
was DIR. Booker Il. Washington. presi-
dent of the Tuskegee (Ala.) Institute
In his appeal to the representatives
In congress and to the various news
papers to use their influence against
the passage of the African exclusion
clause of the bill Dr. Washington
said:
Through your newspaper desire to ap-
peal to the American congress and to the
people of the United States in favor of
fair play and justice in connection with
the immigration bill now pending before
the United States senate which by amend
ment excludes from coming into this
country any person of African descent.
The bill. in my opinion. is unjust. un-
reasonable and unnecessary. 1t is unnec-
essary because only few thousand peo-
pie of African descent enter this country
annually. Practically all of these that do
come are mainly from the West Indies
and almost none from the continent oe
Africa 1t is evident that many of those
who come into this country do not remain
census Of 1910. there were in the United
States only 4o.3le Negroes who were for
eign born. and only 473 of these had come
from Africa.
The bill puts an unnecessary slight upon
colored people by CHASING them with alien
criminals.
Tho bill in its present form would seem
to prohibit citizens from the republics of
Liberia. Cuba and Hayti and also from
Porto Rico and Santo Domingo entering
this country. thus placing ~ unnecessary
hardship upon these smaller countries
which would not be done. in my opinion.
IL they were stronger. 1t seems to me
that the strength or weakness of the ma
ton should not constitute our sense OF
Justice toward that nation. but the weak
er the nation the more We ought to be
sure that no injustice is done
In n personal conversation with a high
officer of the Panama canal commission
he told me that the services of the ia
maican Negroes were invaluable In build
ing the Panama canal. Now that we are
celebrating the completion of this great
canal it seems most unjust and unrea-
sonable that the people who contributed
in so large measure toward the compile
tion of the canal should be slapped in the
face and told that they cannot enter this
country even when they meet the require
ments Of our government.
The passing of this bill will stir up ra-
cial strife and accomplish no practical
purpose.
An investigation will show that the col
ored people who have come to this coun-
try from the West Indian islands and
from other foreicn countries have proved
as q whole to be law abiding, intelli-
gent. Industrious class. They have never
become anarchists or as class given
trouble to the government
Let me repeat. then. il is unfair at this
time when we are all striving to bring
- t.
a question which is calculated to stir ur
needless strife. and l cannot feel that the
best people in the south. where the bulk
of the colored people live. approve the
passage of any such bill
Lastly the passing OF such an unjust
law will cripple the missionary and edu-
cational work which we are trying to dc
in Africa and elsewhere. For a number
of years some OF the brightest younr
people from Africa and elsewhere have
been coming to this country to receive
training to At them to go back and help
their people. and this they have done sn
an effective manner. All this. under
stand. viii he stopped by the pa ssing OF
this law.
This measure is not political or section
al and hope that all people will zee the
justice of asking congress to refrain from
perpetratinE this unjust act upon my
race Certainly We have enough to con-
tend with already without having this
additional handicap and encouragement
placed in our pathway.
BOOKER T. WASHINGTON
TuskeHee Institute. Alabama.