Evening star., 1917-03-18
BY JAMES B. MORROW.

STOURTEEN years ago John Law"
son Burnett, measuring five feet
and one and a half inches in his
q stockings. began to study the
great human subject of immigration.
A member of Congress from Alabama.
residing at the edge of the Birmingham
iron region. he had seen thousands or
alien men come into his state and had
noted the manner of their living.
These, men, common laborers. worked
in the ore limestone and coal mines and
at the furnaces. Few of them could
read or write Practically all Of them
were birds of passage" to employ
phrase by which he now describes
them. The money they earned above
their expenses was sent to Europe to
be spent there or boarded against the
day when slack work in this country
compelled a return to their homes on
the other side of the Atlantic. They
never meant to be citizens of the
United States. Rarely were their wives
and children with them. To men OF
their type, striking for more wages or
shorter hours OF labor carried with it
license to destroy property. loot stores
and saloons and use rocks. knives ana
guns in their combats with society.
At his own request Mr.. Burnett was
made a member of the committee on
immigration in the House of Repre-
sentatives. He travelled in Europe TO
broaden his knowledge of the subject
in which he purposed to become
specialist
Moving upward, in his committee,
through the operation OF the rule of
seniority. Mr.. Burnett was appointed
its chairman after Champ clark sue
ceeded Joseph g. Cannon in the speak
ership of Congress. And several weeks
ago Mr. Burnett's bill excluding aliens
from the country who cannot read was
enacted into law and will soon become
operative.
The 'literacy test" as it is called,
had been vigorously debated in Con-
gress for more than twenty years
Three Presidents, Mr.. Cleveland. Mr..
Taft and Mr. Wilson, had vetoed bills
that made the ability to read one of
the requirements for the admission of
aliens into the United States. Mr..
Burnetts bill was disapproved by
President Wilson. but Congress. by
vote of 2S6 to 106 in the House of Rep
resentatives on February l and of 62
to 19 in the Senate February .,
passed it over his veto and wrote it
into the book of statutes.
So the battle is at an end. Mr.. Bur
nett told the writer of this article that
the new law in normal times Will year
ly shut the gates of the nation in the
faces of $50 900 undesirable alien men
and women. 1t will exclude. he says,
from 40 to 45 per cent of the lmml-
grants from southern Italy, 40 per cent
of the Greeks, 40 per cent of the Turks
and SyrianS, % per cent of the Poles.
40 per cent of the Spaniards and Portu-
guese. so per cent of the Mexicans and
Ill of the Hindus and the other races
that are not Caucasian.
The writer of the Burnett 1aw-and
by that name the act viii be known
from now on, is sixty-three years old
When he entered Congress. nearly two
decades ago. he was the shortest man
in either the House or the Senate. He
still has that distinction. Instead of
being sensitive on the subject OF ms
size. he takes occasion in his speeches
outside of Congress humorously to re-
late incidents in which his height has
caused others than himself some per-
pleXity or emba ira ssment.
Lawyers when addressing this court
will stand" said an irritated Alabama
judge who had never seen Mr. Burnett
before.
Il am standing. your honor" Mr..
Burnett replied, from behind 4 table
on which were his documents and
books.
Members will be seated shouted
Uncle Joe Cannon one riotous after.
noon while Speaker of the House OF
Representatives Then turning to the
sergeant-at-arms, he ordered: IVY ak
through that aisle" pointing with MS
gavel. "and see if Burnett of Alabama
is down or up"
II will now introduce the only rebel
at our board" said the POSTMASTER at
a banquet of the Loyal Legion NJ
Burnett is small. but he is big enough
to take care of himself. even among
former officers of the Union army.
Yes" Mr. Burnett answered, when
he rose. II am small, but that isn't my
fault In the south it Is the practice
to make children wait for the second
table when there are guests for dinner
or supper. Often the. children don't get
very much.
From the time I was seven until I
was eleven about half a million 1anks
came unlimited through our part OF tho