Hopkinsville Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1889-1918, 1917-02-08
Immigration Measure With
Literacy Test Passed, End
ing 20 Years Contest.
KENTUCKTANS VOTE AYE
Senate Votes 62 to 10 De-
spite Japan's PrOtest---NO
Reflection On Any Race.

Washington, Feb. Congress has |
overridden a veto by President VIII
son for the first time and enacted into
law the Immigration Bill with its
long-fought literacy test provision.
The Senate voted late Monday 60 to
10 to pass the measure notwithstand-
ing the veto and in spite Of the elev-
enth-hour information that Japan
again had protested the language of
the Asiatic exclusion section.
The House overturned the veto last
week by vote of 287 to LOG, so the
Senate's action ends the contest of
twenty years standing in which three
Presidents have repudiated similar
bills passed by Congress.
The international situation was
brought into the closing debate in the
Senate. Senator Reed calling atten-
ton to the japanese objection and
pleading that nothing be done at this
time to disturb or impair the country's
relations with a friendly nation. Sen
ator Smith, of South Carolina, chair
man of the immigration Committee,
answered with the declaration that
the present state of international
affairs emphasized the necessity for a
pure, homogeneous American people,
such as the bill was intended to pro-
tect.
The vote on repassage of the bill
was as follows:
To override the vote:
Democrats: Ashurst, Bankhead,
Beckham, Bryan, Chamberlain, Chill
ton. Culberson, Fletcher, Hardwick,
Hughes, James, Johnson,of Maine;
Kern, Kirby, Lane, Lee, Martin, Ny
ers, Overman, Phelan, Pittman, Pom
creme, Robinson, Shafroth, Sheppard,
Shields, Simmons, Smith, Of Georgia;
Smith, of South Carolina; Thomas,
Tillman, Underwood, Vardaman, VIII
liams-34.
Republicans: Borah, Brady, Clapp,
Cummins, Curtis, Dillingham;, Fall,
Gallinger, Gronna, Harding, Jones,
Kenyon, La Toilette, Lodge, McCum-
Der, Nelson, Norris, Page, Penrose,
Poindexter, Smoot, Sterling, Suther-
land, Townsend, Wadsworth, Wat
son, Weeks, Works %.
Total, ~.
! Against overriding the veto;
Democrats: Hollis, Husting, John
son, OF South Dakota; Lewis, MARITIME,
Ransdell, Reed, Salisbury, Stone,
/ Thompson, Walsh-ll.
/ Republicans: Brandegee, Clark,
Colt, du Pont, Lippitt, Sherman,
Smith, Of Michigan; Warren--9.
! Total, 10.
{ Senator Hollis, one Of those who
voted 20 override the veto, had voted
against the original Passage of the
bill. Senators who voted for the
original bill, but would not vote tc
pass il over the veto, were Hollis,
johnson, of South Dakota, and
Thompson, Democrats, and Sherman
and Smith, of Michigan, Republicans,
! The literacy test provided for in
/ the bill excludes from the United
States all aliens over l6 years of age
physically capable of reading who
cannot read the English language OF
some other language or dialect, in
GLIDING Hebrew or Yiddish. Any
admissible alien, however, or any
citizen of the United States may bring
in or send for his father or grand
father, over 55 years of age, his wife,
mother, grandmother, or unmarried
or widowed daughter, if otherwise
admissible, regardless OF whether
such relatives can read.
President Cleveland vetoed the first
immigration measure with a literacy
test provision. President Taft disap-
proved the second bill, and in 1915
President Wilson rejected the third.
President Wilson wrote his second
lveto message a few weeks ago.