The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-01-30
PRESIDENT VETOES ! IMMIGRATION BILL ON L|TERACY TEST Burnett, Author of Meas ure, Will Try to Pass It
 Over Opposition of
 Executive

Washington January 2s.-President Wilson today vetoed the immigration biil passed recently by Congress. because of it's literacy test provision.
 The Presidents veto message to the
 House, in which the bill originated, fol- lows:
 q very much regret to return this bill without my signature.
 Tn most of the provisions of the bill should be very glad to concur, but I cannot rid myself of the conviction that the literacy test constitutes radical change in the policy of the nation which is not justified in principle. It is not a test of character, of quality or of person. al fitness, but would operate in most cases merely as a penalty for lack of op-
 portunity in the country from which the alien seeking admission came. The op- portunity to gain an education is in many cases one of the chief opportunities sought by the immigrant in coming to the United States, and our experience in
 the past has not been that the illiterate
 immigrant is as such an undesirable irn-
 migrant. Tests of quality and of pur-
 pose cannot be objected to on principle, but tests of opportunity surely may be.
 Moreover, even if this test might be equitably insisted on. one of the excep- tions proposed to its applicatio involves a provision which might lead to very
 delicate and hazardous diplomatic situa- tions.
 "The bill exempts from the operation of the literacy test all aliens who shall prove to the satisfaction of the proper immigration officer or to the Secretary of Labor that they are seeking admis-
 sion to the United States to avoid reli- gious persecution in the country of their last permanent residence, whether such persecution be evidenced by overt acts or by laws or governmental regulations that discriminate against the alien or the race to. which he belongs because of his reli- gious faith
 Such a provision, applied and ad- ministered, would oblge the officer con- cerned in effect to pass judgment upon the laws and practices of a foreign gov ernment and declare that they did or did HOt cOuStltulc ICiiSiouS POi iSSSueioH. ulS
 would, to say the least. be a most invd- ious function for any administrative of ficer of this government to perform, and lit is not only possible, but probable, that very serious questions of international justice and comity would arise between this government and the government or
 governments thus officially condemned should it's exercise be adopted. T dare say that these consequences were not in the minds of the proponents of this provision, but the provision sepa-
 rately and in itself renders it unwise for me to give my assent to this legislation in it's present form
 House it was ordered to lay on the table until Wednesday morning and plans were |inaugurated to override the veto. Rep |resentative Burnett said tonight he would move for a vote Thursday. Two years |ago the House lacked only four votes of the necessary two-thirds majority to pass the bill over the veto, the yeas being 261 and the nays 136 The attempt hav- ling failed in the House. no action was taken by the Senate.
 When President Taft vetoed a similar measure because of the literacy test the Senate succeeded in overriding him. by more than two-thirds majority. but the House fell short about dozen votea. The bill which the President vetoed to- day passed the House last March 30S to H,
 and the Senate in December by e to !.