The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1917-02-10
Immigration B|LL,
PASSED OVER VETO
Measure Now Becomes Law With
Literacy Test Provision
Included.

WASHINGTON, Feb. S.-COngress
has overridden veto by President
Wilson for the first time and enacted
into law the immigration bill with it's
long-fought literacy test provision.
The senate voted Monday 62 to 10 to
pass the measure Notwithstanding the
veto and in spite Of eleventh-hour
information that Japan again had
protested against the language of the
Asiatic exclusion section.
The house overturned the veto last
week by vote of 287 to 106, so the
senate's action ends the contest of
20 years standing, in which three
presidents have repudiated similar
bills passed by congress.
How Senators Voted.
Democrats 49, Ashurst, Bankhead,
Backham, Bryan, Chamberlain, Chill
ton, Culberson, Fletcher, Hardwick,
Hughes, James, Johnson of Maine,
Kern, Kirby, Lane, Lee, Martin,
Myers, Overman, Phelan, Pittman,
Pomerene, Robinson, Shafroth, Shep-
pard. Shields, Simmons, Smith Of
Georgia, Smith of South Carolina,
Thomas, Tillman, Underwood, Varda-
man, Williams-34.
Republicans-Borah, Brady, Clapp
Cummins, Curtis, Dillingham;, FALL
Gallinger, Gronna, Harding Jones,
Kenyon, La Toilette, Lodge, Nc
Cumber, Nelson, Norris, Page, Pen
rose, Poindexter, Smoot, Sterling,
Sutherland, Townsend, Wadsworth,
Watson, Weeks. Works-2s. Total,
g..
Against overriding the veto:
Democrats-Hollis, Husting. john
son of South Dakota, Lewis, MARITIME,
Ransdell, Reed, Salisbury, Stone,
Thompson, Walsh-11.
Republicans Brandegee, Clark,
Colt, Dupont, Lippitt, Sherman, Smith
Of Michigan, Warren-8. Total, 10.
Senator Phelan, one of those who
voted to override the veto, had voted
against the original passage of the
bill. Senators who voted for the
original bill, but would not vote to
pass it over the veto, were: Hollis,
Johnson Of South Dakota and Thomp-
son, Democrats, and Sherman, Smith
of Michigan, Republicans.
Senator Reed communicated infor-
nation from the state department to
the effect that the Japanese embassy
had called attention to language in
the bill providing that no aliens "now
in any way" excluded from entry into
the United States would in the future
be permitted to enter. He said the
criticism was based on their belief
that this language wrote into law the
Root-Takahira gentlemen's passport
agreement against the entry of Jap
anese laborers.
Explains Provisions.
Senator Lodge of Massachusetts,
ranking Republican member Of the
foreign relations committee, explained
the progress of the provisions to
which Japanese objection has been
voiced in the various stages Of such
legislation. He said when the present
bill went to conference it was decided
to phrase the language so as to ex-
clude all aliens 'in any way'' ex-
cluded or prevented from entering the
United States.
1T applies to all the world" said
he. 1T does not in my judgment
touch the treaty of 1911, .(the treaty
with Japan, which is modified by the
so-called gentlemen's agreement). at
all. They desired that we not make
allusion to the gentlemen's agreement
and we've made none. We have cast
no reflection on any race or made no
discrimination. The gentlemen's
agreement will 60 right on if Japan
chooses to uphold it.''
The literacy test provided for in
the bill excludes from the United
States all aliens over 16 years of age
physically capable of reading, who
cannot read the English language or
some other language or dialect in
GLIDING Hebrew or Yiddish. Any ad-
Missile alien, however, or any citizen
Of the United States may bring in OF
send for his father or grandfather,
over IS years Of age, his wife, mother,
grandmother, or unmarried or
widowed daughter If otherwise ad-
MISSILE, regardless of whether such
relatives can read.
Immediately after the ,senate's &C.
ton, Representative Gardner Of Mas
sachusetts introduced in the house B.
new immigration measure to limit the
number of aliens coming into this
country to total 100000 in excess
of the outgoing aliens.
President Cleveland vetoed the first
immigration measure with a literacy
test provision. President Taft dis
approved the second bill, and in 1915
President Wilson rejected the third.
President Wilson wrote his second
veto message a few weeks ago.