T's-{E LITERACY 11351 FOR :MMIGRANTS, 1886-1917

Thosis fer th: Dogru of M. A.
MECH3GAN STATE UNIVERSITY
John T. Houdok
1957

 

 

(3—143; R5

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

' THE LITERACY TEST FOR 12.3.:IGRAITS, 1886-1917

by

John T. Houdek

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment
of the requirements for the degree of
Master of Arts in Michigan
State University

East Lansing, Michigan

1957

Approved yea-h My

Department of History

f/J‘B/S 7
may"

7

ACI’CfOI‘.’lEDG - 237T

The author would like to aclmox-Iledgje his
appreciation to Professor I-Zadison Kuhn for
directing; his thesis; to Barbara Bealer

for trying and nroofing the final cow; and.
in soecial token to my wife - Carolyn Houde1:.

TABLE OF CCX‘JKT,

9.2632261

I.
II.
III.

IV.

Bibliograwhical Hots. . . .

The Cannaign for a Literacy Test Begins . . .
Congress Passes the First Literacy Test Bill.
The Campaign for the Test Continues; Another

The Restrictionists Finallv Emerge Victorious

101

Chapter I
The Campaign For A Literacy Test Begins

During the'1880's immigrants from Southern and Eastern Europe
began arriving in America in considerable numbers, reaching one
hundred thousand in 1887 and never falling below that number there-
after.1 These Southeastern Europeans gradually came to be referred
to as the "new immigrants" as opposed to the "old immigrants" from
northwestern Bumpe who had previously comprised the vast majority of
the total immigration. When the new immigrants arrived on the scene
nativism was already rampant, however, they did not become a really
important factor in its growth until the 1890's.2

The new immigrants tended to settle in the congested urban areas

and were generally more impoverished and were assimilated more slowly

than the old immigrants. Among these newcomers, the Italians, the

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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2.‘J‘ohn Higham, Stran rs 1-9. 15.29. Land; Patterpg 9_i_'_ American Nativism,
1860-1225 (New York, 1955 . p. 87.

Slavs, the Magyars, and the Jews received some bad publicity in the
late 1880's and early 1890's. The first three groups came to represent
bloodthirstiness, lawlessness, and labor violence in the minds of many
Americans, while the unscrupulous greed and trickery attributed to the
Jews seemingly posed as great a threat to our society as the violence
of the other groups. Thus it was natural that these immigrants grew
to represent the social and economic evils which nativists had identified
with immigrants in general. Then gradually, with a great deal of help
from the nativists of the Anglo-Saxon tradition, the immigrants from
Southeastern EurOpe merged to become "a collective type, a 'new
immigration'" which menaced our racial fiber as well as our social and
economic well-being.3

Neither of the two major traditions of nativism, anti-Catholicism
and anti-radicalism was quite sufficient to meet this new problem.
However, a third nativist tradition which was much weaker than the other
two could be adapted to meet the threat posed by the new immigrants.
"The old idea that America'belongs particularly to the Anglo-Saxon race
would define the Special danger of the new immigration if one assumed
that northern EurOpeans were at least first cousins to the Anglo-Saxons."4
Since this tradition had been in the keeping of Eastern upper—class
intellectuals it was natural for the first organized efforts to restrict
the new immigration to emanate from this area.

The nativists were furnished with the reSpectable means for dis-
criminating against the new immigrants in 1888 in an article written by

Edward W. Bemis, a progressive economist and a student of Richard T. Ely.

;‘

31bid., pp. 87-96.

ulbld., :0. 950

 

-3...

One of the first intellectuals to take note of the change in the origins

g of immigration, Bemis prOposed that the United States "Admit no single
person over sixteen, and no man over that age who cannot read and write
his own language."5 This prOposal "has commended itself wherever I have
presented it,” declared Bemis, "in conversation and lectures in many
States of the East and west and by leaders of trade unions as well as
by all other classes with scarcely a dissenting voice. . ."6 Such a
prOposal would help to maintain America's high standard of living and
aid American labor by shutting out fifty per cent of the Polish,
Hungarian, and Italian immigrants, contended Bemis.7 This prOposal was
taken up by the nativists and to secure its enactment became their
single goal. Headed by Henry Cabot Lodge, the foes of the new immigra~
tion began a campaign for the test that was to extend over a Span of
more than a quarter of a century.

Shorty after the test was prOposed, two schools of thought arose

as to the proper place to administer the test. Early advocates of the
idea contended that the test could best be given to proSpective immigrants
by United States consuls before the immigrants embarked for America.8
Later they decided that the immigrant could best be tested when he arrived

in this country.9 The criteria for ascertaining the immigrants' literacy

 

5Edward W. Bemis, "Restriction of Immigration," Andover Review, IX
(1888), 263.

61bid., p. 263.

7Ibid., p. 263.

8Henry Cabot Lodge, "The Restricition of Immigration," Horth American
flgzigw, CLII (1891), 36; Charles S. Smith, "Our National Dumping Grounds;
A Study of Immigration," 393thzémg§ipan_Review, CLIV (1892), #38; H. C.
Hansbrough, “Why Immigration Should Not Be Suspended," Horth American
Ehxiem. CLVI (1893). 225.

9§§pate Hepg§§_§p, 290 (54 Cong., l Sess., Washington, February, 1896), 1,

mm.

 

was also a matter of question. Although most of the peOple who dis-
cussed the test during the early years of its histony favored both a

reading and a writing test, the pronosal was later modified to a simple

a n o l s o - n w o u
test of reading 85111. 0 As to tne language in which the immigrant was

to prove his literacv it was usuallv a reed that it should be in "EngliSh
a» Q , Q ~.. .3

or some other language." The greatest controversy among the test's pro-

ponents was to arise over the exemption of children, wives, and other

dependents.ll

When and from whom did the idea of a literacy test first appear?
A recent writer on immigration repeats the standard view that the first

advocate was probably Edward W. Bemis, who presented the idea in lectures

at

in 1887 and advocated it in an article in the Andover_3eview in narch of
1888.12 However, even though the nativists may have received.the idea
from Bemis' article, the idea had already been widely accepted when

Bemis wrote. In 188 , the chief of the Wisconsin State Bureau of Labor

and Industrial Statistics interrogated over thirty—nine thousand employees
in his State relative to the restriction of immigration. 0f the twenty-

five thousand employees who replied, eighty—nine per cent favored further

reStriction and of this group two hundred and twenty suggested an educa-

tional test as the best means of sifting the immigrant8.13 Where these
loHouse Report 30. 140 (63 Cong., 2 Sess., washington, December, 1913),

’7’!

11Congressional Record, 54 Cong., 2 Sess., 71-75, 233-3b, 1eee_25,
1427—31.

ZHigham, pp. 101, 105.

13Constantine Panunzi Immia ation Crossroads (Xew Brunswick 1 l
\— _._...— ’ ,

4' !
p. 60. Oddly enough Bemis also takes note of this survey, but does not

‘

mention that some employees advocated an educational test, see Bemis,
p. 264.

- 5 _

workers got the idea of an educational test is a matter of question,
for Bemis supposedly only lectured on the idea as far back as 1887.
Thus it seems quite possible that either someone else had promulgated
the idea before him or that the idea had been in existence for some
time, but had not become as pOpular as other restrictive and selective
prOposals. Whatever the case may have been, the fact that within about
ten years the majority of the members of the A. F. of L. favored a
literacy test when evidently only a small percentage of workers favored
it at this date demonstrates that the efforts of the nativists to
popularize the literacy test had not been in vain.

By the very early 1890's, the literacy test had gained in pouularity
and was mentioned more frequently as a possible solution to many of the
problems arising out of immigration.14 Indicative of its increasing
prominence was the testimony given before the Select Committee on Immi-
gration and Naturalization. Also significant was the introduction in
Congress in 1889, of one of the first immigration bills to contain a
literacy test proviso. During this same period the advisability of
making the test a part of the statutes governing immigration was discussed
in several magazines and newSpapers. A closer examination of these devel-
Opments is essential to a better understanding of the test's early history.

The Select Committee on Immigration and Naturalization, created by a
joint resolution of the Senate and House in 1890, represented to some
extent the increasing national concern over immigration.15 One of the

primary reasons for the creation of this body was the desire by Congress

M

luHenry P. Fairchild, Immigration (New York, 1925), p. 387.

 

lSCong. 3e9,, 51 Cong., 1 Sess., 2083, 2139—41.

_ 6 _

to discover what action it should take on the several immigration bills
then before it.16 One of these bills called for a test to determine
whether or not immigrants could read and write in their own language.17
If the immigrant could not pass this test, he would be excluded from
the United States.18 The committee, which held hearings in such cities
as New York, Boston, Chicago, Detroit, St. Louis and Cincinnati, often
asked for and received Opinions on the advisability of making such a
test a part of the immigration laws,19
Although Opinion on the question varied, a number of witnesses

favored the prOposal. Phillip Armour, who would seem a fair repre-
sentative of the big businessmen of the period, favored the test in a
letter to the committee written in lieu of a personal appearance.20
Such a position seems at first glance to be incongruous wdth a meat-
packing company‘s use of low wage immigrant labor. However, it seems
safe to say that Armour probably represented that portion of the business
world that was beginning to hold quite strong anti-immigrant Sentiments.
This attitude on the part of many businessmen, came as a result of a
rising wave of hostility among businessmen toward the "swarms of cheap
foreign laborers which employers had long considered essential to their

21
own and the nation's prOSperity." Businessmen had begun to succumb to

 

1sReport gf_thg_Selegt_Committ§g_gp Immigration apd Egpupalization
(51 Cong., 2 Sess., House Report No. 3t72, Washington, 1893, 886.

 

17Ibid., p. 885.

 

181mm. p. 885.
19Ibid., p. ii.
201bid., p. 743.

2llriliorrel Heald, "Business Attitudes Toward European Immigration,
1880-1900," Journ§l_9f_Economic History, XIII (1953), 291.

_7_

the preachings Of American racists because of their fear of radicalism
that had been associated in their minds with immigration. Closely
connected with this fear was the association of strikes and violence
arising out of labor disputes, such as the thmarket Riot and other
such incidents, with the arrival Of trouble making immigrants.22
Another witness who favored the pr0posal was a Special Agent of the
Treasury Department, the department then in charge of immigration affairs.
His testimony was reinforced by the statements of the federal immigration
inspector stationed at Pittsburgh.24 Other witnesses who favored the
test were Henry Rice, President of the Hebrew Charities, Henry J. Deily,
representing the American Defense Association, a nativist organization
centered in Pennsylvania claiming about one hundred thousand.members,
and William VOcke, ex—president of the German Immigrant Relief Society.25
The latter's position as an exponent Of the literacy test was diametrically
Opposed to that of most other German-American witnesses and therefore,
deserves some clarification.
First, it should be pointed out that he thought Of the test only as
a means of purifying and discriminating a little among the immigrants
and certainly not as a restrictive measure. Besides this, VOcke's state-
ment that German-Americans in Chicago and the west would not Oppose such a
measure may indicate that he felt himself merely to be expressing the senti-

ments held by the majority of his own nationality residing in this area.

 

222219.. pp. 293. 296. 300. 302.

23§epg§§.gf_the Select Committee gp_Immigration and Naturaliza-
iiea. 317.

wins... p. 350.
252219,. pp. 526, 586, 662.

26Ibid., p, 663,

23

_ 8 _

Several editors of foreign language newSpapers also endorsed the
test during their testimony. Among this group were Herman Raster,
editor of the Illinois Statts Zeitung; Charles JOnas, editor of the

Wisconsin Bohemian newSpaper, Th Slavie; Emil Praetorious, editor of

the St. Louis westliche Post; John Day, editor of the LogansPort,

 

Indiana Deutsche Zeitung; and John Anderson, editor of the Chicago

 

Daily,Scandinavian.27 Why did these editors favor the test, when as

 

it will be seen, some editors of foreign language newsnapers also
located in the Midwest Opposed it? Probably thissplit only represented
what was then the status of hyphenated Opinion on immigration restriction.
At this early period, foreign language papers, clubs, and societies were
not nearly so unanimously anti—restrictionist as they later would be.
However, although these editors were divided on the question of the
advisability Of enacting such a test, they were one in feeling that it
would bring a better class of immigrants to the country and would tend to
keep out the undesirables among the new immigrants.28

In summary, the testimony in favor of the test came mainly from some
editors of Midwestern German-language newSpapers, immigration officials,
heads of certain immigrant societies, nativist organizations, and an
important American businessman who probably represented the sentiments of
a number of others like him.

The prOposed test met with the disapproval of a slightly smaller, but
weightier group of witnesses. Among these was Samuel Campers, preSident Of

the A. F. of L., who would soon switch to the Opposite position on the

27Ibid., pp. 644, 674, 681, 812, 974.
353mm,, pp. 642-44, 674-75, 681, 813, 974.

 

_ 9 -

issue.29 However, at the time of his appearance before the committee,
Gompers was more worried about the importation of contract laborers

than he was about the arrival of large bodies Of illiterate immigrants.30
The admission of immigrants who were under contract with American firms
or who had been solicited by American employers had long been under
attack from labor leaders like Gompers and Powderly.31 It seems of some
significance that Edmund Stephenson, a member of the Board Of Emigra-
tion Commissioners Of the State of New York, also expressed his dis-
approval of the proposition.32 Another witness who Opposed the test

was the editor of the Chicago Arbeiter Zeitung, H. C. Bechtold. This

 

gentlemen declared that he could not see that there had been any per—
ceivable deterioration in the quality of immigrants in recent years
1
and added that any kind of an educational test would be a failure."3

An editor of a German language neWSpaper in St. Louis also disapproved

Of the prOposal, as did the editors of the Cincinnati VOlks Freund, the

 

Detroit Abend Post and the Detroit Tribune.34 It is significant, as far

 

 

as German-American Opinion goes, that the president of the North American
Turnerbund, an organization with nearly forty thousand members, vigorously

rejected the test. His reason for Opposing the test was that even though

 

29Ibid., p. 96.

 

30Ibid., p. 96.

BlSamuel Gompers, Seventy Years 9f Life and Labor; An Autobiography
(New York, 1925), pp. 155-57; Prescott F. Hall, Immigration; éflé.l£§
E£§§Qt§_§pgp_the United States (New Ybrk, 1906), pp. 212-13; Higham,
Pp. 47'u9o

32Report 2: the Select Committee gp_Immigration and Naturalization, l#6,

 

 

 

 

33Ib1d., p. 728.

3aIbid., pp. 853, 885-86, 898.

- 10 -

he strongly favored compulsory education, he was afraid that "such a
restriction as that would Often Operate as an injustice" to the immi-
grant.35 Another witne6s made clear the position Of the Turnerbund, as
well as the other German-American societies regarding all of the pro-
posed changes in the immigration laws then being considered.by Congress.
Richard Bartholdt, who appeared before the committee in the dual capacity
of representative of the North American Turnerbund and as president of
a conference of German-American societies, presented a memorial drafted
by this conference.:36 The memorial remonstrated against any and all
measures then before Congress, which were designed to materially alter
the national law governing immigration and naturalization mainly be-
cause such measures were contrary to American tradition and would be
detrimental to the country.37 Bartholdt, who was also the editor of

the Chicago Agbeite£_§gitpn , added more weight to his testimony by de-
claring that the action Of this conference had been unanimously approved

38

by the German-American press. This statement, if its validity can be
depended upon, therefore seems to nullify the earlier statements made
by editors Of German—American papers in favor Of the test and demonstrates
how rapidly this press came to the solid.anti-literacy position they were
to hold thereafter.

A few witnesses, although.they did not approve of the test as a

means Of restricting immigration, did advocate such an educational require-

ment for naturalization. One such witness was the editor of the Cincinnati

35Ibid., p. 796.
36Ibid., p. 29.

37.1mm. pp. 776-77.
382214... p. 776.

-11..

>9

Fr_;§ . esg, who thought that one desiring to become a citizen ought to

!

be able to read and.write his own native language.39 T. V. Powderly,
Grand Master WOrkman of the Knights of Labor, also opposed such a test
for arriving immigrants, but felt that only literate persons should
possess the franchise.”0 Another important witness, a longtime member
of the Board of Immigration Commissioners Of the State of New York,
would naturalize no immigrant unless he could read the laws of his State
in the English language. 1 As the nativist Spirit grew stronger in
America, it seems quite probable that such peOple as the three just
mentioned might very likely be, and in the case of Powderly definitely
were, brought into the camp of those who supported the literacy test as
a means of restricting immigration.

Before leaving the Report of the Select Committee on Immigration
and Naturalization, it should be mentioned that the committee did not
include a literacy test among the measures they recommended to Congress
in their report.42

Probably the first immigration bill embodying a literacy test was
introduced into Congress by Representative Richard Guenther, of Wisconsin,
on January 30, 1889.]+3 This bill was recommended by Guenther in the

minority report of the Select Committee on the Investigation of Foreign

 

idO, p. 845.

 

Ibid., p. 241.
ulIbid., p. 145.
”21bid., p. iv.

ujHouse_Reoort N3. 1722, prt. Z (50 Cong., 2 Sess., washington,
1889). 1-5.

 

_ 12 -

I

Immigration. 4 The bill reported by the majority of the committee,
needless to say, did not include a literacy test proviso, but restricted
immigration mainly by increasing the head-tax from one dollar to five
dollarsfl‘5 However, Guenther considered the bill reported by the majority
to be aimed solely at restricting the quantity of immigrants without
regard to their desirability, or undesirability. Therefore, he presented
his literacy test as a means of discriminating between immigrants planning
to go to America, for the test was to be administered abroad before the
immigrant left for AmericaJ+6 Specifically, what Guenther advocated in
his literacy test proviso, which seems to have been mainly aimed at the
new immigrants, was that all immigrants over fifteen years of age who
could not read and write in their native language would be excluded from
the United States. However, if the immigrant was "the mother or father
of children, and unable to either read or write, the child or children
accompanying him, her or them," if they were competent to meet the test‘s
requirements for the mother or father, could do so. Likewise, the hue—
band could take the test for the wife and vice versa.”7 This bill,
though it probably would have found some support in Congress, was des-
tined for an early death, for neither it nor the bill reported.by the

. . 4
mayority were ever acted upon. 8

 

u4l§i§99 pp. 1’50
45—29—129“... ’ prt. 1 ’ pp. 1-6.
“6%. 9 prt. 2 , P. 2.

”7mm. , p. 1+.

“aggngb Bfifi,, 50 Cong., 2 Sess., 1220.

_ 13 _

Guenther was not alone in his desire to see an educational test
made a part of America's immigration laws. A member of the Select
Committee on Immigration and Naturalization.stated that there were
"several bills before the committee on which we have to take action,
and this investigation has been instituted on the part of Congress to
see whether action is desirable or not. One of theSe bills calls for
an educational test, some going so far as to compel the immigrant to
read and write the English language, and expound on the Constitution of

the United States before he is admitted. Others are more moderate in
their demands, and require the immigrant to be able to read and write in
his own language."49

Probably the next literacy test bill to be introduced, was the one

presented by Henry Cabot Lodge. This measure was introduced by Lodge

on December 1, 1890, when he was still just a member of the House of
Representatives.50 Although this bill died in committee?1 we do have

a record of Lodge's arguments for the test, as well as a revelation of
his nativistic motives for prOposing it, as he set them forth in an
article published in the North American Review. The apparent basis for
Lodge's arguments and indeed the very basis for his support of a literacy'
test is found in his statement that "it is a truism to say that one of
the greatest dangers to our free government is ignorance."52 Lodge con~

tended that the literacy test "would shut out in a very large measure

ugReport g; the Select Committee szlmmigration and Naturalization, 886.

5Q§22£b §§2,, 51 Cong., 2 Sess., 1220.

5ICong. Rec. Index, 51 Cong., 2 SeSS., 58.

 

52Henry Cabot Lodge, "The Restriction of Immigration," North Americag
figview, CLII (1891), 36.

-14...

those elements which tend to lower the quality of American citizenship,
and which now in many cases gather in dangerous masses in the slums of
our great CitieS."53 Speaking of the new immigration, the immigrant
group at which his proposal was plainly aimed, Lodge declared that
"Thus it is proved, first, that immigration to this country is increas-
ing, and second, that it is making its greatest relative increase from
races most alien to the body of American peOple and from the most
illiterate classes among those races. In other words, it is apparent
that, while our immigration is increasing, it is showing at the same
time a marked tendency to deteriorate in character."54

DeSpite the fact that it was never reported to the Reuse, the
Lodge bill still drew a considerable amount of favorable comment in the
press. Judging from the excerpts found.in fpplig_§§gpigp, both Democratic
and Republican papers supported the measure, although the bulk of the
support came from the latter. The Boston Journal called the bill the "best
considered and effectual" of all the immigration bills then before Congress.55
The Harrisburg Tglggggph declared that the Lodge bill was a non-partisan
measure which.if implemented would eliminate much of "the evil present in
large immigration. . ."56 Other papers, such as the Philadelphia Telegraph,
the Kansas City Timgg, the Pittsburgh ngt, the Youngstown Telegram, and

the Denver Republican all thought that ignorant immigrants should be weeded

 

out via a literacy test. Somewhat later during the same year support for

the literacy test appeared in the Dew Orleans Times-Democrat and Eggpggg

—_

 

5329.151" p. 36.
SALES... 10. 32.
55% 9213194, XI (1890), 225.
56l§i§,, p. 226.

_ 15 _

jgggiy,57 At the same moment two other newSpapers, one in the Midwest
and the other in the Deep South, reported that Secretary of the Treasury
Foster favored an educational test and would recommend that measure to
Congress.58 However, if Foster did favor the test, he never made it
known to Congress in any of his official communications.

Important supoort for the test was now received from an individual
who had recently Opposed it in his testimony before the Select Committee
on Immigration and Naturalization in 1890. Gompers now moved into the
camp of the nativists who supported the test, thus allying himself with
Henry Cabot Lodge for the only time in his life.59 Gompers achieved
this swdtch by coming out in favor of the exclusion of illiterate male
adults and illiterate adult females who were unmarried. He made this
prOposal mainly because of his fear that hordes of illiterate and un-
skilled laborers would do great injury to the labor movement and because
he felt that they could not be Americanized as readily as the old immi-
grants and therefore would harm America's social fabric.60 However,
Gomper's change of heart did not bring about an immediate change in
official A. F. of L. policy. This did not occur until 1897 and then
only after Gompers had led a long, hard struggle during the A. F. of L's

national convention to secure approval of the measure.

 

57Pub11c Opinion, XI (1891), 33-34, 102, 152.

 

58Ibid., p. 151.
59Gompers, pp. 158-59, 171.

60222122.92§§292J XI (1891). 551. from Baltimore EEKEAQ; Gompers.
pp. 158-60.

61Arthur Mann, "Gompers and the Irony of Racism," Antioch_Revigw,
XIII (1953), 212.

-16...

While the majority of the press seemed to approve of Lodgels pro-
posal, a few newsnapers protested against the measure. One such paper
of German influence. To the §§pgbli§an, such prOposals were nothing'but
"vehicles of Puritan knownothingism."62 Two other papers, the Democratic
Buffalo Qgprig§_and.the Republican Omaha EggJ also struck out against the
Lodge bill.63

If the reaction of the press to the Lodge bill is summarized, it
seems safe to say that Opposition to the measure Sprang mainly from the
Democratic press and from areas of important German influence. 0n the
other hand, the test generally found support in the Republican press
and in the Eastern and New England press. This alignment remained quite
stable until the twentieth century.

Though neither the Lodge bill nor any of the later literacy test
bills up to the one introduced in 1895 was ever brought to a vote in
Congress, sentiment favoring the exclusion of ignorant or illiterate
immigrants did not flag. Instead, such sentiment increased substantially
during the early nineties. A number of magazine articles discussing the
immigration problem contained favorable comments on the literacy test.
Newspapers too, from time to time, also mentioned the desirability of
excluding ignorant immigrants. Noreover, during the early nineties,
several incidents occurred which.tended to arouse ill feeling toward
immigrants and to focus the nation's attention on the immigrant PTOblem,
which of course helped the restrictionist cause a great deal. These

events were the Mafia Incident of'l89l, the cholera scare of 1892—93,

62§Eblig_0ninion, X (1890), 226.

63.11am. p. 226.

_ 17 _

and the onset of the harsh depression of 1893-97 with its accompanying
labor strife.

Before considering the repercussions of the Mafia Incident, a
brief description of the affair itself seems necessary. In 1891, the
New Orleans superintendent of police was murdered.under circumstances
that pointed to the local Sicilian pOpulation. Wholesale arrests were
made and a trial of the suSpects quickly took place. However, the jury
refused to convict, and so while as officials stood by, the eleven de-
fendants were taken from the prison and lynched by a mob bent on seeing
justice done. This action was approved by the local papers and business
leaders.

Because it occurred in 1891, the Mafia Incident had a beneficial
effect on the reception of Lodge's literacy test bill of that year,
however, it also had a more lasting effect. It tended to fix the stereo-
type of the bloodvthirsty Italian immigrant in the minds of a good many
Americans, a stereotype that was to be re-enforced by later incidents Of
violence involving ItalianS. Judging by the press, peOple became espe-
cially prejudiced against Sicilians and Southern Italians and since these
areas also had a notoriously high rate of illiteracy, it was natural that
many people looked on the literacy test as an effective means of restrict-
ing immigration from these areas. NewSpaper Opinion was unanimous in
agreeing that "immigration laws should be strengthened and rigidly en—

forced."65

 

éuJHi‘o 8:129 p0 910

65Quoted in J. A. Karlin, "Some Repercussions of the New Orleans mafia
Incident of 1891," washington State College, Research Studies, XI (l9u3),
280.

 

-18..

Although little Specific mention of the literacy test seems to have
appeared in the newSpapers during the early 1890's besides the comment

on the first Lodge bill, several magazine articles, including one by

O O 6 I O I O
Lodge, did commend it. One of these was quite SpeCific in recommend—
ing qualifications for prOSpective immigrants. Its author asked for

"An act of Congress requiring all immigrants over fifteen years of age,
as a condition before embarking for the United States, to appear before
the American consul and receive from him a certificate, to be presented

on arrival, that the party intending to emigrate to the United States

could read and write his native language." This, he explained, "would

be of itself to some extent a guaranty of character. It would naturally
restrict the number of immigrants, but it would improve their quality

and furnish fewer inmates for our prisons and poorhouses."67

Senator William E. Chandler, of New Hampshire, who was at this time

the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Immigration, was one of the early

and staunch champions of the literacy test. In an article published in

the Norph Amerigap_Review, he insisted that the advocates of the test
intended no discrimination against the "new immigration." However, his

bias against the new immigrants was revealed in his assertion that "Our

present foreign born citizens of European extraction, not including these

importations of recent years are among the best of Americans."68 Chandler's

prejudice against these new immigrants is still more clearly indicated in

a SubSequent statement to the effect that the arguments for restricting

___

66Henry Cabot Lodge, "Lynch Law and Unrestricted Immigration," North
American Review, CLII (1891), 602-12. ’”

67Smith, 9. 438.

68W. E. Chandler, "Shall Immigration Be SuSpended?" North American
Review, CLVI (1893), 8.

 

_ 19 _

immigration are based "largely upon the evils which have been made
apparent by the vast increase, vdthin recent years of degraded immi-
grants from Italy, Turkey, Hungary, Poland and Russia prOper."69
Continuing in the same vein, Chandler contended that the "evils are
crying and intolerable, we cannot safely undertake the assimilation of
the ignorant and debased human beings who are tending toward us from
such sources."70 Furthermore, he saw that it was in the interest of the
laboring man and in the interest of maintaining a high degree of American
civilization, that the admission of immigrants from the above mentioned
countries be restricted.71

Opposition to the test appeared almost as frequently in the press
during the early nineties as did demands for it. One such Opponent of
the test contended that a literacy test "would have little effect on
German and Scandinavian immigrants, but would shut out many other
nationalities who were still needed for coarse labor material.“72 An-
other Opponent Of the test pointed out that it was not the only, nor the
best criteria by which to judge a man. Scoundrels usually posses a fair
education this writer declared. Eurthermore, the present immigration
laws “amended and improved as experience may make it appear advisable,
if they are rigidly, conscientiously, and impartially enforced, are suffi-

cient to prevent, if not all, at least most of the evils that are complained

of.fl73

69Ibid., p. 7.
70Ibid., p. 7.

71Ibid., pp. 7-8.

72G. H. Schwab, "Practical Remedy For The Evils of Immigration."
Forum,.XIV (1893), 811.

730. Ottendorfer, "Are Our Immigrants To Blame?" Forum, XI (1891), 5&9.

-20...

In a neswpayer article appearing in 1892, Henry Cabot Lodge advo-
cated a literacy test and indicated that he had once again introduced
into Congress a bill containing a test proviso.74 He introduced this
bill early in January of 1892, but it «as never reported from the Senate
Cormittee on Immigration.75 Lodge's feelings about the prOposed test
are indicate in the following quotation from that article. "I think
the time has come to go a step further and that we ought to shut out
the illiteratel I do not mean to say that this might not work injustice
in some cases, but as a rule I believe the exclusion of illiteracy would

/
keep out merely the undesirable Dart of our immigration.”O

By l893 there was another bill before Congress embodying a literacy
test. This bill was reported by Senator Chandler from the Committee on
Immigration as a substitute for another immigration bill then before that
committee.77 This substitute bill pronosed to add to the excluded classes
"all persons of twelve years of age who cannot read and write with reason—
able facility their own language (excepting such aged persons as are parents
or grandparents of admissable immigrants), and persons blind and crippled
or otherwise physically imperfect, so as to be wholly or partially disabled
from manual labor (except where satisfactorily shown that they are not

- . 8
likely to become a public cnarge)."7

 

Wanna: Oninign, XIII (1892), 134, from [3 Are 9; Labor (Chicago).

 

75COXQ. Beg., 52 Cong., l Sess., 20¢.

/
7OQUOted in Public Ooinion, XIII (1892), 134, from The Are g£_Labor
(Chicago).

 

WEE-s- 329-, 52 Congo. 2 Sess., 901.

”gimme: an: XIII (1.993). 227.

_ 21 -

The cholera scare of 1892—93 lent added Strength to the movement
to restrict immigration and focused the attention of more people on the
problem of immigration in general. Newspapers seemed to be eSpecially
concerned about the threat of European immigrants introducing cholera
into the United States, for a number of articles discussing the problem
and advocating means of dealing with it appeared in their columns.79
One prominent New York newspaper contended that the "time has come for
dealing with the question of restriction, and the danger of cholera
infection from the stream of immigration furnishes the occasion for a
temporary stay pending final action."80 However, newspapers were not
alone in their concern over the threat of a cholera epidemic, action in
Congress too, reflected the concern of that body over the same thing.81

The severe depression of 1893-97 also served as an indirect aid to
the prOponents of a literacy test. The rising unemployment that accom-
panied that depression was a factor that connected it most directly and
intimately with the whole question of immigration reStriction and the
literacy test. numerous persons, both employers and employees included,
began to accept and promote the idea that it was the large influx of
immigrants that worsened the already serious unemployment situation.
Here were people who would compete for jobs with American citizens and

eSpecially in the case of the new immigrants would work for lower wages

79See Public Opinion, XII-XV.

BOQuoted in Literary Digest, XII (1892), 216 from New York Times,
December 18, 1892.

 

81Cong. ng,, 52 Cong., 2 Sess., 77, 126, 357; Dange; Ergm_§hg
Introgpgpipn.gf_0hole§§_(52 Cong., 2 Sess., Senate Executive Document
No. 13, washington, 1893); Suspension 9§_Immigration (52 Cong., 2 Sess.,
House Report No. 2197, washington, 1893); Restricting_9£_Immigration
(<2 Cong., 2 Sess., Senate Executive Document No. 25, Washington, 1893).

-22...

than would most native Americans.82 Quite naturally restrictionists
began to assert that they hoped to benefit the American workingman and
that his welfare was uppermost in their minds when they asked for the
restriction of immigration.83 By such an appeal they probably hOped to
enlist the aid of both organized and unorganized labor in their fight
for the literacy test and other restrictive measures. As the later
history of the literacy test will demonstrate, this appeal was very
effective, achieving what it was hOped it would.

The strong, organized support needed to insure the eventual success
of the literacy test prOposal was furnished in 1894 by the formation of
the Immigration Restriction League. Throughout the history of the test,
this organization was to provide one of the strongest and steadiest forces
behind the drive to make the test a part of the national immigration
laws.8u The League itself was a small organization when it began and was
to remain so throughout its life. It was founded by a group of Boston
"Bluebloods" led by Robert DeCourcy Ward, professor of climatology at
Harvard and.Erescott F. Hall, a Boston lawyer, who from the time of the
League's inception to its dissolution dominated it.85 All of the founders
were "practical-minded intellectuals from well—to-do long established

families, steeped in Boston ways and ideas. They had all attended Harvard

 

82Heald, p. 297.

83Literary Digest, XIII (1892). 510. 537: Peri Ander. "Our Immigra-
tion: Its Social ASpectS," Arena, 11 (1890). 2733 Chandler, P. 73 Arthur
Mann, "Frank Parsons: The Professor as Crusader," £§§§i§§ippl_fi§££gz
Historical Review, XXXVII (1950-51). 483: Hénry Cabot Lodge. "Census and
Immigration," Century, XXXXVI (1593). 737-

 

 

84Highem, p. 102.

85Ibid., p. 102.

- _ 23 _

College in the late 1880's and then done graduate work in the Lawrence
Scientific School or the Harvard Law School."86 The League was aided in
its efforts by several Boston philanthrOpists "including Joseph Lee,
president of the Boston School Committee and the Municipal League of
Boston, and Robert T. Paine, Jr., one of the vice-presidents of the last.
John Fiske was persuaded to accept a purely honorary presidency of the
Immigration Restriction League, and various other names graced its letter-
head."87

The League's single aim was the implementation of a literacy test,
and it Spared no effort to achieve this goal. Its agitation took the
form of addresses to local Boston groups, distribution of propaganda
leaflets throughout the country, as well as "direct legislative lobbying
in Washington."88 By the time a year had elapsed "the League reported
that over five hundred daily newSpapers were receiving its literature and
that a great bulk of them were reprinting it sometimes in the form of
editorials."89 The arguments of the League "centered chiefly aroung data
designed to prove that southern and eastern EurOpe ~-- in sharp contrast
to northeastern Europe --- was dumping on the United States an alarming
number of illiterates, paupers, criminals, and madmen who endangered the
'American character‘ and 'American citizenship.”90

About this time businessmen also began to show more favor toward

immigration restriction than they had previously shown. "Pr0posals for

8613332., p. 102.
87l§is,. pp. 102—03.
88.1.1219... in. 103.
89lEAQo. p. 103.

901bid., p. 103.

_ 24 _

a literacy test and for consular inepection of immigrants in their own
countries were advanced before the National Board of Trade by Boston,
New York, Chicago, and St. Louis businessmen in 1893 and 1894."91 For
that matter one authority thinks that the attitude of businessmen began
to change with the advent of the Panic of 1873. For "the Panic of 1873
and its aftermath awakened doubts. Businessmen were impressed by the
numbers and the plight of the unemployed laborers crowding the cities.
The prOportion of foreign-born among the jobless aroused particular
concern. Some businessmen succumbed to the growing tendency to place
the blame on the immigrants themselves, while others held the presence
of European workers raised in foreign traditions, reaponsible for
industrial unrest and trade union activity."92 However, it was during
the 1880‘s and 1890's that anti—immigrant sentiment flourished the most
among American businessmen. Heald points out that during this period
"while labor leaders protested the competition of alien.workers, business
publications were criticizing no less bitterly the impact of immigration
upon American society. When Nativists sought financial support for their
efforts to restrict immigration they found many businessmen in sympathy
with their aims. Measures presented in Congress for regulating and limit—
ing the admission of aliens were frequently concurred in by prominent
business leaders. ,Indeed, a notable deve10pment in American business
thought after 1880 was the rise of hostility toward the swarms of cheap
foreign laborers which employers had long considered essential to their

"93

own, and the nation's prOSperity.

91Hea1d, p. 293.
9211939. p. 293.

93Ibid., p. 291.

 

-25..
Chapter II
Congress Passes The First Literacy Test Bill

The efforts of the Immigration Restriction League to secure the
introduction of a literacy test bill into Congress, first bore fruit
during the first session of the fifty-fourth Congress late in 1895.
The Republican party, the party which had most consistently supported
legislation aimed at restricting immigration, controlled the fifty—
four h Congress and by now the Immigration Restriction League had

”1 As a

established "working relations with its nativist leaders.
result of this relationship, Henry Cabot Lodge introduced a literacy
test bill prepared by the League into the Senate on December 4, 1895.2
On the previous day Representative XcCall, of hassachusetts, had in-
troduced the same bill in the House.3 The League's bill was a very
strict one in comdarison with Guenther's earlier prooosal, for it
excluded bpth_males and females over fourteen years of age who could
not read and write in some languauge.

After considering the Lodge bill for some ti: , the Senate Com-
mittee on Immigration headed by Lodge, reported a substitute bill in
lieu of the original bill drawn up by the League.5 The report strongly
recommended the passage of this new literacy test bill and presented

evidence to substantiate its recommendation. The evidence came in th

2 "
Cong. Rec., 3 Cong., l :ess., 33-

3 .

Ibia.,.p. 26.
Li"? a o v‘ a ' Pq 1+ 6
new York Times, hecemoer L, 1035, p. , c. .

5

Cong. Rec., 54 Cong., l Sess., 1326.

form of replies to letters sent out by the Inmiéiation Restriction Leag*
to the governors of the several States, "asking whether immigration was
desired in their respective states; and, if so from what races."6 Out
of the twenty-six governors who renlied, only two showed a desire for a
national group (Italian) that would have been seriously restricted by a
literacy test.7 In the committee's resort an attempt was also made to
prove that there was a definite relationship between the rate of illit-
eracy in a national group and the coincidence of commitment of members
of that group to penal institutions.8
In the meantime in the House, the League's bill had also been
drooped and another bill substituted for it.9 By the provisions of the
substitute "no male person unable to read and.write in his own language
shall be admitted to the United States, executing children under the age
of 16 years and parents of persons now living or hereafter admitted to

. . 10
n1 5 country. "

As to the committee's reasons for favoring a literacy
test, their report stated that "While the committee is unanimously of the
Opinion that good immigrat'on is still beneficial and necessary for the
develooment of the vast resources of our country, a regard for nublic
sentiment as to the desirability of certain classes promoted them to

favor the addition of the so called illiterates . . . to the classes ex-

cluded under existing laws."11 The League's bill had provided for the

 

6Senate Reoort g2, 290 (EU Cong., l Sess., Washington, February,
1896), 1.

 

71bid., p. 22.

81bid., p. 22.

 

gflouge Reoort 32’ 1073 (5Q Cong., l Sess., Washington, 1896), l.

 

1021:5109 :30 10

11Ibid., p. 1.

-27..

exclusion of both male and female illiterates, but the committee decided
that "in view of the conceded scarcity of female white servants in nearly
all parts of the country, the committee deemed it wise to exempt females
from the illiteracy test. . . . "12 Kore imjortant than this, although
it was not mentioned by the committee, such an exception would forstall
the pOSSibility of a brutal separation of husband and wife, or more
likely the failure of a whole family to realize their ambition because

of the mother's illiteracy.

On March 16, 1896 the debate on the literacy test bill in the Senate
was Opened with an emotional and nativistic speech by the bill's Sponsor,
Henry Cabot Lodge. Senator Lodge's entire Speech was directed toward
nointing out the dangers threatening merica's racial foundations as a
result of the influx of the new immigrants. Lodge called particular at-
tention to England as an examnle of what a closely knit homogeneous peoole
could accomplish, inferring of course that America too could do likewise,
if she only woke up to the dangers of unrestricted immigration before
it was too late. To demonstrate the very real existence of this danger,
Lodge quoted from the testimony of foreign observers who saw that a class
war as well as the degradation of American civilization was forthcoming
if unrestricted immigration was allowed to continue unabated.13 In the
course of this sneeoh, Lodge did not forget to make an aopeal to the
American workingman for supnort of his preposal. "There is an appalling
danger to the American wage earner," he warned, "from the flood of low,
unskilled, ignorant, foreigi labor which has poured into the country for

some years past, and which not only takes lower waves, but accepts a

Q

 

”)0

— ‘0“) -

standard of li vin: so low t1 at the A:1erican workinguan cannot compete

"14

with it. Lodje's racism manifested itself most vividly in the closing

passage of the Speech.

1r. President, more precious even than forms of govern-
ment are the mental and moral qualities, which make what we
call our race. ‘1"nile these st .nd uninnaired all is safe.
”hen those decline all is irperiled. They are eX3osed but to
a sinile danger and that is by changin 3 the uality of our
race and Citizenshin thro h th wholesale infusion of races
whose traditions and inheritances, whose thoughts and beliefs
are wholly alien to ours and with whom we have never assimi—
lates or even been associated in the past. The danger has
begun. It is small as yet, comnaratively sneaking, but it is
large enough to warn us to act while there is yet time and
while it can be done easily and effectively.1

A short time after Loege had made his speech, IcCall addressed his
colleagues in the House on behalf of the House's version of the literacy
test bill. During the course of this sneech thall made his racism and
3artiality to the An3lo—Sa von peOples esnecially evident. After con-
trasting the illiteracy ‘ates for the countries regresented by the new
immi 3ration with those countries represented by the old immigration,
he declared

So we see a clear line of de""rcat133 between these
“eOples (those from nortliern EurOpe and those from southern
and east rn Europe). He see that the An:wlo-Sax on races are
able to read and a-ite, and that this bill will practically
not a;33ly to them. Xe lznow the they are the geonle out of
ahOSe laws this nation s3ran3; that our ins» titu tions will be
adapted to them, and that they will be the supnorts to u3hold
it. On the other, we see that the irri3ration from the Dede
iterra nean parts and from those nations which, however excel-
lent their characteristics may be, have yet oecularities very
different fro:1 ours, is in th main illiterate, and t1 :at this
bill will especially apjly to them.1

U\f

 

l
ulbli,, U. 2818.

15 .

Ioid., n. 2820.

A.

 

16Conn Rec., 5% Con3., l Sess., 5577.

Thus HcCall ma‘ res it very clear that the test is not designed as a

selective measure, but as a restrictive meas u1e, aimed suecifically
continuing nis Speech, HcCall followed the

at the new inxi:rati on.

lead of Lodge and to a la r,e dejree the nattern of :r :anent us ed by

most nineteenth and twentieth century nativists by nykin3 his a3neal
to t e Arerican workin3m. n. He called uuon Con re as to take note of

the thousands of unemployed and the thousands more who were aided through
the competition of ixmijrants in the oversup3lied labor market, immigrants

who would work for w:“es on whic11 an American laborer could not suasist.

Growin; quite emotional XcCall carried his apneal further, contendir 33

"that it is the du t;' of the men resnonsible for the government of this
country to nrotect ctzr civilization a3ainst any such dest uctive com—
petition, and if we shut our eyes to this condition and nernit the

desradation of ti ose millions of our fellow citizens who labor with

g; "

their hands, and are today the pillars uuon which our institutions rest,

”17

then I say we are false to our trust.

Hot wisl 1in 3to lea any e otior al anneal inused, KcCall, in the
manner of a typice l nativist, played unon the American fear of radical—

ism and class war; offering the literacy test as a panacea for these

‘

. Jed zu slister 1ers demon-

U)
Cf
}_J

O
m
1‘
:3
Ho
0
I"
r.
o

(D
Q)
'11
J)

threats. He presented stat1
strated with ut a doubt "that the inmijration that tlis Dill would
keep out congregates in the slums of our great cities, where resort

those dangerous, festering, and eXplosive elenents which more than

‘ ' Q a a Q
"nytning else threaten tne destruction of our whole social fa 'zbric."lo

V

S till using the same appeal, IhCall contended that "in the slums of

 

 

- 30 _

our great cities can be found hundreds of thousands of peeple of alien
races who settled there with no intention of becoming American citizens,
who maintain selarate and apart their habits of life, and so far as
possible th eir laxm and institutions, and who cons itute a great menace
to our civilization."19

The day before McC all made his soeech, a vi3orous debate had taken
place in the House between the onnonents and the exnonents of the test
bill. Some idea of the pressure then being exerted on Congress to pass
the bill can be 3ained from the following statement made by one of he
measure's friends. "This Congres s has been flooded with petitions from
every section of the country demanding the passage of legislation of this
character, in fact, more petitions be e been nresented on this one sub—
ject than all the other matters pending before Congress."

At least one of the Opponents of tlze bill during this debate found
his remarlcs well received. This critic was Reyresentative Buck, of
Louisiana, who styled himself a German-American Dexnocrat and who was
the cl 1ief oo1onent of the bill in the Heuse. His imnressive Speech in
Opuosition to the bill has met Vflth "loud and lon3 continued applause"

21 Ho w—

indicatin 3 that he was not alone in his dislike of the measure.
ever, thou3h Opposition to the bill did exist in the House, it was never
to become a real threat to the bill's passage;

During his game debate, an amendment w? made to the bill which
was destined to have no little influence on its eventual fate. This

was a provisionc imed mainlv at preventi213 so—called birds of passa3e

from entering the United States. Specifically, this am uend mnt declared

—__~_

19Ibia., p. 5t77.
201322.21... 19. $25.
21:92-31:01 Po 52336-

_ 31 -

"That it shall be unlawful for any alien who resides or retains his home
in a foreign country to enter the United States for the purpose of en-
gagin3 in any mechanical trade or manual labor within the borders thereof
while residin3 or retaining a home in a forei3n country . . ."22 Althou3h
this amendment was not aimed solely at mi3ratory Canadian laborers, they
did constitute one of its main objectives. This was clearly revealed in
a Speech made by the amendment's Sponser, Representative Corliss, of
Kichigan. As evidence on the bill's behalf, Corliss presented "cepies
of resolutions certified to by the president and secretary of every labor
' "-1
organization in my cityleetroitfll, embracing a membership of 15,000
citizens who have asked Congress to adOpt this particular measure for
their protection."23

After another day of soirited debate the literacy test bill was
brou3ht to a vote. Before it was passed however, the Corliss amendment
was made a part of the m asure by a vote of 121 to 45. The bill as amended
was then passed'by an even more lOpsided vote of 195 to 26 and sent on to
the Senate.

In the meantime, the Senate continued to debate the Lodge bill, with
Senator Gibson, of Ibryland emerging as the most persistent and vociferous
foe of the prOposal.25 However, the Senate did not deal with this par-
ticular bill for long once the House had passed its literacy test bill.
Early in June, on the motion of Senator Lod3e, the Senate proceeded to

consider the House bill, dropping the Senate bill for the time being.26

 

 

 

 

 

.. 5212-20.

 

id.,pp.i5212—20.

——.—.—-

”11811 the Senate bags *1

Sen nator Ho .;:an, Alabama

Refectina

\.
‘u

me {1811338 0

itics, this amendment

all ”persons
no vote 13 s ta12en on

Althou3h the test bil
it was

House,

bill was temporarily

oress the bi

atter of

CV
the inuact of

prooosed to exempt

" A
T110111 ,1:

ion

qua:

\1)

.0

its consideration 01the House bill, on June 5,

, used the occ1to of er en anendment to the

the Cuban Insurrection on American ool-

from the provisions of the bill

43
.5»

rom any port or place in the

this amendment was discussed at some len‘th,

it at this time.

1 had passed quichl;r ande

r".

un11n1 ished business for the next

we taken aft indicated that he did

27-
‘_ ‘1"th .' ' ‘L
Unggv Y' 1' F, U

6|--K

ll t sessio1. la

"y behind Lod3e's de-

tion. Perhcns he ne11t1tet to 1uSh the bill to

a,

a vote at this time because he feased its defeat. n the other hand n

as well as other supuorters of the measure may ave 1m..ted to wait for the
Iovember elections to ease before dealin w“th this controversial fir01osil
Certa mlr this was the reason for Simile Con res1ione hesitancy in acting

on later literacy test bil

It was obvious
vitally interested in the
1.21611 tic-Ct

bill, measure ce

session of

 

that the Immigration Restriction League was

1me no for cons

the fifty—fourth Con3ress,

1°29

still

passage of what was now called the Lodge—Corliss

ideration arly in the second

which rat in Decenb er of l 90.

lb Di§_., p. 6149.
’7’)
u n, . ‘ r, v' ’

~siola.,p .6185, 62: ”.9, 626+.

’3

‘v v . ~- I .

9H13ham,p pp. 189,192, 203; new Yerh Times, Augfst 1912, p. 7,

«v- u' «‘ g .’ /
C. 6; new for: Times, Au uSt 22, 1910, j. l, C. c.

_J3_

Prescott F. Hall, secretary of the League and Joh. 3. More, a member of
the League's Executive Committee, were both in Wasrin -ton to loboy for
Senate ajproval of the bill.30 The fear engendered'by the recer t increase
in the number of i.t.;:i rant 8, partic“ arly the increase in the proportion of
new immigrants (esyecially talians) was reflected in the following state-
31
ment made by Hall inl' ile in Washington. "Inni're tion which fell off
during the depression of 1893-4 is raoidly increasing, the number for the
fiscal year of 18 96 being 3Q 3,267 or one— hird larger than la st year. The
proyortional increase of immigrants from the illiterate countries of southern
and Eastern Europe is startling. It was less than 1 oer cent in 1886 and
N)
52 per cent in 1896.")“ Continuing, Hall exuressed what he considered to
be the theory behind th literacy test. l'The tr eory of the reading and
writing test," he observed, "is not tr at an illiterate nerson maJ not be
moral and industrious in pe.rticul r cases , but that, in general illiterates
are leas desirable for these reasons. Statistics Show that the countries
sending us the most illiterates send also the largest number of those
gnorant of arv occupation and those who drift ir uto our citJ slums and fill
our poorliouses and jails."33 This line of reasoning is typical of that used
by both nineteenth and twentieth century restrictionists.
The Lod ge-Corliss Dill met with Opposition from an old enemy as soon
as it was again brought before the Senate, As in the first session, it was
Senator Gibson, the Keryland Democrat, who abs in on osed tide measure.

Seeking to dele v action on the bill, he suggested t11t the bill oe laid

—_

3OITew York Times, December 6,1896,p. 16,2.

3llbid., p. 16, c. 2.

~34-

aside until after the holiday recess. Lodge naturally onposed such a
delay, arguing that the bill was a moderate one which only the steamshin
lines 0pnosed. Gibson then moved that the bill be postponed until the
first Monday in January, adding that he did not refiresent the interests
of the steamship companies, whatever they might be, but tlat he did
represent the State of Earyland, which never before in its history was
more Opposed to innigration restriction. After Senator Chandler had
|
spoken against Gibson's erposal, he vote on the motion was taken and
it was defeated by a substantial margin. With the threat of delay removed
for the time being, thesponsors of the bill moved to Secure the Senate's
0J4,
annroval of the Senate substitute for the House bill.“
After the Senate had ainroved the substitute bill, it was Opened to
amendments. One of the proposed amendments was presented.by Senator vest,
a Democrat from iissouri. He complained against the aunlication of the
test to women and girls, and offered an amendment exemnting them from it.
Vest then went on to criticize the motives of many of those who advocated
the test. As he saw it, the restriction of immigrant voters was the
real motive behind their advocacy of the test, for how could the illit-
eracy of one man debase the labor or workmanship of another. What was even
more fallacious, he contended, was their attennt to apply this argument
against illiterate immigrants to domestic servants.35 Lodge was quick to
reply to Vest's criticisms. "There was no question,“ he insisted, “that
all the workingnen of the cities were today united in feeling that the
unrestricted competition of the unemnloyed of other lands should.be
34
Eggg, Egg,, 5% Cong., 2 Sess., 67-63. 71-72.

351bid., p. 72.

-35...

prevented,"36 Le therefore O))OS ed 1e st‘s amendment on the basis that
it would weaken an already mild measure. Senator Chandler then joined
Lodge in opposing the amendment, asserting that there was more danger
in the illitere ”or of :emales than in the illiteracy of males. Finally,
as a reminder to the anti-restrictionist s in the body, Ch endler called
to their attention tile fact that the; ationa l conventions of ooth major
political parties had voted ‘n favor of restricting inni ration Then
without acting on any of the pending amendments, the Senate moved on to
. . q?
other ouSiness.“
On December 17th, the Senate a 3ain took up the Lodge bill, the
name by which the substitute now went and the measure underwent some
modification. The test was still to be applied to both men and women,
but now all persons under sixteen years of ace instead of the previous
fourteen years of age were enemjted from the test and the class of il—
literate relatives an acnissasle imzi re nt could send for or brine with
. QC
him was exyanded.’v Ir. Horgan a_ain offered his amendment ashin that
Cuban imni rants be freed from the nrovisions of the test. 39 During
the long discussion that followec.., Zorgan‘s amendment was itself amended
so that in its final form it read: "This act sh all not annly to _versons
arriving in the United States from any port or filace in the ISland of

Cuba during the continuance of the present disorder there: Provided,

1 .
1 u. . Q A fl I fl 0 I L‘?
that sucn nersons have heretOIore been innabitants of that island." 0

 

 

 

The amendrer t w as then agreed to by a vote of M7 to 6, which prose oly

reflected to so: e extent th growing s; nva hy of Congressmen for the

it,
\

Cuban cawse.
After rejecting a head tax amendment to th sill, the Senate voted

on the Lodge bill as amended. The roll call vote resulted in the “ass—

age 0f the bill by the overwhelming margin of

\J"

2 to 10, in a mainly
partisan vote.l+2 A breakdown of the vote shows hat thirty-five Repub—
licans, thirteen Democrats and four Populists voted for the measure,
while all ten 0p70sin§ votes car e from Democrats. LIB Of these ten votes,
six came from the south, three from the Iidwest, and one from the East.*”
If this bill as passed by the Senate had become a law, what effect
would it ha'e had on immigiation? An answer to this sueculation is
provided for us in the statement of Dr. Joseph H. Senner, Commissioner
of Immigration at the port of Yew York, when he was asked to comment
concerning the probable effect of the bill should it become a law. "I
should say," answered Dr. Senner, "that had such a law as is now pro—
posed been in force during the past year 12,500 Italian immigrants would
have been excluded from the country, instead of the 1,300 that were de-
ported. Of the entire 200,000 inmigrants whr arrived din in 3the last

'scal year, 3,000 were returned. Had this act been a law, I think we

it
would have Sent back 28,000 or at least ten per cent of the entire nun\er. "5

p. Zbl.

Ibid,, pp. 255—07.
“3 ; 1
“ l23§,, 9. 2+ ; Confiresgignal_ggrectgrx_(54 Cong., 2 Sess., Senate
Doc. #0. l6), 315~16.

w»! . . - '2 -
lo;d., n. 237; Con reselonal Directorx, pp. 315-16.

 

'5

3,61}! VOID1: T—tae ’hce'vnqser 19’ 3‘89 (36’ p. 9’ c. 6.

u‘dCh results world certainly hav ileascd the test's ErOPonents an made

(Au L
good their nredictions as to the test's restric ive caoacity,since most
of the twenty-eight thousand would have come from tne Sorewhet ver ore

hundred th uqand new inn: rants arrivin“ that year.

. “\ N‘ ‘- ‘ 4" " ~ . l‘ Ya ’. /‘s 1 - v-s 1 I “ C‘ -. L
Since the literacy UCSU bill as alenuea 3n“ 0aS€ea o; tne senate

.v- \dL

U Va-

was substantia 13 differez1t than tre one jassel b” the E uSe during Lbe

- ‘ 1 i,”
p, a conference oetween tne two house 5 D€Cc.. e neces sary. ’l
ins conferees from the two Youses ouic:ly compromised the

h7 '
however, and made their rewort. On Jebruary 2nd, tnis conrererce re-

ir diizerences

' 0
‘ N v U "N
nort was called up :or consideration in tne senate. 3

President Cleveland had bitterly denounced the bill and announced tfst

aCA-U

h .
was his intention to veto the .easure 1: 1t came to h‘“ '9 This

-A-n A¢A.

’J-

H.

nformation fave encouragement to the ouuon-nts f the bill and they
were quick to attc :tne conference reiort. Its old enemy Senator Gibs son,
innediately raised a ooint of order a;jaw st t} e resort, claimin, that

the conuittee had exceeded its powers .nd had injected new nctter into

50

the bill. This was true, for the bill now excluded the w‘*e 0: an

I...“-

admissable 1n n1: ran t if she too were illi tercue.51 Pi-ally, after two

Lays of heated debate, dnr in; which numerous objections were made to the

 

 

’ Tings, February 2, 1397 j. 2, c. 2.

9
‘Conc Dec K9 “on" ° 0 so 15””
“‘A- . fin . ’ J ‘1’ U i :‘j. , b L e .3. , "1“! '. .

511... .

I '7 . “()0
Jl.k.;., 1'). 15%.,J.

 

(I)

L.‘
bile

conference comnittee

During the precedinf

Q

panv and its Cnicag

O

Lodge for what he claimed was their wart in opjo

Lodge even went so f

defeat would be taken as an example of the "victory of a corpor

a freat question of nublic Lolicy.

tions without having

n3-

de-ch 9e ,

its Western members,

vote against the literacy

showing how this camoaign

had been started and who
information came from a arominent South Dakota citizen wh

a coyy of the telegram

"Immigration bill comes up in House Tedne

our exnense, protesti

8”

vote in fevor means

by Claussenins & Co.,

Company. rhe Yestern

'c‘l‘

agate agreed to a motion to nonconcnr in

n 2
ant.

J

3'1
L L

77' e

{‘3

g.)

c-

0
UL

(‘C

C 4KJ

to say that if the bill

"54

request a further conference.

- a x w m r‘ ..,, . -m 0 .~ u
debate, tne norun german Llo;a -tearsn

the rejort of the

52

in Com—

t had come under stronr attack from Senator

ng the test bill.53

were defeated, the

c «L'
clul

on Oil

Lodge did not make these accusa-
some sunoort for th n. About a week before this

he had announced to the nress that members

beinc showered with mail

L)

W81" 8

test bill.55 Lodje even

A.
1'1 -

QM
~‘J CV-

H

a

inst pronosed exclusion,

mu
1.118

defeat next election.”50

Chicago a_‘rents of th, lTort
nart of the Unites States

h German Lloyd Steamshio

accordinj to Lod e,

f‘

of bongre

ss,

eSpeCially

apnealin to th 3 to

3
jroduced information

.

,x9
‘4

was hind it. His

had enclosed

* u 1 . *- : 2 .- " -r

ne nae recently receiveu. It recn as lollows:
F’jfifif 13.2,, '7 f‘ v ‘ 1 0 van
{SH ‘C‘I Q In .LJ. 8 by" our UO-4'.L:1 €081-qu ’

informins him that

x.)

disnatch was signed

¢

W2”. S

" 0 w o H z a - s .
flooden with such Cisoatcnes./7 A few oars later nodye resumea his expose

h

rm

J‘; 1 : ,1 - In: A o A
I “1.5:. ’ 9‘7. l“.’l.).“.'""':3 ’ lSlU-Zl.

m.

J".-

A

1*e

170 "*1

Q, ‘ fi‘ 0
new for; Times,

56
131i., 3. 2, c.
5/.

C.

 

an. 1&31—32. 15

2.

’7 0
(1. (a .

January 27, 1397, p. 2, C. 4

-39..

by presenting the press with a c0py of a circular being sent out by

H. Claussenius & Co. This circular also requested the recipient to

wire his Congressman asking him to vote against the test bill,_reminding

him that he would be unseated at the next election if he failed to do so.58
When a representative of the North German Lloyd Steamship Company

was sought out and questioned about this circular, he repeated a state—

ment he had made earlier in regard to the telegram first nresented by

Lodge. That is, that the Forth German Lloyd Company had "nothing what—

ever to do with the matter, and the Chicago firm was acting individually

and not as the company's agent.”9 However, although he assured the

press that "any necessary immigration measure would be heartily endorsed

by the steamship companies," he added, perhaps unwisely, that personally

he considered the prOposed measure "unworkable, impracticable, incon-

Sistent, and cruel."60
fhen the next conference report on the test bill was taken up by

the Senate, a few changes were suggested, wi 5 Senator German, Democrat

of Maryland, warning Lodge that "unless the bill cane back from the

conference committee ajplying only to males and with a provision for the

admission of the ignorant wife, the antagonisms to it would continue till

the end of the session."61 This onoosition arose mainly 0V9? provisions

in the bill that might possibly have brought about the separation of

families because of the language of the test 3T0ViSi0n- The language

 

583eu York TimeS, February 1, 1897. p. b. c. 3.
59Kew York Times, February 2, 1597, P- 2. Co 2-
601bid., p. 2, o. 2.

6199.118! £90, 511” Cong., 2 5853., 1521.

requirement of the test provision was also felt to be too broad, threat-
ening to e: :clude certain intigre ts w,hose exclusion was not desired.
Opposition to such exclusion grew so strong that the conference committee
was virtually instructed to chan5e the section to conform to the wishes
of the Opposition.63
The next conference comrzi ttee gave into the denier ds of the o_oiosition,
with the reSult that their report was more favorably received than the
previous ones.64 In the House after a short debate the resort w as agreed
to by the overwhelming vote of 217 to 36.65 A brea 1:down of the nay vote
shows that twenty-seven n85 a tive votes xtere cast by Democrats, twenty—
five of them Southern Democrats.66 Kine of the nay votes came from
Republicans, two of these were Southern RepublicanS, four came from
Congressmen representin5c constituer ci es containin5 large numbers of
GermanS, and one vote cam from a How Yerk Reores entative who was himself

67

an immigrant. The fact that most of the onoosition votes came from
the South only reflects th e 5eneral antinetny of that area toward immi-

' o o o o 68 o g
~rat1on restriction during th1s period. This vote also showed the

Republican party to still be the main vehicle of immigration restriction.

 

621.0id.’ pp. llva.1§'-25,11-927-31,1521-22.

 

631bid., pp. 1521—23.

 

6L"__I‘oi_d.. PT?- 1673-77.

65Ibido, p. 16770

 

 

66Ibid., p. 1677; Conrressional Directory, po. 315—l6.
67I‘r4l’1, - 6 e -1 (‘61 ”1 r. 4' ”1r ‘ 31 -16; “T"- )lfi fi
31%., g. l 77, Con ieooiona _;recoolr, U3. 5 i0 ical
Qiregtggy_g§_the America n ConlreLs, lZZ‘l(u(ou1;'ton, :overnment

 

Printing Office, 1950).

 

 

_ Ml _

The Senate too, agreed to the reuort, but only after a protracted
/

and heated debate.09 Senator Palmer, Illinois Democrat began the attack
on the measure, condemning it as an offsPring of nativisn, which indeed
it was. Koreover, Palmer predicted that the test would be useless for
it would shut out a good and useful class while letting in the literate
anarchist.7O The Corliss amendment to the bill also came under the fire
of the anti-restrictionists. In Palmer's opinion this provision was a
"miserable and narrow example," which Canada and Mexico would.nrobably
follow.71 If retaliatory legislation did come, American workers in

Hexican mines and Canadian forests would certainly Suffer, continued

72

Palmer. Later in the debate, Senator Gibson presented excerpts from
the Detroit §r§§_Press and the Detroit Egening_;gw§_which eXpressed much
hostility toward the nrovision, both claiming that there were quite as
many American citizens who crossed daily into Canada to work as there

a“ a. h . . . . , , . ..‘ 73
were Canadians who crossed into the Jnited States to earn a liVing.
Senator Carter, a Republican from Iontana, also attacked the bill and
esoecially the Corliss amendment. Such legislation, Carter warned,
could result in nothing but a similar Canadian law. Retaliation of this
sort, he further warned, would hurt America much m re han the present

prooosal would Canada, because for every Canadian citizen working in

o a -. 0 0 0 '1 I a I I
America there were at least a dozen Americans holding good 3008 in Canada.7”

 

691bid., pp. 1922—24.

 

7OIbid., n. 1922.

 

Ibid., p. 1922.

 

1
721bid., p. 1922.

 

. pp. 1931-32.

loid., no. 1924—25.

 

 

 

Others criticized the Corliss amendment in a similar fashion. The
Democratic Senator from Delaware, Er. Gray, criticized the bill as being
a denarture from time honored United States poliCy and assured the Sen—
ate that the President would veto it.75 The bill's most adamant foe,
Senator Gibson, predicted that the bill's inhumanity would shock the
citizenry, while Senator Blanchard, of Louisiana, reflected the atti-
tude of the South when he suggested that immigration should be encor -
aged so that America's waste places could be built up. However, the

,trictionist feelin

"2

South was by no means unanimous in its anti—re
Although from about 1865 to 1907, planters, land Speculators, railroads,
industrialists, and State governments tried to lure immigrants to the
South, nonular sentiment was hostile toward immigrants, eSpeciellv after
lBoD. This hostility was esnecially marked among labor and arm organ-
izations. Although few of the new immigrants came South, they became
the target of Southern animosity seemingly for the lack of a more rele-
vant scanegoat. Even the nromoters of the immigration in the South

* s g o '0 o o 6 ~
tended to snare the bias against the new immigrants.7 The deoate

v

closed with a speech by the bill's sponsor, Henry Cabot Lodge. In his
speech he was unable to effectively answer the critics of the Corliss
amendment, replying only that he could not see how Congress could 1e;—
islate on the basis of the probability of retaliatory legislation by

another country. His main talking point seems to have been the

 

/ ,I '
131d., pp. 1920, 1923.

7 Ibid., on. 1929—37; Rowland T. Berthoff, "Southern Attitudes
Toward Immigration, lSo5—1914," Journal 9§_Sout;ern_§é§tory, XVII (1951),

289 345-50, 358”590

 

 

I,
-9?—

.r’

unemployment situation, which he warned must be solved be ore Con ress
could consider fore :oind the further restriction of innigration.77

The vote on the conference renort resulted in a victory for the

u

”f3
bill's sunporters, but only 07 the narrow margain of 34 to 31./U A

d
breakdown of the vote shows t} at it was again mainly nartisan, but to

a considerable degree sectional too. Of th thirty—four yes votes cast,

1 *1
s4

twenty-six cane from reiv‘lic1Senators. hleven of the twer nty—s x came

from Eastern Senators, with the renainLer scattered throughout the country.

a:

Only four Democrats voted in the 81f irnative, three of these were South-

erners and one was an Easterner. The Si Iverites and the Po_)ulis ts in
the senate added two votes agiece. The bulk of the nay votes, twenty—
five, came from Democrats and of these, hirteen were votes of S uthern
Senators and five were votes of Xidwest SenatorS. Only four Republicans
voted with the cpnosition and three of them represented Horth Central
States, all of which had sizeable ninbers of foreiyn-born residents.
The Opjosition only )iCCed u) or e vote apiece from the Silv rites and
the Poaulists. The closeness of the vote as coruared with the earlier
Senate vote on the bill is signi icant in view of the assured presi-
der .tial veto, for it precluded any possibility of overriding such a
veto unless restrictionist feeling in the Sen ate Hecz we much stronger.79
Prescott Hall, secretary and one of the )illa.rs of the Irmi ration
Restriction League, explained that the closeness of this vote was due
to the efforts of the "steamship COK}8P1 es ar d their symoatnizers to

"80

defeat the measure. As a basis for his assertion Hall cited the

 

771::d n. 1937.

IQOid. , p. 19:70

 

\3

y.

(D
r:
H
*4
O
H

D-

Y

* mines, February 18, 1897, o. a c. 1-2.

Hall, p. 265.

communications of Claussenius & Co. which have elrea.d; been quoted.

Another joss iDle ex >lai nation for the closeness of the vote may be that
O

tne Senate Resublicense w1reciotin3 what the foreign vote had reoutedly

done for then in the recent election, had become more hesitant to offend

" ,1

that Section of the electorate with such a measure. Another factor,
probably the most inyortent one, was the gene mel decline at this time

of the whole nativist moverent which had sparked the drive for the

li terc c;r test. The year 1397 saw the beginnin3 of a period of virtual

Cf

hibernation for the literacy test movement and the na ivist snirit that
c- . A u ‘I a u 0 o a Q
unoerla: tne whole cannai n ior tne restriction of immi3ration.Ul

The literacy test bill as agreed to hr the two Houses now excluded

All person s nhrsically canahle and over sixteen vears of age
who cannot read and.1.rite t -e nrrIisi lan uaje or sore other
lanfiuaje, but a nerson not so aole to read and 1rite who is
over fift; years of age and cho is the oarent or granduarent

of a qu.alified immiflrant over twenty-one years of age and
caiaole of suniorting such Jarent or grandoarentr Lay acco :17-
any such in}. irrant, or such a parent or jra doarent nav be
sent for and co~e and join the faxilv of the child or 31and-
child over twent"-one years of age and ini Hrlr qualified
nd caoable, and a wife or minor child not so aole to read
and write, may accomoany or be sent for and come and join
husband or m.r,nt similarly qualified and cauaol e. 02

The bill also contained a urovision making it unlawful for any alien to
perform labor in this country while a resident in a foreign country,

or to come in and work daily in the United States. This was the Corliss
amendment. Cuban residents arri'in3 from the island during; the con—
tinuance of the disorders there were to be ex noted from the literacy

O u 1 8 . - o q .
teS t provi? ion in tne measure. 3 In this form tne bill was Ser t on to

President Cleveland durinr the last (avs OfllS administration.

k.)

M
-c-Cw-‘ ’

‘37). l '31;- 05 .

If). r) W'\ V
~“Con3. nec., 5+ Con3., 2 Sess., 1921.

r“,
(‘Qv~
“Jib id., 3. 1,21.

J. W Senner, who had had inti: ate conV cts 1Jith immigrants as

Corz1m; 9 M1 ner of the port of few York, made some comments on the lit—
eracv test and Italian immigrants while the Lodge bill was before
Congress. He pointed out that the press comment on Italian immig-
ration of the last few weeks had been most unfavorable and that as a
result the readers must be led to believe that "h heroic measures were
demanded by the oublic welf 2re."84 Senner himself believed that a
"moderate educations 1 test would remove the remotest ap1hreher sion of
danger from Italian immigration."65 However, Sennerl as tened to point
out that althour 41 he favored an educational test, he did "not share the
spun eher sion of a perilous change in the very fabric of our ‘ace im—

0

pending from further iru ration.“6 Senner echoed the reas oning of
the nativists though, when he stated as his reason for favoring a
literacy test "the obvious fact that illitere cv is inveriaoly coupled
. 87
with a low standard of living which leans to a lowering of wages,"
Several new8uaners Spoke approvingly of the literacy test pro-

posal while it was before CongreSS. One of these was the Springfield

"envblican w"i h felt th at a literacr test would excluc emany who

F

would be a definite asset to the country though "it seemed to be the
only test uossible to apply" and would, to the Reuublican's great sat-

o n . 1 (
isIaction, hit the immigrants from Soutlflea stern Europe the har dest.8C3

 

J. H. Senner, "Immigration From Italy," LTorth Armerican Review,

 

 

 

(2;) . ~r .
L"”111te=1~§£linvest, Februarv 27, 1896, 516.

wn) and the Jersey City

Ho

The Kinneanolis £33339l (indenendent Rev bl
Eggning_§gurn§l_(Renublican) also annroved of the Lodge bill and called
for its jassafe.€9 Another paper pointed out that the Republican party
had committed itself to the literacy test in its 1896 national narty
nlatform and therefore should act accordinrly.90 Several other papers
also commented on t’1-e bill only a short time after it had been introd—
uced into Congress. One of these we 5 the Chice“o §§§n§_nagi§3 (Renub-
lican), whose editor thought the recommendation of a literacy test by
the Immi t.ration Restriction League was "well advised” and that it ought
to have been enforced long ago.91 Continuing its commentargr this paper
boldly aséérted that "All foreifn-born citiz ns of the better Sort will
favor the adontion of a law innosine an educational test unon intending

g.)

o . r) rv-n T" o c I f u .‘ R
immigrants."9° ine netrOit Patriotic American (A. P. A.) was naturally

 

in favor of the test, while the Boston Comronwealth desired such a

 

barrier against ignorant immigrants so America would get "the best, and
only the best" in t} e way of innit" ;rantS. 93

After the Lodge bill had finally won the anvroval of both Houses
of Congress, nres ss cor ment seems to have become more frequent, judging

from the excernts found in Egylic Oninion. The San Francisco Call, an

 

avowedly Renublican newsaaner, declared tim t the Lodg e bill, so far as
it went wa "good enouijh" and that "The peonle desire to see it enacted

. .’ I! ~ . ~ V‘fi o s .
Witnout further delay."9" At tne same time tne nevublicar Cnicago

 

”9Literarz Digest, June 6, 1396, 161.

9‘JLittegrv Dicest, December 19, 1896, 199.

 

9lEubgiE_OninignJ XIX (lp95>.

,21b1d. n. 735.

 

93Ibid., 9. 736.

 

oi; . . . .
/ Public Cn:n:on LXII (1397), 232.

Tribune lauded the Lod:e bill as beiné in "strict accord with nub lic
O 5
sentiment. . . .” The Tribune saw the literacy test as the means by

which the American workin3 .1an would be saved fro: the sc* of Euroue"
96
which he d been crowding him out of his legitimate Llace. he Tribune,

however, was not critical of all immigrants to America, for while they
snoke degradingly of the im.i b ants from Soutlme stern Europe, they hast—
ened to point out that German, Scandinavian and English immigrants were
entirely welcome. As a final testimonial to the nonula.rity of tr e lit-
eracy tes t the Tribune asserted that orob ably 95 per cent of tlie worcing
peOple of the country would favor barring all illiterates.97 Another
hidwestern newsnaner also cited the threat to American labor resulting
from the influx of immigrants, eSjecially those coming from Wn ary and
Italy and called for a stronger bill if this one did not do the job.98
Opposition to the literacy test in the Lodge bill seems to have

been more infrequent than praise of it if Literary birest and Public

n1 nio on are used as the criteria for judgement. However, a few papers

 

did onnose the bill. One of these was the Democratic Brooklyn Citizen,

 

 

which called unon Fresident Cleveland to veto the bill or "disa noint
a very large number of citizens who know anything about it. "/9 Con-
tinuing, the Citizen contended that the bill would cause bad feelings

between the United States and Canada, and certainly would not nave the

 

95Ibid., p. 232.

, n. 231.

 

97lbid., p. 211.

 

’3
O c ‘2. o
9 lbid., n. 232, from ninneanol1s Journal.

. . . -. , lOO . .
way for a union w1tn Canada as should be tne case. Tne St. Louis

Reoublic (Democratic), considered education a noor criterion by which
0 a 01- no a *3
to Judge a man and so Opposed tne test prooosal. lne Omana gee

(Republicei), contended that the nresent laws, properly enforced, were

quite sufficient and that nothing would be gained by making further

restrictions.l)

ui ue a: indressive arra, of German—American newsoaners unanimously

Q“

Opposed “all efforts to restrict rnigration” which would of course in-
n . 1 103 m. 1 M k _- . .
clude the literary UGSt. ine payers G)1F€SS inb such 091051t10n were

the ITew York Staats-Zeitm the Cincin dati Vollm att, the Chicago

“‘21)

 

Staats- -Zeitung, the St Louis Yestliche Post, the Kilwaukee Freidenker,

 

 

the Kilwaukee Seebate_and the Chicago Irei§,:me§§. The stand te.ken or

 

these paoers probably renresented the “vociferous imnigrant 07oosition
to the literacy test" that was "crystallizing" at that tine.lo§ Kore—
over, although the German press was esnecially outsnol {en against the
test, ”the federal immigration commissioner renorted that the entire
foreign-language Dress condemned it."105

The climax of the strug,: ,‘le for the Lod:e-Corliss bill ca1e on Yarch

2, 1897. On this day President Cleveland returned the bill to Con ress

without his sir-natire.loO This decisive step was taken by Cleveland

K.)

 

loolbid. o. 232.

9

 

 

 

101 . . I ,
L1terrry_31;est, June 6, lo90, 162.
l 32L; it ray. ‘u‘ . —.q Y‘| — 1 '1 3/ P 0
er y o1gest, secemoer 19, 1o;o, 1y,
103

Ibid. D. 617,

\

 

1011'i

 

only after he hed carefully weifhed and considered the merits of the
bill. PreSident Cleveland's veto messa3e emjhasized the fact that this

J.

was a "radical de) wrt re from our national roli cy rela i.3 to irlni3wr tion.

r . . , _ , ,
."lJ? Furthermore, he p01nted out that 1t seemed needlessly narsn

and Oppressive an the the literacy test was an inad wte test of the

hr ‘ r of an innijrr—nt. Cleveland saw no need for an altera.tion

of our innirration policy. In adfition to these objections, Cleveland

condemned in no uncertain terms the arendnent to the bill made by Reo-

L1

108
n .1 .. 1- -- 1 .-
. Concerninb t2 1e ef ect of this drOV1Sl0n on

resentative Corliss
Cleveland's decision to veto the bill, Prescott Hall stated later the
on a7nc.rently good authority, that

It has been said, however,
I” which the illiteracy test

in vi ew of the verv large vote u,
had . assed both :ouses twice, the President would not have in-
veto but for the provisions affecting the border
It must be remembered that there were
many questions of grave innortance oending between the United
States and Canada, Such as the question of the seal fisr eries
and the Alaskan boundary. In addition to the 3eneral desir-
ability of avoiding trouble with a ne r neighbor, with whom the
United States had hitherto been on friendly terms, it was of
the greatest consec uence for the successful adjustment of the
various matters in controversy that friction should not be
created and bad feel'ns 'cn<ered bJ the nessa :e of a measure
containing such irritating and

vexatious clauses as those of
the Corliss amendment; and on this account the veto can be
f tlze i W1 tera y test.109

supnorted even by friends Ol

ternosed his
immigration from Canada.

The reaction of the two Houses to the veto was considerably differ—

ent. tion by the House of Representatives on the veto was delayed

until Ilarch 3rd. At this time the House, with “it an? debate, q‘lic 19'
repassed the measure over Cleveland's veto 5? a vote Of 193 to 37'

L

107

 

lOCv

110 .
C'Dnn‘ lLQC. ’ 55“! CO -8. ’ 2 598%. ’ 2"?"7.

._. ,

_ D) ...

Meanunile, in the Senate, the vetoed 73ill was faring somewhat differently.
After hearing the veto message read, the bill was referred to the Committee

0 '1 1 ovl ‘A i” o :
on Imnmi fir tion on ie motion of Senator Louge.l 1 ditn tnis action taken,

the bill died, for althoug. tLe "Rejublican leaders Lh had pressed the

measure . . . Lere wra m?" the Fenate failed to take any further action

112
on the bill.

=te's fei lure to act are drobably about th

‘3

The reasons for the Sen

n

same as those wlich ce used the earlier vote on tile conference reiort to
be so close. It can also be assuned with some saf ety that the lob sts
representing the steam shin lines played quite an important part killing
the bill. For the matter, Lodge even went so far as to say later, that
he had heard that Clevele nd himself snoke of the veto with regret and

that he had oeen influenced by the misreoreser tz‘ ti one of th German steam-
shi) offices in Sew York. levertheles as, the end of one period in the
camoaign for a literacy test had come to an end and it was destined to

be another ten gears before both Houses of Con¢:ress would again case a

measure containing a test oroviso.

llll‘id., n. 2729.

 

112 v . ,v
Allan rev;ns, grgy§£_Cleg§land: A Stugl in oour§;; (new YOTK,

 

 

1933 . D. 26.

l 51 _
hinter III
The Campaign For The Test Continues; Another Veto

Undaunted by his recent setback, Henry Cabot Lodge once again set
out to secure Congressional approval of a literacy test. Therefore, on
March 16, 1897 he once more introduced the Immigration Restriction League's
bill into the Senate.1 The measure was 1uickly reported from the Senate
Committee on Immigration, but after some discussion of the bill it was

passed over.2

The bill fared better during the Second session of the
fifty-fifth Congress where after being debated at some length it was
voted in and nassed on January 17, 1898. The vote of 55 to 28 was mainly
partisan with only one Republican voting against the measure and but few
Democrats voting for it.3

As a result of the election of William McKinley, Lodge and the
other proponents of the test had gained some valuable support for their
measure. President McKinley in his inaugural address had voiced his
apnroval of an educational test as an addition to our immigration laws.
Additional support came from the.A. F. of L. which had gone on record as
approving of the test by a vote of 1858 to 352 at its national convention
held in December of 1897. The Immig ation Restriction League took partic-

ular care to point out this fact to every member of Congress.5 Other

 

lQQEEp 5&23, 55 Cong., l Sess., 38.
22.11%” an. 116, 263, 101KB.
31bid., pp. 681-80.

415.

1d,, 3. U.

-_-_._

5Tisham, pp. 106-07.

\J

_ 5g _

labor suoport ce me from the General Assembly of the Knights 01 Labor
which endorsed the prOposal in late 1897.6 In Loda e 's home State of
Mas ssachusetts where restrictionis t sentiment we s still strong, the
State Reiublican party platform endorsed the test. 7 The prOposal Las
also bolstered by the more than one hundred and sixty petitions pre-
sented in the Senate which called for the enactment of the literacy
test.8

However, there were also many influenti ml voices being raised against
the test. Some examples of this were the numerous petitions that flowed
from such hyphenate organizations as the Polish Ce tholic Union of Chicago,
the Polish Alliance of the United States, the Roman Union of the United
States and the United Italian SociotieS.9 A.memorial from five hundred
and twelve German—Catholic Societies was also among the mail that pro-
tested against the literacy test.10

It was during this same period that several national gr ups joined
together to form the Immigrant Protective League, for the purpose of de—
feating nativistic legislation and counterbalancing the efforts of the

0

Immigration Restriction League. The primary work of the League consisted
of the dissemination of circular letters printed in the German language
to German language newSpapers and to various German societies in America.

Tb iese circulars stressed particula.r1y the detrimental effect nativistic

legislation would have on German irrigration and German culture in A.erica.

 

690-115" . 1280., 55 COI‘AD.’ 2 Sess., 687.
7Ha11, p. 276.
8House Journal Index, 55 Cong., 2 Sess.

9Senate Journal, 55 Cong., 2 Sess., 149, 160, 204, 235.

 

lOIbd id. .53.

 

-53...

Oddly enough, the promoter and secretary of the League was Dr. Joseph

H. Senner, who while he was Commissioner of Immigration at the port of
Hew York, had favored a literacy test because he believed that illiteracy
was consistently accompanied by a low standard of living.11

The literacy test bill passed by the Senate did not meet with a very
friendly reception in the House. For that matter this might have been
expected, since McCall had introduced the same bill as Lodge had in the
Senate and had seen it die in committee.12 When the Lodge bill arrived
in the House, the same committee tied it up until mid-December of 1898.
At this tim he bill was finally brought before the House which then
refused to consider the measure by a vote of 10% to 101.13 Although the
restrictionists were again unsuccessful in their efforts, the closeness
of the vote indicated that there was still a substantial majority in the
House in favor of the literacy test.

There are several possible reasons for the refusal of the Hbuse to
consider the test bill. One of these is that the press of business,
eSpecially that resulting from the Spanish—American War puShed the matter
aside. The vigorous fight against the bill put up by immigrants already
in America might also go far toward exnlaining the reluctance of the House
to act. In all likelihood such onoosition worried those Congressmen whose
constituencies contained large numbers of immigrant voters. One other

factor that should not be overlooked, was the reviving prOSperity and ex~

panding industrial activity of this period which called for more labor,

 

11north American Review, CLXII (1896), 655; Anna’s

Academv, X—(1897), 15.

O
H:
:f
(D
jg»
"D
*‘S
*1.

_Q§Q.

 

 

12Cong. Egg., 55 Cong., l Sess., 20.

13lhiéa. p. 196.

_ 5s _

eSpecially cheap immigrant labor. Probably this was also on the minds
of many CongreSSmen when they voted not to take up the bill.

Although their efforts had once more been crowned with defeat, the
prOponents of the test did not give up the fight. Luring the first
session of the fifty—sixth Congress a bill containing the test was once
again introduced into the Senate. Fated to be even more short—lived
than its predecessor, this bill, although reported from committee in
January of 1900, was never called us for consideration by the Senate.14

When the first session of the fifty-seventh Congress met in Decem—
ber 1900, the Immigration Restriction League which by 1900 had sent out
some one hundred and fifty thousand restrictionist pamphlets and documents,
was again able to secure the introduction of its bill into both Houses.15
Heighter of these bills were ever voted on although Congress was flooded
with over four thousand petitions endors'ng the educational test and
asking for its passage. For the most part, hese petitions emanated
from skilled-trade unions, locals of the United Mine Workers and the United
Order of Junior Mechanics, however, petitions also came from the State
legislatures of California, wyoming, Washington and Arkansas, a forewarn—
ing of the Strength restrictionism would soon gain in these areas.16

During this same session an attemnt was made to secure the enactment
of a literacy test by atta hing it to an immigration bill in the form of

an amendment. Senator Underwood of Alabama, representing the beginnings

of the Southern shift toward restrictionism, pronosed this amendment to

 

114931312. 333., 56 Cong., 1 5855., 89, 799, 1651.

lSangb figg., 57 Cong., l Sess., 9b, 123; Prescott F. Hall, "Present
Status of Immigration Restriction," _§hton'§ Magazine, XVIII (1900), 305,

l6§2§£§.§hnasel. 57 Cong., 1 Sess.

-55...

an immigration bill which had been framed in accordance with the recomp

mendations of the Industrial Commission and the Commissioners of Immi-

17 T

gration at several Ulited States ports.

0 fi 18 o p o o o
in the Senate by a vote of 86 to 7. President thinley's assaSination

1 a

he amendment was aoproved

by an anarcnist had intensified restrictionist feeling and the test's

chances of passing in the form of this amendment appeared great until

unforeseen circumstances made the dropping of it imperative. For

although a majority of the Senators favored the test, a few Senators

disliked it so intensely that they became determined to defeat the whole
measure if the test proviso has retained.
the rest of the bill, the Senators in charge of the measure drOpped the
literacy test proviso from the general bill.

Again during the first session of the fifty-eighth Congress in 1903,

Therefore, in order to save

19

test bills were introduced into both the Senate and the House.20 The

restrictionists were again stymied when both of the bills died in committee.

Prescott Hall, who as secretary of the Innigration Restriction League was

close to the situation as well as vitally concerned with the test’s

success, emplained that the bill's failure "was owing partly to the great

pressure of other matters, partly to the great increase in industrial

activity which created a temporary demand for unskilled labor, and partly

to a desire to see the practical Operation of the Act of March 3, 1903,

 

l7Cons”. BEE!» 57 Cong., l SeSS., 5768.

181bid., p. 5833.

l9Hall, p. 271.

20991130 $9.: 58 COHgO: 1. 88830: 165’ 175a

Zlcong. Rec. Index, 58 Cong., l SeSS.

 

21

"2

before undertaking further le“i51ation. Furthermore, Southern members

probably Osmosed th -e test beca.use of the organized efforts now being made

I . O O R Q 3

to entice imxigrants into tne Soutn.
Seemingly undiscouraged by the reoea.ed failure of their efforts to

gain Congressional approval of the literacy test, the Immigration Restric—

0 I 1 O Q Q _0 21+ 3 0

tion League once again had its 0111 placed beiore Congress. This time

the test bill was introduced into both Houses of the fifty-ninth Congress

in Karch, 1905.25 Then with the aid, through the more circumscript aid

of Henry C: bot Lodg e who had growing numbers of inuiortnt voters in his

"CD

own State, the bill was pushed through the Senate and passed on a non-

26

roll call vote. This was done despite the protests of severe foreign

groups incl ding the Jews who were by far the most VOCl ferous in their
27
remonstrances against such action.
In the House the test's prooonents, led by Louge's fiery son-in—law,

Augustus P. Gardner, perl laps motivated by tine large incree se in the volume
of new immigrants, quickly ob ained a favorable report of the bill from

‘I o . u IAT - o 28 ‘ .

tne Committee on Immigration and naturalization. However, the restric-

tionists were now faced with a mounting wave of opposition to their pet

plan. Just before the bill had passed through the Senate, the National

 

223311, p. 271.

ZBBerthoff, no. 331, 334, 339—40, 357.
2”Cont". Egg,, 59 Cong., l Sess., 202, 221.
25:221., pp. 202, 231.

26Ibid.,p .7298.

 

281bid 7643; Hi torical Statistics 9§_the Uhited_States: 1789—
M9 5 (Washington 1999), p. 33-

-57...

Liberal Immigration League had been organized for the single purpose of
defeating restrictionist legislation. The stature and reputation of the

1

man WLO became its nresident, as well as that of many of its members,
lent "an air of altruism" to the organization.29 Soon the League was
staging meetings in large cities and showering Congressmen with
resolutions protesting against the literacy test. Keanwhile, Oscar
Strauss, the Secretary of Commerce and Labor and the first Jewish
Cabinet member, was warning that if the test bill was passed, the
Republican party would lose its increasing support among the urban
foreign voters. Strauss also induced the very influential Cardinal
Gibbons to write President Roosevelt a letter protesting against the
test.30 However, desnite all this mounting onnosition to the literacy
test outside of Congress, it was withi the House of Renresentatives that
the restrictionists met their most formidable foe; the very powerful Speaker
of the House, Joe Cannon. Cannon's militant Opnosition was caused.by a
combination of several factors. One was his enmity toward organized labor
(now crying for restriction) and his definite pro—business sympathies.
Another was the fact that he and other party leaders saw that the passage
of a literacy test would imperil the party's power among the immigrant
voters. Besides this, Cannon represented a coal mining district that de—
pended heavily on immigrant labor. Thus he renresented the two interests

then most hostile to immigration restriction and even PreSident Roosevelt's
L;

personal plea that he Support the test was to no avail.31

 

F0

9Higham, p. 128.
301bid., p. 128.

31Blair Bolles, Tyrant From Illinois: ’hcle Joe Canngnfs Exoeriment
With Personal Power (Sew York, 1951), p. 72; Biting E. Korison, Ed., The
Letters of Theodore Roosevelt (Cambridge, 1951~ 4), V, pp. 285—86,

 

 

 

 

 

 

- 5g _

The first move Cannon made in his campaign against the test was to
secure a non-record vote on the immigration bill. This maneu'er was
calculated to gain the supoort of some of the irresolute R.presentatives
who were subject to pressure from organized labor and the various restric-
tionist and nativist organizations. Cannon was assured of this kind of
a vote by his cohorts on the Rules Cornittee who adonted a soecial rule
making a roll call vote on the literacy test nroviso imvossible. The
same faithful committee also limited the debate on the measure to three
hours and the number of amendments allowable to one for each section of
the bill. Then, in suite of the bitter complaints of the restrictionists
who contended that they needed more time to present their arguments, the
. Q2
House aouroved the resolutions of the Rules Committee.“

when the House did take uo the immigration bill, Cannon set in
motion the plan of action by which he honed to kill the literacy test
proviso. Before the debate commenced, Cannon left the Sneaker‘s chair,
handing over his gavel to Jim Uatson, so that he might take personal
leadership on the floor. Augustus Gardner ouened the debate by reading
a letter from Samuel Gomners who strongly favored the test and was
working hard to secure its passage. Gardner then reviewed th unionist
and biological arguments for the test which had been piling up for more
than a decade. Other speakers, both restrictionists and anti—restrictionists
followed and the debate was moving into the late afternoon when bearded
and distinguished looking Charles Grosvenor arose to offer an amendment.
Grosvenor had voted for the literacy test in 1896, but nevertheless, as an

ally of Cannon, he now presented a substitute for the test. "A CommissiOn

 

32Cone. Rgg., 59 Cong., l Sess., 9152-57-

~42

is hereby created," the substitute ran, "consisting of two Senators and

hree members of the House of Representatives . . . and two citizen

members. Said comnission shall make a fullinquiry, examine and invest-

igate into the subject of immigration." As soon as the amendment had been

read, Gardner arose and making a point of order objected that the amend-

ment was not germane. An impartial Speaker probably would have upheld

Gardner's objection, but as Cannon's henchman, thtson was far from in-

partial. Thus when Watson declared that the amendment was germane, the
q

o ./

came as no surprise to veteran H use members.

Thus far Cannon's nlan was working smoothl* but it was soon to hit
_ J D

a snag. The first vote on Grosvenor's amendment was a voice vote and it

resulted in the defeat of the amendment by a vote of 123 to 136.34 Cannon'

moved quickly to save his plan from defeat, a recount was called for and

tellers were appointed. Cannon was almost the first to vote. Then he

hastily began enlisting more support and by "strenuous application he
persuaded five men to vote for the amendment" so that the yea vote now

totaled one hundred and twentv-eisht.35

, 5 When the negative vote was taken

he "went among the men crowded in the well and the negative vote was cut

/
c b o o o u
an even score, falling to 116."3 The bill in its new form was tnen

quickly agreed to by the House.

The next obstacle in Cannon's path was the Senate, where the bill

had originated. They were as determined to retain the test in the bill

33Ibid., pp. 9158-66. As finally constituted the commission was
composed of nine memberS.

 

qt,

“ Ibid., p. 9195.

35" r 1 - a 3. / A
new lorh Times, June a6, 1,00, p. 7, c. l.

36

Ibid., p. 7, c. 1.

-60-

as Cannon was to keen it removed. Therefore, when Cannon apnointed the
conferees on the part of the House, he snubbed Gardner, the test's chief
supporter, by passing over him in favor of others who would obey his
wishes. He chose the two lone dissenters on the House Committee on
Immigration when it had favorably renorted the bill, William Bennet and
Jacob Rupert. Benjamin F. Howell was named as chairmen of the committee.37
These gentlemen were selected especially for their defensive abilities,
which assured Cannon that they would not give into the Senators' nleas
to restore the literacy test.38
Bennet, Howell and Rupert proved themselves to be fully up to Cannon's
eXpectations, for when Congress adjourned in June the conferees were still
in disagreement over the test.39 Cannon had fully anticipated an endless
deadlock between the conferees, terminating in the death of the entire
bill, however his most bitter Opponent in the controversy had not yet
given up the fight. When the lame duck session arrived, the House con-
ferees were still under the same instructions, nevertheless, Gardner was
resolved to get some action. Therefore, on February 2, 1907, he intro-
duced a resolution calling for the acceptance of the Senate's version of

the bill. Cannon parried this thrust easily bv hustling the resolution

I]

I 1
off to the Rules Committee for a quick death.wo By now even Lodge and

Dillingham, the Senate conferees, had about given up all hope of ever break.

1

ing tne deadlock without Sacrificing the literacy test.41

37§2E£9 BEE): 59 Cong., l Sess., 9195.
3BBolles, p. 74.
393011es, p. 75.

uoCona. Rec., 59 Cong., l SeSS., 2185.

41Bolles, p. 75.

Soon after Gardner's futile resolution had been introduced, President
Theodore Roosevelt diSpatched his Secretary of State, Elihu Root on a
mission to Sneaker Cannon to discuss the deadlocked immigration bill.
Roosevelt's occasion for doing this grew out of the decision of the San
Francisco Board of Education requiring all Oriental students to attend a
public school Specially set aside for them. The Board took this action
on the grounds that the Japanese children were crowding the whites out of
the schools. Japanese-American relations were growing tense as a reSult
of this action and there was even a hint of the possibility of war between
the two powers. Roosevelt sought a solution to this crisis via a con-
ference at Washington with Mayor Schmitz of San Francisco. It was
decided during this conference that San Francisco would admit Japanese
children into classes with whites if Roosevelt could secure the oassage
of the immigration bill then languishing in conference with an added amend-
ment. This amendment vould.prohibit Japanese frim entering the continental
. b2
United States from the Hawiian Islands.

EXUedient and acceotable as this olan waS, to carry it through would
be a difficult matter. To accomplish this Roosevelt had to obtain Cannon's
agreement to an immigration bill with a literacy test nroviso as well as
the pronosed amendment. Root's mission was to gain this annroval. Howe

ever, deSpite Root's warning that Japan might go to war over this
controverSy and that our national security was at stake, Cannon stood firm.
He refused to accede to Roosevelt's proposition unless the Senate would

43

agree to the immigration bill as it was passed by the House.

 

l ‘ . .
LZThonas A. Bailey, Theodore Roosevelt And The JQVQ2§§§7A392£JZ_
(Stalford University, 1934), pp. 28—1Q6,

 

“3301193, 9. 77.

-62..

Having failed in his efforts to sway annon, Root next visited
Henry Cabot Lodge. Roosevelt was now ready to give up the literacy test
because of the urgency of the Jaoanese situation. 80, with Cannon standing
like a rock, Lodge would have to yield. Lodge did just that and as a
result had to give up wlat he had sought for since 1891. Chairman Howell
followed Cannon's bidding and the bill became a law in the form desired
by the Renresentative from Dansville.44

Commenting on the literacy test and Cannon's Opoosition to it, the
Xew York Eime_.editorialized that it was probably the coming fall elections
that had moved Cannon to his actions more than anything else. Continuing,
the Times eXpressed its annroval of the test, but cautioned that its worth
was still a matter of some doubt. Public oninion was divided on th
question, therefore an intelligent and impartial investigation of the
immigration was a sound move.l

During the time Congress had had the immigration bill under con-
sideration it had received many petitions and memorials both favoring and
Opposing the measure. Communications asking for favorable action on the
literacy test were received from the Rational Consumer's League, The
Federation of Patriotic Societies, numerous lodges of the Brotherhood of
Locomotive Firemen and the Brotherhood of Railway Trainmen, the Secretary
of the Patriotic Order of Sons of America, the Immigration Restriction

League, and Samuel Gomners. Grouns who onjosed.the test included the

National German-American Alliance, the Liberal Immigration League, the

 

bugggéb §§2,, 59 Cong., 2 SeSS., 2808, 3099, 3232, 351%.

uSfiew York EEEEEJ June 27, 1906, p. 6, c. 2.

-53..

Kew Immigrants Protective League and various Jewish ore

k.)

46

{‘3

.nizations. Some

f the preceding also supported Grosvenor’s amendment.

The issue of the passage ofezliteracy test by Congress hung fire
until 1911, the year when the Immigration Commission created by Repre-
sentative Grosvenor's amendment made its voluminous report. However,

while that body was carrying out its extensive investigation, restric-

tionists were still arguing for the test before the public. For example,

on March 20th, 1908, Henry Cabot Lodge discussed the plan he had been

‘

forwarding for almost two decades in Congress, before the Boston City

47

Club. Dwelling on the restrictive effect the literacy test could

have had had it been made a law yeers a 0, he nointed out hat by now a

million inn grants could have been excluded by its nrovisions. Then as
if attengting to exonerate himself as well as other reStrictionists from
the charge of racism, Lodge stated emphatically hat the literacy test
was aimed solely at the ignorant and not at any race or class. Earlier
in his talk, Lodge had attempted to mollify a segment of the new immi—
gration who had long Ojdosed the literacy test, the Italians. This
represented a major switch for Lodge, who had so often attacked the
quality of Italian immifrants. But now Lodge iad this to sav:

The great growth in recent years in our imn‘gration
has been from Italy, from Poland, Hungary, and Russia,
from eastern Eurone, from subjects of the Sultan, and ex—
tending to inhabitants of Asia Einor. With the exception
of the Italians, these peOple have never been amalgamated
with, or brought into contact with the English-St aking
perle or with those of France, Germany, or Holland, and
Scandanavia, who have built up the United StateS. I en—
the ItalianS, not merely because of their noble literature

“6House Journal, 59 Cong., l Sess., 11b8, 1202, 1215; §g§§t§_Journ§l
59 Cong., l Sess., 297, 309, 319, 362,

.
....J

--.—

! / v 1 .
L7Senate Document 59, b23_(oO Cong., l Sess., has’*ngton, 1908), 9.

_ 64 -

and Splendid art are a part of our common inheritance,

but because they are consnicuously one of the countries

which belong to what is known as western civilization.

They, like ourselves are the heirs of the civilization of

ancient Rome, and until one has travelled in Eastern EurOpe

and studieE the peOple one does not realize how much this

signifies. 3
In the preceding quotation Lodge evidently makes an aspeal to another
national group for support in his endeavor. These are the German-Americans
who since the early 1890‘s had vocilerously Opposed the literacy test when
it was before Congress. In this soeech however, Lodge is careful to
praise them as one of the national groups "who have built up the United
States." Lodge's failure to Specifically cite the Jews as one of the
undesirable peoples among the new immigrants ray also have had some signif—
icance since the Jews in America had been the most outspoken and militant
foes of the 1907 literacy test bill.

While the Immigration Commission was engaged in its investigation,
the immigrants who Opposed immigration restriction were also busy. These
immigrants executed th ir anti-restrictionist campaign mainly through
their numerous and wideSpread societies. These bodies sent Spokesmen by
the dozens to testify before Congressional committees, they organized
rallies in big cities and ceaselessly circulated petitions with which to
pelt members of Congress. Societies of many different national groups
participated in this action, although those of the Germans, the Poles,
the Jews, and.the Italians took predominance. During this same period,
the foreign press in America was waging a vigorous campaign against restric-
tion in hundreds of papers across the land and through the American Associ—

O

ation of Persian Language EewSpapers was attempting to keep Republican

0

. . . 4
leaders faithful to the immigrant cause. 9

 

ualhisp. Do “-

”9Higham, p. 188.

-65...

Although the anti—restrictionists were pleased over the pause in the
Congressional battle for a literacy test given them by the prolonged in—
vestigations of the Immigration Commission, the restrictionists were
1 mna atm nt and ancry at tl -e delaw. "At first they used the legislative
lull to try to secure more drastic administration of existing statutes.
The Imzi ration Restriction Lee ;tue directed its fire at Oscar Strauss,
Roosevelt's Secretary of Corimerce and La Moor who frequently exercised his
aut110r1'ty to overrule harsh decisions which the Commissioner of Immigration,
a former labor leader [ii V. Powderly , made in cases of individual immi-
grants. But with Roosevelt's support, Strauss continued to administer the
law wi th h ganity. His successor in Taft's a d.inistration, Secretary

V

Charles hagel, was another second-generation in; i; rent who followed a

"50

similar course. In the meantin e, the A. F. of L. in the nerson of its
president Samuel Conners was assailing the Bureau of Immigration's re-
cently establish ed Division of Information. The Department of Information
was at this time acting to a limited degree as an employment agency for
recently arrived immigrants, but Compare as well as other labor leaders
charged that it was merely a stril :e breakin 2 agency. Gompers also pre-
sented resolutions from the Kational Farmers Union irotestinga inst the
a "inistration of the Division and asking for its abolition, a request
that was not fulfilled.51 Failing thus far in their efforts, the restric-

tionists nex focused their attack on the Immigration Commission itself.

Congressional restrictionists endeavored to suSpend its appropriations in

an attempt to drive the connission to make its report nrenaturely, but
again their efforts met with failure.52

In 1911 the United States Immigration Commission finally published
the findings of its long investigation in forty-seven information packed
volumes. With the nublication of this renort, which ironically recommended
a literacy test, the legislative campaign for a literacy test immediately
resumed.53 How with a new authority from which they could appeal, the
restrictionistsbegan a drive for the passage of test bills in both the
Senate and the House.

In the Senate, Hr. Dillingham, of vernont, introduced an immigration
bill which though it contained a literaqytest, had as its main purpose
the revision and codification of the existing immigration laws.54 In the
Senate Committee on Immigration the literacy test provision was drOpped
because the Committee felt that it was "a change of such importance that
it ought to be considered as a separate measure and not as a part of this

bill."55

However, not all the Senate restrictionists felt this way and
Mr. Simmons, of North Carolina was one of them; Reflecting the shift in
Southern attitude toward immigration, he prOposed a literacy test amend-
ment to the bill shortly after it was reported. Debate on this amendment
was delayed, once on the request of Senator Lodge, who although he still
favored the test, had become more cautious about advocating it, perhaps

‘ o o a o o o 6 .'
because of tne increa81n5 number of immigrants in his State.5 When tne

amendment was taken up, Simmons Opened the debate on it with a lengthy

 

5ZCona. Rec., 61 Con5., 2 Sess., 929-40. 963-70, 1469-71-

._.___.h3. _.____
q
J

kn

 

 

Abstracts g£_the Regorts of Innirration Commission, Vol. I (61 Con3.,
3 SeSS., Senate Document So. 747, Hashington, 1911), #8.

1
5L"Cor1..._.r;_. Rec., 62 Con5., 1 Sess., 3669.

Washington, 1912). 1‘2-

56§2§~. §§9,, 62 Cong., 2 Sess., 4477, 4537, 4731.

 

_ 67 _

and citation-filled speech, which was tynical of those delivered by
restrictionists in both Houses. He began by referring to President
Theodore Roosevelt's recommendations of the test in his m ssages to
Congress in 1901 and in 1902 and then moved on to cite the recommenda—
tion of the same by the Immigration Commission in its recently jublished
renort. Simmons then called attention to the hundreds of petitions
calling for the test that recently had been received from such organi—
zations as the Farmers' Uhion, he Farmers' National Congress, the A. F.
of L., the several employees unions, the Junior Order of United hechanics,
the Patriotic Order of Sons of America and the Knights of Labor. Taking
no the ounosition to the test, Simmons accussed the railroads, the steam-
ship lines and the employers of cheap labor of being the chief enemies of
the literacy test as well as Other restrictive measures. Finally, he
launched into a lengthy discussion of the difference between the old and
the new immigration, which he contended was lowering the American standard
of living. However, Simmons hastened to noint out that he felt the present
immigrants from Southeastern Eurone were not true rearesentatives of the
peoples of thi area against whom he harbored no animosity. Neither was
he against illiterates in general he contended, but no one wanted "this
ignorant horde except the big corporations, steamship lineS, and rail-
roads."57 The debate on the amendment and the general bill continued into
the following month when despite the protests of a handful of staunch anti—
restrictionists, the amendment was antroved by the one-sided vote of 56

t0 9.58 The Dillingham bill as amended than passed by the even more over—

whelming margin of 57 to 2.59

 

57Confi. 5&299 62 Cong., 2 Sess., 3543.
581bid., p. 5073.

m

5922.251... rm 507u-75.

Heanwhile, the restrictionists in the House were also buSy. Hr.

urnett,o Alabama, Chairman of the Erase Comrittee on Immigration and
Naturalization, reiorted a sin sale literacv test bill in lieu of the two
test bills then before the Committee. In the majority reuort accomoa.ving
the bill, the Committee cited the recommendations of the Immigration

C mrn issi on of 1911 and a letter from the secretz=m y of the American
Federation of Labor again showing that organization to be wholeheartedly
behind the test. Five members of the Committee dissented from the renort
of the majority on the grounds that the bill would “not serve to keep out

1

the viciously inclined, the criminal, and the otherwise really undesirable

/
. 00 . . , . .
alien." Among the members wno Signed tne minority renort were three who

fought very actively against the test in later debates on it, Adolph J.

Sabath, an immigrant himself reW)re entin ng an imrigrant district in
Chicago, Henry K. Goldfogle of flew York City, a leader am 3the Jewish

anti-restrictionists outSid e of Congress and James K. Curley who stood

. . _ . . . . . 61
to gain mucn from the coston 1mm1y ant voters he renresented.

when the debate on the Burnett bill Opened, the anti—restrictionists
countered the efforts of the restricti onists by ti e use of dela;ring tactics.
The Burnett bill and the Eillingham bill were tied up in the House Rules
Committee until after the lovember election by anti-restrictionis t Demo-

62

crats . Southern Der ocrats had now assumed an in: ort: nt role in the

movement for the test, a movement which.had previously been dominated.by

Eastern Republican. Up to about 1907, S ut hern cor Wgres snen had OQDOSed

 

solgiggation 9; Aliens Into The United States (62 00115., 2 Sess.,
HouSe Report No. 851, prt. 2, Hashington, 19l2), l.

 

 

Cone. Rec., 62 Cong., 2 Sess., lofllO-MZO, 11881-870.

.,;

’/
.- " I» —

nd att empts to chec: state-ass sted immi-

Q)

restrictionist legislation
gration while supporting plans for federal distribution of imri3rents.
However, after "their ef1orts to obtain acceotable aliens collapsed in
1907" Southern co: 3ressmen "bece.me solidly restrictionist."63

Now they were f rious at the delaying tactics being used and they pulled
no yunches in flayin3 their _oarty leaders and th e Rules Comrnittee for
their actions. Representative Roddenbury , Geor3ia Democrat, charged that
these two were practicing deception by postponing action. He became quite
caustic in a raoid fire excha13e between himself, 901a mo: 3le, and Curley,
chart in3 hat a recent sense tional murder in lew York Cit 3r was a direct
result of the country's too lax immigration laws. The trie of vermin that

participated in this slayi L contended Rodden ury

LJ’

, would have been shut

out bgr a restrictive measure like the one contained in th e bills then

‘

. 64
nanstrung in comm1ttee. However, with a Presidential election just around
the corner and oetitions against the test from various imxn igrant groups

rair in3 down upon Congress, the De: wocr tic—controlled Rules Committee,

.(5 ‘ o '9'. ‘-
a1raid o allemi U

65

H:
[:10

n3 the imrmi ant vote, refused to report either immi-

gration bill.
When the lam ue duck session of the sixty~second Congress met in
December of 1912, the 1m11~rat1on bills were fi mlly released from the
Rules Committee. This was what the restrictionis sts h21 been waiting for
9rd thev oui chlv set to work. The Committee on In i3ra tion and Laturali~
zation swiftly reoorted the Dillingham bill with a recommended amendment,

the Burnett amend.ent. In actuality the arendment was the Burnett bill

63Berthoff, p. 357.
@Ibid.” p. 111412.

651L31’3 15..., p. lOLIIS.

itself, for it struck out all of t11e Dillinrlns m bill but its en ect ing

66

clause. The debate on th Dillingham bill and this amendment raged

for two drys and was marked by the use of impassioned oratory by both

‘J.

k

deS. The anti-restrictionists who refused to give up what was by now

an obv ou usl3 hopeless cause, used almost "every method of obstruction

:3).

known to exoerts on ‘1.rliurent'rr'r technicalities . . . ," to delay action
on the measure, but to 110 evail.67 On December 17,1912, the Burnett
emendment him brou ght to a vote and adOpted by an overwhelming margin.68
Since the Hruse end Senate versions of the Dil lin Sham b 111 di1fered
very suostunti ally, a conference between the two Ebuses was neceSSitated.
Although the major differences between the two versions preseged a long
cor ference, tr e cor ferees o ic:ly COZ)TOZIiS€d tn 1r (lifferences and made
1~ . - 69 . , ., 1. ..
tneir regort. On January l7tn after "a nzzrch- fought, ell-day Iiliouster"
tne House adovted t-is c onference re)ort oy a vote of 1&9 to 70.70 The
Senate was exnected to quiccl3r follow suit, but another uroblen arose for
the restrictionists. "In the conference the Senate conferees had added
a provision recon: ended by the commissioner genera , reouiring aliens
coming from countries like Italy; \.hicll issue oolice certi fiCc ites of
character, to oroduce such certificates. This provision aroused intense
0;? cs i ion among the Jews, who urged that Russia night adOjt such a

svstem and refuse certificates to Hebre‘m ."71 As a result of this protest

 

/
6°Cong, Rec., 62 Con5., 3 Sess., 650—56.

 

67Iew York TimesJ December 18, 1912, p. 7, c. 7.
6800n~. Rec., 62 Cong., 2 Sess., 822.
6gloid” p. 16@5.

7Olew York Ti3es‘, Januazry 18, 1913, p. 8, c. 4
3 Sess., 1694.

71

Cone. Rec., 62 Con§.,

O

‘1' _-,.
new York T13eg, January 23, 1913, n. 6, 0.

\JJ

 

 

the bill was sent back to conference where the objectionable clause was

removed. Again the House adonted the conference report, but a ain an un-

5
desirable nrovision had turned un in the bill. Thus a third conference

was called for to settle this problem. This conference quickly rectified
the error in the bill and its report was adooted by both Ehuses without a
division.72 The next decision on the bill was up to President Taft.

Deepite the campaign promise of the chairman of the Ehrmhlican rational
Committee that.Taft would veto the literacy test if it came to him, the
Presiden se ms to have been genuinely undecided as to whet his course of
action should be. Therefore, he utilized the full period of time allowed
him by the Constitution to seek aid in arriving at a decision. Shortly
after he had received the bill, Taft held a conference at which he heard
the arguments of two onjonent and two proponents of the bill. The friends
of the bill he heard were Samuel Gompers of the A. F. of L. and William
Williens, Commissioner of Immigration in New York. Conners of course
strongly favored the general bill and especially the literacr test jroviso,
but Williams only endorsed the administrative features of the bill and did
not comment at all upon the test. The two persons who Spoke against the
bill during this three hour conference were Representative Richer
Bartholdt, of Kissouri and ex—Representative William S. Bennet, of Kew
York. Staunch enemies of the literacy test, both of hese men aSKed
Taft to veto the bill. ter the conference had ended, Charles Easel,
the Secretary of Commerce and Labor, presented his views on the bill.

Hagel was himself a second generation innigrant who had close ties with

the German element in St. Louis and although what he said was not divulged

 

72Cong}. Rec., 62 Cong., 3 Sess., 2311, 2428.

to the nubli c, runor had it that he had recommended the bill be vetoed.73
Taft also sought the council of others while the bill wns before
him and naturally some came voluntarily to offer their oninions on the

merits or defects of tr e measure. Prior to the above mentioned con—

ference, the bill had been considered a a regula r cob inet meeting. How-
n . . . . 74
ever, there was no renort 0: what transnireu during this meetinx. On

the same day, Representative Scully of Iew Jersey presented Taft with a
magazine article Containing fecs nilies of si2natures of eerlv Virf inians.

By this article Scully tried to illustrate that "had the illiteracy test

been enforced in Colonial days many persons prominent in American history
would not have been admitted to the territory of the oresent Uni ted State s."75
This tvoe of a r»eal, it should be m ntioned, was quite ponular with the

test's enemies. Taft also received a flew York delegation from the powerful
Hational Liberal Immigration League which annealed to him to veto the

Dillin“ham-3urnett 01 11. League dele; Ht ons from Philadel hia, Chicaco

is 9
Boston, Baltimore, Jersey City, and Pitts ourrh were also on hand to ma‘
similar anneals. These dele:;ti on also reareser ted tl-ie sever national
groups in America who were unalterrhly oooosed to the literac; s t.76

The Kew York TimeS, now a oro— rmijr nt anti-literacy test 3a)er,
made a rather lengthv editorial comment on the bill and its suunorters
and enemies while the bill was before President aft. Speakin, of the
quantity of suuoort given the bill, the Tige§_concluded that if Taft "were
to decide accordinr to the number of those who have a-peared for and

against the bill, he would have to sign the bill."77 This statement

 

73Iew York Egggg, FGbTUETY 13a 1913’ 9' 3’ c. 5‘
743ew York Tings, February 12. 1913» 9- 8v °° 2°
753335;” 3). 8, c. 2.

?63ew York Times, February 6, 1913, ?~ 7: c. 2'

77Sew York Times, February 14, 1913, p. 1%, c. 1.

-71-

J

indicates that more suoporters of the measure appeared before Taft than
the renorts of the press would lead one to believe. The Times next went
on to differentiate between the motives of the prononents and Opponents
of the measure. The Supjorters it thought, were th' king of the effect
of the bill on themselves rather than of its effect unon the country.
"The general interest," Said the editorial, "is more concerned that the
countny shall not lack for sturdy laborers then that the wages shall be
raised above a fair market rate by artificial limitation of the supply.
That competition should be limited in the interests of wage earners is
the argument of those who favor the signing of the bill, such as Frank
M rrison of the American Federation of Labor, F. S. Katzenbach of the
Junior Order of American Hechanics, and others who are within their rights
in sunoorting their own interests."78 On the other hand, the editorial
called attention to some of the anti-restrictionists, aooarently wishing
to contrast them favorably with the restrictionists. "Among those urging
the President to veto the bill," the editorial declared, "are Chief Justice
Olsen of Chicago, Professor Learned of the University of Pennsylvania,
Dr. Sutro, President of the German-American Alliance; Renresentative
Goldfogle, representing many Jewish societies of various sorts; Louis
Marshall of this city, who has been connected with many labor adjustmentS,
and others of the character indicated by those names."79 When this edito-
rial was published, Taft had but a day left in which to come to his decision.
President Taft finally came to his decision in the last few hours of
the time allowed him.by the Constitution. in to the last moment none had

known what his decision would be, but now it was revealed, the literacy

 

78

Ibid., p. in, c. 1.

791bid., p. 1b, 0. 1.

-74-

test bill was vetoed. Taft's personal veto message was very brief, total—
ing only three short p2 agraphs. He stated his regret at having to veto

a bill which contained "many valuable amendments to the present immigration
law . . . ," but continued Taft, "I can not make up my mind to sign a bill
which in its chief provision violates a nrincinle which ought in my coin-

, "80
sratlon.

s
k.)

ion to be upheld in dealing with our immi He of course was
referring to the literady test. As to his reasons for not aonroving of the
test, he referred Congress to the arguments found in a letter Secretary
Hegel had written to him and which he included with his veto message. This
letter constituted the major part of Taft's criticism of the bill, and can
be called with considerable accuracy Taft's veto message.

This letter which brought Taft to his decision, contained a fairly
elaborate criticism of the DillinghamrBurnett bill and esuecially the Bill‘s
most immortent single provision, the literacy test. Hegel, who before his
appointment as Secretary of Commerce and Labor was a well known corporation
lawver, preceded in a logical fashion to exnose what he felt were the short—
comings of the test and the misconceotions of those who framed and forwarded
it. In the first place, he uredicted that the administration of such a
test would be very costly and would reSult in much delay in the processing
of immigrants. The selective merits of the test were overemnhasized, he
contended, for it would shut out many who were deserving of a nittance.
Indeed, to him illiteracy meant a lack of cpoortunity, not of ability.
Moreover, the importance of illiteracy was overestimated, for once the
immigrant had settled in America statistics showed that he frequently over~

came his handicap. The nativists who severely criticized the living

 

8ORegulation 9§_the Immigration g£_hliens (62 Cong., 3 Sess., Senate
Document No. 1087, Washington, 1913), 1.

 

..75-

conditions and standards of immigrants settled in America were making
untrue generalizations according to Bagel. There were cases such as they
spoke of, but these were the exception and not the rule. Finally he
attacked the major premise on which the restrictionists had based their
arguments. That is that an oversupply of unskilled labor exiSted already
and that the large influx of immigrants was greatly worsening the un-
employment situation. Hegel Cited immigration figures to substantiate
his contention "that we get Substantially what we most need,[:servants,
skilled laborers and farm laborerg and what we ourselves cannot supply
and that we get rid of what we least need, common laborers and what
seems to furnish in the minds of many, the chief justification for the
bill."81 Closing his letter, H~gel expressed regret that the test pro-
vision which he considered was the heart of the bill could not permit a
compromise, for the other provisions were in "most reapects excellent
82

and in no resPect really objectionable."

Faced now with the barrier of a Presidential veto to overcom , the
restrictionists in Congress began their attempt to override this action.
Senator Lodge, after a conference with the leaders of both parties in
the House and the Senate, declared that as soon as the pending business

was finished, he would move to pass the bill over Taft's veto.83

Pre-
dictions at that time were that the Senate would easily muster the
necessary two-thirds vote, but as to the House there was some doubt.

However, two other factors besides the great strength of the restriction—

ists in Congress worked for the overriding of the veto. It had always

 

81;bigpa P0 50
821bid., p. 5.

83cong. 3gg,, 62 Cong., 3 Sess., 3156.

_ 76 _

been believed that a motion to override a Presidential veto would bring
to his aid, members of his party who would otherwise OUpOSe him. However,
in the case of Taft this factor would probably not be so imuortant, since
he was due to retire very shortly and his influence was at a low point.
In addition to thiS, the veto had greatly angered even some of Taft's
supporters in both the House and the Senate. For inStance Lodge was a
close friend of Taft, as were many of the bill's StauncheSt supporters
in both Houses. HOw it would be these same men who would lead the fight
, ., 84
to override his veto.
As soon as pending business had been finished, the action on Taft's
veto began. On February 19, 1913, Senator Lodge brought his motion to
renass the bill over the veto to a vote. On the afternoon of that same
day the bill was easily repassed over the veto by a vote of 72 to 18.85
Taft, who had been working ardently to garner nay votes, had managed to
secure twice as many as he had had on the previous day in the vote to
take up Lodge's motion, but his support was still much too slight.86
A.breakdown of the Senate's vote shows that Taft had gathered Support
from both parties. Seven Democrats and eleven Republicans voted to Sus-
tain his veto. Geosranhically the vote followed the sectional alignment
of nativism that had develoned in the twentieth century. That is, Senators
from the Northeast, Far West and the South almost unanimouSly were for the
bill, while those from the urban Earth and the Midwest were split on the

87

issue.

 

Jw.

Jew York Times, February 15, 1913, p. l, c. 5.

8sCong’. Rec., 62 Cong., 3 Sess., 3318.

86ITew York lilies, February 19, 1913, p. 10, c. 7.

87Farnk J. warne, The Tide g§_lmmigration (New York, 1916), p. 293.

 

_ 77 _

w
rd
&

The fate of the te.sure now rested wi'h the 1ouse, which w: s exjected
1 + ‘ c‘1 ‘ 88 ' ‘
oy most ooservers to also override the veto. However, those who held
this opinion were due for a surprise. The House with a Democratic majority
of over fifty, sust ' ned the President's veto. As was erected the attennt
to renass the bill foundered on the liter icy test nrovision. Ievertheless,
the bill's onyonents or11y won oy a narrow :argin. A shift of only five
votes would have made the bill a law. Arain a in the Senate party lines
were broken in the vote, with onlv the Progressives, who voted for the
bill, voting as a bloc. Seventy-five Renublicens and one hundred and
tr irty—ei ght Dex1ocrats voted to reness the bill while fifty—seven Repub-

89 .
licens and fifty-seven Der ocrats voted to sustain the veto. In the
House the vote followed even more closely than in the Senate, the geograph—
ical alignment of twer1tieth century nativism. The Fer West, hountain
{hates and the South were strongly in favor of the bill, while the urban

.' ‘

North, most of the hidwest and part of the Last i1clading I: ssa chusetts

. 4. . '1 ,1 - ~ ‘ 90

were strong_y aga1nst tne measule.
Faced with a defez3t by such a narrow m: Agin, the restric ionists in

the House were not willing to give un easily. Augustus Gardner, the author

of most of the bill, moved that the vote be reconsidered. One of the bill's

enemies qu ichly countered this move. Renresentative Hann of Illinois, who

had as vigorously ounosed the bill as Gardner had sunoorted it, made a

po nt of order a gain ist Gardner's motion. His objection to the motion was

 

Ssjew Yorlc Ti.71es, February 19, 1913. P- 10a 0-7?

8903 _n;. Rec. 62 Cong., 3 Sess., 3429; New York Times, February 20, 1913,
59 C0 2°

9OWarne, p. 292.

1 7g _

sustained by Speaker Clark thereby squelchins the restrict: mists hopes of
getting another chance to override Taft'S vetO-gl

Press reaction to Taft's veto seems to have been mainly of a favor-

able nature, if the papers quoted in the LitererJ Dicest are usede a

 

92
basis for judgment. Althoughs ome pavers, for example the Boston

Transcript (Independent Republican), the Boston JOJrn§1M(Progre sive) and

 

the law York Trioune (Repu blica1n) dise pwroved of Taft's action, a much
larger number of papers approved of it. Among these were such Kew York
papers as the Ei§e§_(lndependent Democrat), the EggldtDemocratic), the
§2§§§_(Progressive), the Journal_gf_Conne§g§_(Commercial), the Evenina

mg

Sun (Indenendent), and th Evening Post (Independent). Other papers which

 

held the same Opinion were the Boston Hor1 1d (Independent), the Boston
Advertiser, the Philadelphia Record_(Democratic), the Pn1ladelp ia Public

Ledre§_(lndependent), the Chicago Record-Herald (Republican), the Chicago

 

Hewg (Independent), ble Wasnington Star (Independent), the t'e shing ton
Post (Independent), the Washington Times (Progressive), the Albany Journal,

(Rejublican), the Syracuse (Post-Stande.rd (Revubl ican), the Louisville

/

 

Herald (Independent—Republican), the Cincin1nati Post (Indeiende11t), the

'Pittsburgh DiSm Ht01 (Independent), and the Baltimore Qew§_(lndeoendent).

 

Judging by the political partisanship of these papers, it would Seem safe
to say that Taft received the greatest part of his press support from the
Republican, Independent and Progressive press. Perhaps more significant
though, is th 1e fact that the p pers which favored the veto coincided
geo3ravhical1y with the area s containing the most anti—restrictionist

sentiment. The presence of a numoer of Progressive papers in this group

 

91.9.9.3. 2129.” 62 00115.... 2 Sess., 314.30.

0

92"The Admission of Illiterates," Literary Digest, XLVI (1913), 413,

 

-79....

also seems quite natural in view of that party's Special appeal to the

w a o o 1 o o 93 o 1 ‘
urban immigrant vote in tne preV1ouS election. It might be ended tnat
in at least one country whose emigrants would have suffered had th
literacy test becone a law, reaction to the vote was very favorable. In
Rome, much satisfaction was expressed over Tuft's decision because of its

effect on Italian immigration. The semi-official Pamela Romano also re—

 

. . , Lg,
aciced over tne event.9

 

93Eigham, p. 190.

9ufiew York Times, February 21, 1913, p. 4, C. 2.

- 80 -
Chapter IV
The Restrictionists Finally Emerge Victorious

Although their pet restrictive measure had again been defeated, the
restrictior ists had by no me1ns given up in their efforts to See it be-
come pairt of our immigration laws. Late in September of 1913, it again
became a.111: rent the t another attempt would be made to pass a literacy
test bill before Congress adjourned. Dur1ng a meeting of the House
Comrittee on Irm igration, the old Burnett-Dillin: hem bill th2t Taft had
vetoed, was ordered reported. Democrats were reported to have begun
working for its endorsement by a party caucus.l However, the expectation
of its pas a;e before adjustment was ended 1d1en President Wilson declared
at an interview that rumors to this effect were unfounded.2

When Congress reconvened in December of the same year, the restric-
tionists immediately reopened th e controversy by introducing, with a
few additions, the old Dillizv sham-Burnett bill. 3 W en this bill 1m 5 re-
ported from committee in mid-December, Mr. Goldfogle and Mr. Se abathw " ma 1n
Opposed the test proviSion in a mir ority report.“ Shortly after this
report was made, Italy's Foreign Minister hinted that Italy's participation
in the Panama Pacific Exposition would depend on the provisions of this
bill.5 This steternent obviouslv was a reference to the litera c.0y test pro—

viso, which if enacted m1'ght Substantially restrict It alian immigration.

 

lLTew York Times, Septe.:1oer 27,1913, p. 3, c. 2.
2Sew York Times, September 30, 1913, p. 7, c. 7.
BQggfip §§9,, 63 Cong., 2 Sess., 938,

“Irr1rretion of Aliens into the Uhited States, (63 Cong., 2 Sess.,
House Report 10. 149, hashington, 1913).

 

 

sfiew York Times, December 21, 1913, Sec. II, p. 3, c. 6.

-81..

Debate on the bill was not begun until January 30, 191%. Then under
a Special rule giving the bill the right of way, the measure was debated
vigorously and at great length.6 During this debate Augustus Gardner,
John Burnett, and Martin Dier emerged as the bill's principle supporters.
The fact that two of these three men were Southerners and only one an
Easterner, emphasizes the increasing importance of the South's role in
the nativist movement and the delcining importance of the East, so long
the center of nativism. Leading the Opposition to the bill were Adolph
Sabath, Henry Goldngle, W. F. Murray, and James hanahan, all who re-
presented Horthern urban constituen ies. They, with the aid of several
others, bitterly fought the bill every step of the way. The principle
argument of these anti-restrictionists was that the prOposed test would
be unjust, discriminatory, and repugnant to nerican traditions.7

Debate on the measure continued on the next day with no letup in its
intenSity. Democratic leaders had hoped to puSh the bill through that
day, but the anti—restrictionists, cosposed of Democrats, Republicans,
and Progressives, ooposed them energetically as soon as the bill mas taken
up. Practically the whole debate centered on the literacy test just as
it had on the previous day. After nearly eight hours of debate the
Opposition was still so strong and their arguments so well received that
John Burnett who was in charge of the bill and Osca Underwood the Floor

Leader were afraid to chance a vote.8 They had good reason to be appre-

hensive, for a motion by Goldforle to strike out th test was pending

sD'“

 

6

QQEE! Rec., 63 Cong., 2 Sess., 2586.
713;§,, p. 2611.

8Iew York Times, February 1, 1914, p. 9, c. 7.

when Burnett moved that the House adjourn.9 During this debate the
Opposition to the test continued to stem mainly from Congressmen rep—
resenting the urban horth, or the hidwest. Rural members, eSpecially
Southern rural members, furnished the bulk of the bill's suzport. Rep—
resentative Gardner of Eassachusetts was now the only important Republican

supporter from Kew England, quite a contrast to the importance of this

section's Representatives in earlier legislative battles over the lit— I
o 5'
eracy test. i

Meanwhile in the Senate, Democratic members had begun to wonder what
really was Wilson's attitude toward the Burnett bill. Actually they were

most interested in his opinion on a specific part of that bill, the lit-

 

eracy test.ll Rumor had it that Wilson disapproved of the test, but
would he veto a bill if it contained that measure? Early in February,
senator Smith of South Carolina, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on
Immigration, planned a call on the President to sound him out on the test.
Shortly thereafter, Wilson was understood to have hinted broadly to visitors
that he would veto a bill containing a literacy test if one ever reached
him.

Meanwhile in the House of Representatives, debate on the Burnett bill
was coming to an end. ter five days of very lively and emotional de-
bates, the Burnett bill with the literacy test intact was passed. The

vote was 253 to 126.13 The last day of debate had been particularly bitter

“—0...

 

992259 Egg}, 63 Cong., 2 Sess., 2703, 2715.

lOIbid,, pp. 2660-2715.

1
*lIew York Times, February 2: 1914a p. 2’ C' 2’

12New York Times, February 3, 1914, p. 2, C. 4.

lBCorr @323, 63 Cong., 2 Sess., 2911.

....‘iza.’

-83—

and exciting. The clash between the restrictionists and the anti-
restrictionists coming to a climax in an encounter between James Manahan
of Minnesota, one of the chief critics and John Burnett of Alabama and
the author of the bill. In the clash, fianahan accused Burnett of
"cowardice" and "unfairness" and the latter quickly retaliated by

i

asserting that Kanahan "lied." Immediately their dens is from Burnett's

Southern coll agues that the House compel the Redresentative from

14
Minnesota to anoologize.

With the bill safely through the House, it we hurried off to the
Senate where its soeedy aooroval was anticijated, however, he bill hit a
snag. In his interview with President Wilson, Chairman Smith had found
the President definitely unfriendly toward the literacy test.15 Although
anxious to see the bill nassed With the test intact, Smith and the other
Democratic comnittee members were in a quandary as to what to do, for
they were not at all anxious to defy Wilson who at this time exercised

/
13 So the bill lanquished in committee

uncommon authority over his party.
while Smith and his fellow committee members remained in a state of
indecision.

Meanwhile, in fact ever since the bill had first been introduced,
the anti-restrictionists as well as the restrictionists had been making
their appeals and protests to Congress and the President. The Immigration
Restriction League, aided an. abetted by the Patriotic Order of Sons of

America and the Junior Order Uiited American Mechanics, was maintainin‘

an expensive lobby in the cajitol Which was working diligently for the

__

14

New York TimeS, February 5. 191”. ?- 8» Co 8-
lSlTew YOI‘ZII Timefi, FGbr‘dflrY 219 1911+! I). L}: C. 2'

16Higham, p. 109

r?!

test‘s passage.l7 Samuel Gonoers and A. F. of L. secretary Frank Xorrison
were also Dressing for the bill's aooroval, indeed, almost every labor
union of any consequence was calling for its enactment. Of no small
Significance to the members of Congress was the fact that the State legis—
latures of Ohio, Vermont, Tennessee, Virginia, Washington, and Ievada as

well as the lower house of the Arkansas legislature nad all passed resolu—

tions asking for the passage of the Burnett bill. Several of these

'F
resolutions Specifically endorsed the literacy test provision in the bill.
Rural support for the measure came from the three million member Farmer's 5
Educational and Co-oqerative Union which was centered in strong restric—
c a o L‘ wv- - (1 a 18 o ‘ a _ a
tionist territory and from tn national u ange. As in tie preVious
H

 

struggle over the test, the National Liberal Immigration League, now

evidently heavily financed by business interests and.sone steamship com—
'1 . ~ A. a o a o 19 ' \

panies, led tne Ilqflt against the bill. Also onnos1ng tne measure by

resolutions, memorials, and rallies were the two million member German—

American Alliance and the several major Jewish societies and orsanizations.

L2

The influential American Association of Foreign Langua~e HewSpapers also

r".
»‘

ralliedits forces against the bill. The Federation of Jewish Oraanizations

\—

of the State of flew YOrk sent memorials and resolutions to Congress and to

o a . . o 1 I 2
PreSident WilSOn protesting against the bill. O The Independent Order of

the Free Sons of Isreal also sent the same sort of protest to Wilson.21

-.—.

 

17Cons.
18

a?

0., 63 COl’lgo, 2 Sess., 2599.

 

Conn. Rec., 63 Cong., 2 SeSS., 2905-06.

 

$11

lgCOnfi. ec., 63 Cong., 3 Sess., BObb—Mé.

I

N

O
C)
8"

c., 63 Cong., 2 Sess., 2635. 2399.

'1‘
”H’A -

 

2L- .
new YOrk Times, March 2, 1914, p. l, C. 2.

Local chapters of the several Polish societies as well as many lodges

of the United Order Sons of Italy showered Congress with protests against

2")
LL.

he liter racv test bill. Opnosition was also encountered among some

t

:r

State legislatures. The State Asse*Lnbly of Lew Yort and the zenera.l Court

th uassed resolutions oonos iznj the bill and asking
9?

“J

their representatives in Congress to work against the measure. Some

.-

criti ism of the bill even cazme from abroad. Yatican authorities ex—
pressed indignation at the literacy test in the Burnett bill. The New

York Li: s resortedt that ”T :e Pa>al a thorities rake no secret of their

-..-—

N

conviction that the bill was conceived from deliberately anti-catholic
motives and it is sincerely hoPed the Uiited States Senate will kill it:

Cabled renorts of President Wilson's Opposition to the literacy test

’5 ,1.
3 o ' a s r a («*f " Y? '
evore much satis iaction at the Iatican. . . .” Tne vatican was even
reiortcd to hare been in ing its influence at Hashington a st the bill.

A few days later the It lian government also e sprees d its disa proval
L. 25
Or he oill, eSjecially its literacy test nroviso.

After more than a month of debate and indecision, the Senate Inmi —
ration Committee fii ally decided to report and reconrend the oas sa e of
the literacy test bill in the f- e,ce of Wilson's ouen disannroval of the
measure. How with the bill favora ly reported, its raoid nassaye by he

Senate seemed quite certain. Powever, action on the bi ll wrs d..elaved
.c‘

through the Spring and early summer of 1915 in snite oi Senator Smith's

attempts to get action on it. By this ine Democratic leaders in the

 

one. Rec., 63 Cong., 2 Sess., zsog.

")
{—1 ‘Y 1 o l
Blew Yorr Tires February 4, 191%, p. 2, c. 5;

q \ /,'\ r
‘J ‘LeSSO , C(.fi:)l.

onf. §eC., 63 Cong.,

 

flew York Times, February 17, 1914. Po 3. C- 6-

2 a . w a- a
5Jew York TIQEEJ Seoruary 22, 191%, sec. 3, p. 2, c. v.

,

Senate had become definitely cool toward any action on the controversial

measure before election time. Immigrant reaction to it had been almost

universally unfavorable and with their eyes on the upcoming election

these leaders felt that this was no time to antagonize the immigrant
vote. Thus, despite the threats of a filibuster by Southern Democrats,

6/
{.0

action on the bill was put off until after Hovember.

Once the elections had been safely passed, Senator Smith was able to
call un the Burnett bill for conSideration early in the first session of
the Sixty—fourth Congress, Smith immediately encountered Ojnosition from
Senator O'Gorman of Kew York who had ondosed the bill ever since it had

’ _-
arrived in the Senate the nrevious Februr y. O'Gorman was aided by another
vigorous anti-restrictionist, Senator Reed of Xissouri whose filibustering
27
tactics nrevented the debate frnn pr05ressing very iar that dav.

In the face of Wilson's disapproval of the literacy test, Denocrati

, as their onnonents would allow them to.

1 a

The: still held out hone for Presidential aworoval of tie oill because a

P...

yet Wilson had refused to Gov whether or not he would veto a bill conta

‘JCV
28
a test. By nid—Decen‘er, Reed's filibuster had lost strength and Smith

had announced he would jress for an early vote on the bill. However, after

another day of debate on the literaCy test provision, Smith's attempt to

gain unanimous Consent for a vote on the bill the following day was blocked

n
N L! . . n 0
0y O'Gorman. 9 PreSident Wilson now Stepped into the fray in an a tempt

to kill the literacy test. In a conference with Senator Lewis, of Illinois,

 

OConr. Rec., 63 Cong., 2 SeSS., 7614, 102b8, 16907.

I 'v 7!
Onfi. P C. ’ b3 Gong. ’ 3 8885. ’ “’6—51‘1'.

28w , . ,
new York Times, December lo, 1915, p. 10, c. l.

2992:320 BEEP: 63 CORQ., 3 $9830, 3630

 

I
3117-”
§ ‘5‘ -

er

_ 37 -

the Dermoc etic whip in the Senate and a restrictionist, he not only won
him over to his way of thinltin; on the test , but also intime ted that he

a u en 0 u _ c g _o_ '4- 30 u
would veto tne bill 11 it come to him Izit h tnst prOViSion in it. LGWlS
t1 len returned to the Senate and nroyosed an mendment which would. strike
the test from the bill, but since to most Conjressnen the test was the

n 0‘ a 1 ‘ up 0" . I 31

bill itself, tne amendment S la1l1"e was a foregone concluSIOn.

Protracted debate continued to delay a vote on the Burnett bill,
although its friends continued to oredict that a vote was just around the
corner. During one of these debates on the lite eracy test, the restric~
tionists made repented referer ces to the much publicized strike at Lawrence,
Lessach Setts as a ood examole of what lax 1.:i3ret on laws brought about.
Qenetor Hardwicke, of :eorgie, vho led the defense of the literacy test
thet dag, asrerted thst most of the alien strikers were illiterates.
0n the day following tLis debate, the restrictionists defeated an amend-

ment strikingt he liter: cy test from the bill 037 a vote of ~0 to 12. 33

"1'11

’-

lie emendrent was pronosed by another of the test's perSiStent enemies,
of Iew Jersey. Still unwilling to give up in their
attempt to kill the literecy test, tne anti—reStrictionistS tried another

manuever. Senator Reed nrooosed, and ne Senate adopted, an a: endrent

0,"

J’

excluding -e ro in i rents from ' lee United tates. Anti—restrictionists

Hew York EigggJ December 22, 1915, n. 9, C. 4.
v01 2. Egg,, 63 Cong., 2 Sess., 636.

32%., :3. 7m.

33;2;g,, p. 803.

J.-
3“'I‘oid.” po. 805—07.

 

 

hoped that this amendment would alienate enough Republicans who would

H

otherwise have voted for tie bill, to enable th em to achieve its

Levertheless, on January 2, 1915, notwi mists ndi ng all the efforts
of its enemies to defeat it, the Burnett bill was approved by the Senate.
The aporoval was gained by the overwhelming vote of 50 to 7. Reed's
amendment certainly proved to be embarassing to man;r SenatorS, but it

failed in its ultimate aim, because instee d of voting against the bill,

0\

most of these Senators just abstained from voting at all.3
The bill was next sent to a conference committee to iron out the
differences between he Senate and House verSionS of the bill. The
conferees ,uickly finished their work and made their report. This re-
port was ajproved by both Hbuses with no difficulty and the bill was for-
warded to the President.37 Host of hose who 8: seculated on the President's
reaction to the bill predicted that he would veto it. Still, some felt
that Since the Burnett bill was a recod Hf or tion of the immigrations laws
and was based on the recomrzende tions of the Immigration Commission of 1911,
Wilson .1gnt annrove it on the grounds that its good features outweighed its
bad ones
Wi.-son took his tine considering tli bill and following Te ft’s examnle,
Set aside time for a hearing on the bill at which both Sides could enter

a . q . ‘
their pleas.“9 Besic? es sending their reiresente.tives to this hearing, ooth

35Kew York Tings, J: nuargr 1,1915, p. l, C. 5.

f‘

36Cong; .Rec., 63 Cong., 3 Sess., 668.

0" . .
BVMew York T1ngs, Janurry 3, 1915, p. 8, C. l; Jhnuary 16, 1915. p. 8,
C. 8 and Januery 15, 1915, p. 8, C. 7.

o. , . « '
3/iTew Yon: 115395, January 19, 1915. Do 1‘3: Co 30

sides also made use of the time the bill was before Wi1Son to exert all
the pressure on him they could muster. In an effort to influence him
to veto the bill, the Hebrew Sheltering and Immigrant Aid SOCiety organized

mass protest meetings in Philadelnhia, Boston, Baltimore, Chicago, Cleveland,

40
and Eewark. In a addition to these gatherings, the Jew York Non—Partisan
Citizenship Committee arranged a mass meeting of protest in COOper Union.
Before a capacity audience (several thousand had to be turned away), the

bill was assailed by sneakers "as un—American, inhuman, and bad economics

for the country."Ll'l At this rally a memorial earnestly requesting Wilson

to veto the Burnett bill was unanimously adopted and sent to the White

42 -
House. Two State legislatures also Joined 1n the call for a veto. The
lower house of the Rhode Island legislature and the New York State Assembly
both passed resolutions asking for a veto.'3 The resolution from the Eew

York Assembly was backed by both major parties as well as the entire New

York City delegation, however, it did run into some canosition from up-

44

State members of the Assembly. Tammany Hall vigorously oooosed the

measure too and sent a delegation to Wilson :ith a resolution requesting

1,5

his veto of the bill. Important Catholic leaders as well as liberals

like Louis D. Brandeis and President Eliot of Harvard also exuressed dis—

. 46 . . . . .
annroval of the measure. Cn.the other hand, tne restrict1on1st forces

_—L

uofiew York Tings, January 3, 1915, p. 8, c. l.

41

Sew York Times, January 26, 1915, n. 4, c. 6.

4 ‘ ° l

2IDlC1. ’ Q. Li’, C. 6.

1w , . r .

’new York Times, January 33, 1915. U- 10, c. 0 and January 26. 1915,

2?. LL, C. (3.
)1,”
”4"? w 0
new York Tixesn January 22, 1915, p. U, C. 6.

L'A.v , .
'Jnew YOTI Times, January 22, 1915, n. 10, c. 8.

LC

New York Tings.

 

/ , ;
January 20, 1915, p. w, c. 6.

 

 

_ 90 _

were also active, eSpeciallg the forces or organized laaor. Samuel Cbmwers
and the Executive Council of the a. F. of L. were Luick to call upon
President Wilson and when they asked him to sign the bill they were ex—

. 3 o + .p ,9? 1 1 c 47 La
nressmg tne sentiments 01 most 0. tne members of laoor unions. On the
day whe nWilSQn came to his decision, he was deluged with telegrams from

. . . L ,.,. .,.uam
labor unions all over tne country asging an to Sign tne bill. 1A8
friends of tb e bill were also well reoresented at Wilson's yublic hearing
I?
on the Burnett bill. J. H. Patten of the Farmer's Union Spoke for his
organization and for the La.tiona.l Grange in favor of the bill. Korrison
and Gomoers sooke for organized labor and a "rearesenta tive of various

organizations of eli enists, eugenic societies, end state boards of health

 

favored the bill on the ground that iteracy test would check the Spread

49 s a
of insa 1i ty." Representatives Gallivan, of he sacnusetts, Sabatn,of

Chicago, Goldfogle, of Iew York, Cochran, of Hew York, and Hoore, of
O 0 O O 1 . 50
Pennsylvania all anneared in ooo051tion to tne bill.
On January 27th Wilson came to his decision; the Burnett bill was
vetoed. As was exoected his disajuroval was based mainly on the literacy

teSt, which he felt would exclude menv persons wh o des>ite their hand dicao

would nevertheless make good citizens. The bill we s also criticized be-
C ause it mi;dt orever t alien political offenders from gaining asylum in
the United States a no; 'nt on 1.hichifi1son was very tender. Appealing

9

from America's traditional innigration nolicy, Kilson decl red tiiat he

 

 

I~v , . .
L7Mew Yorx Times, January 17, 1915, u. 13, c. 2.

 

1,8

new York Times, Janus y 23, 1915, 7. 11, C. 3.

h 1 , - r -.
9n. t. Pullman, "Tie President‘s St mC_ on the Literacy Test," surva
up-'-' . r‘ ...-“4% I ,
Juuulll (1913‘), ‘97:.

5 in ' d.

felt the problem of reversing this policy was too serious a one to be
settled without the sanction of th, peOple of the country, a sanction
51
ifiich he did not nossess,
'For the most nart Wilson's action was androved by th tress with
little regard to the political affiliation of the naner. In Kev York,

V

all the papers seemed to have agreed with fiilso.'s decision "even such

political antagonists as The Tribune (Res. ), The Presg_(lnd. Esp. ),

 

and Er. Hearst's American commend his action," connented the Literagz

*-

Direst. Overall nress convent on the veto seems to have been most favor~

able in the midwest and the reneral urban Horth but in the South and
c. S

’)

Fa west it encountered a good deal of criticism. 4

B

By his decision, Wilson had thrown the b'll back on to Congress where
the strength of the restrictionists would now face its sunreme test. In
the House they surmounted their first obstacle successfully by getting the
bill reported from the Conrittee on Innigration with the recommendation
that it be passed over the veto. The bill was then debated for an entire

t’
day with Speakers sometimes achieving "unusual heights of oratory.”3
In the main, the bill's enemies made apneals for the downtrodden of other
lands while its advocates argued for fair slay toward American workingnen.
Late in the day the vote was taken, with the result that Wilson's veto

. 1+ 1 a
was sustained by the narrow margin of four votes.5 Had tne Senate been

given the chance to vote on the bill, they probably would have been able

5lXessa5§ From The President 3: the United States (63 Cong., 3 Sess.,
House Deocument 1:0. 527, Ifashongton, 1915), 3-4.

 

 

52"The Literacy Test's Third Strike," Lit§£§££.3i93§£. L (1915), 232.

’3
Sifiew York Tings, February 5, 1915. P- 1. C- 5'
54

Conn. 532,, 63 Con5., 3 Sess., 3077-75.

_ 92 _

to repass it with ease. So once more the plans of the restrictionists had
been Shattered by the narrow deiest of their bill, but the closeness of the
vote 8180 gz— Lve them coura 5e and they uromntly announced that they would
soon begin another carpe ign for the literacy test.

True to their word the restrictionists, led by Southern Democrats,

launched another ca~\"1;n for the literacy test soa1& fter the Ooening of

first session ofs s1? ty—fourth Congress. Early in January of 1916,
Representative Burnett reintroduced practically the same bill that had
been previouSly vetoed by Wilson.55 The bill was referred to the House
Comnittee on I:nn1.i§ration 1here it was decided to hold brief hearings on
the measure. Taking advante 3e of this oaiortunity, the Hebrew Sheltering
and Aid Society ouic_cly sent a delegation to annear before the Committee
in cioosi ion to the bill. Louis Earshall, the eloquent New York lawyer
and apoh esman for Jewish anti~res trictionists, also protested the bill be-

K . . .
fore the committee."6 On the other hand, tne Vice Freeident of the Brother-

hood of Railway Trainmen came before the committee with an endorsement of

the test end t‘n e general bill. 57 Fran; Norrison, Secretary of the A.. F. of L.

and John Kimble renresenting the Jatione l Grange also appeared before the
committee to ask for the 098 5e of the literacy test.

on the last day of January the bill was resorted with a number of
amendments, but with the literacy test still as its major feature. Again,

as in the case of previous reports of literacy test bills, Sabath and two

-__~

5500

,5, Rec., 6% Cong., l Sess., 1776.

 

/
50Sew York Times, January 20, 1916, F. 15. c. 8 and Januarv 21: 1915,
j o 1;" C . C:

I’-
~— ‘ a. no ' r' /
new Kori: Times, January 81, 1910. I’- 14': 0- 5°
New Yorg Times, Jszue‘y 33, l?10. P-

c. l.

..I‘ 9

 

it: ‘a.’~.-—9"- v. _

I
\O
\J.)

I

other committee members oooosed the test in a minority report.59 As the
bill's soonsor and chief exoonent, Burnett was soon busy rounding up votes
for his measure while he waited for cmeo te on the bill to begin. He was
very ontimistic ebout the bill's chances of success and oredicted that if
WilsOn were again to veto it, there would be enough votes in the House

60

to override it.

The debate on the Burnett bill did not begin until late in Eerch.

The bill was then debated under a soecial rule, orovided by the Southern

,
Democrat controlled Rules Committee, which gave it a privileged status.Ol
By this manuever, the friends of the bill hoped to be able to rush the
bill through the House, on to th 1e Senate and then to the Plesident before
‘ o .C‘ 't o 1 62 0 s. ‘-

tne tail end or tne session was reecned. However, even with this rule
in effect the measure's nrOgress was still slow. Esse wally the same men
represented the two sides in the debate, but a few newcomers also made an

annearance. The major part of the stormy debate on the bill still centered

around the literacy test although it was on ly one of the marr provisions in

this comnrehensive bill. The debate also followed tre ition in that it did

not talte on a nartison flavor, but m~ramhically onuonents and eronents
of restriction could still oe quite reedi 3 5: ting wished. The test's

supporters came msinly from the South, from rural areas and from the Far test.

Its opponents for th most pert represented the urban Nbrth.and the V'dwest 63

__

59ImLi ”re ti _on oL Aliens into the United St3tes (64 Cong., l Sess.,
House Report Lo. 95,2 nrts., ”osh_“(ton 1916).

éolew York Tigeg, lebruea y 21,1916, p. 4, C. 2.

éloan. BEE): 69 Cong., 1 Sess., 4768—74.

62"ew York ines, Feoruar;r 21, 1916, .4, C. 2.
63
-' 'I :1 , 1' "f' "’
Cons. Rec., 54 Cong., l 8958., Lt77'VW7‘C‘16, 4091—“UJ5, ”9% ,

5023-5052, 516t-519t.

On the fifth day of debate the mefieure wzs finslly brought to a vote.

' . . 1 '\ 1F~v~\‘~'\ w - L .\ ‘r‘ .C' ' A ‘ ‘ "‘
Ac;dst i1cre191n- 81tl— ~1U11enate sent; *me u e11 tue lGJI 01 a vast eelnde

a
y.
‘

of immigrants at the wer's e11 w icn wouli swanw the country, the bill

64

was passed overwhelningly 307 to C7. Just prior to this vote a motion

was made by the test‘s most nersistent ana vocii erou s 07:01 e1t in the
nouse, Joseoh Sebeth, to recorr it the bill vi instruc
out the test. This motion was soundly defeatec 23b to l37, indice ting
further tfiet a veto by Wilson could erParlv be easily overridien in the
gouge 65

g

When the sill entered the Senate it cid not rare so well. It was

reworted from confiittee in mid—Avril , but \nis reco: mi ted £10. not re-

../
ported again until mid-lbw} \fnen it ajxe““ed with edditi 0111 en ndnents.UU

A month and a half then rassec before it was ne1tioned age in. Then it

wcs discus :66. by its Sponsor Ellison Smith of forth Carolina, wt o 1101

with other 1rd? t restrictionist ts, called for action on the 101‘ oelayed
/

0
bill. Two days later Senate Democrats held a caucus and voted to post-

pone action on the Burnett ill until the next SESFlOL. 3v a unanimous

U
68
vote, all lemocreti c Sen ct ors were bon.10 to this decisi011This desire

to 1912; action on the Burnett bill until 2.1ter Iovenber, obviously

'1‘ L ‘- V “n \ y 1 q. l (1. '\ I“ 1‘ 1‘
reilecus t1e fear 1e1oczet-c lea erS Len oi

voters. Vith tne Viceswre,1 ironigrant onlosit ion to the measure, they

q

did not wish to take any action that wonle jeOpardize the chances of the

E
H
Cl
93
3
J
J
0

U1
\3
\JJ
L“
O\
N
O\

’30 ’

O
\1
H
0
H
T
O
‘J
J
I
H
‘._l
I I)
‘\1
0
KB)
0

’n
U "“ u / :-
U er York Tifies, August 1, 1913, p. 9, c. w.

Democratic party in the forthcoming yresidential ele mti Text the caucus,
by a vote of 37 to 7, aa01teu a resolution "3leC 123 the majority to vote

down the attempt to attach the innijration measure to the Child Labor bill

.1-

as a rider." This resolution mes p: t t.rou“ Dy warty leaders to w‘ip

' J
1‘5
(1‘

0 line a group of Southern Semle‘ors \ho hDC_3110u10ed that they would
safldle the Cnili Leoor bill, which they oniosei, with an ixmi 3r‘tion r‘1 oer,
1n cludin 3the obnoxious literacy test section in hope that President
lilson woo id veto it.39 All seven of the votes a3ainst the measure,in
foot, came from Southern Sen ators.70

Hooe for the nesszr 3'e of the Wriett bill ' elore DeCeHoer thus seemed
very slid, but a revolt develoyed emonf Seziate Democrats that change& the

whole complexion of the p1icture. On August Elst, on a motion from Senator

Srith, a coroiet1on of seventern Beau ' licans and ten reo Ml us Souther rn

Democre ts guidenlv :or ced t e 3ur1et bill before the Senate for cbnsil—
I 71 a V V\ W ‘ U Q

eration. This act1on oy the ten nemocrats Drou3nt immeuiate censors 01113

from their collee mes and the whole debate became qu ui te heated. Quite

naturally, Senate Reoublicens were hao*y at the turn of events. If he

f."

ll was oresentee to the President during that session of Congress, ”e
was bound to alienate some oortion of the electorate. If he vetoed it,
or enized laoor would be angry, out if he sirnei it nib 1mmige1nt vote
would be endangered. then th. time alloted for tne debate of the Burnett
bill had ended, Senator Smith made a notion that it We made the unfin—

ished business of the Senate, however, the Senate Lad ureviously agreed

to make the Gen rel Revenue bill its unfinished business. So, debate on

 

 

... : .l p ,_‘ "1 f) " f3 ' v
oon . nec., 6w Conb., l bess., leflee.
-—._._.o—d. ._.__ -.

this motion then beg nd continued tlirough the res t o: the iey and
since no decision was reached a recess was taken until the following day
when the motion would again be taken up.72 On the next day Wilson made it
clear that he was determined to veto the i.11:iiration bill if it came to him
including a liters cy test. Prompted by this announcement, plus the accusa—
tions of bad faith by Democratic leaders, five of the ten who had voted to
bring up the bill now reversed themselves.73 By a vote of 32 to 28 it was
decided to take up the Revenue bill nd discuss it until it was diso_osed

74
of. Thus the Burnett bill definitely was laid aside until the next
session of Con“ress , which would Open in December.

In December, with W41 lson s:feLr re ~elected, the Enlnett bill has once
more tbs ken us in the Sena e.75 Ellison Smith, who led long 5 nce replaced
Lodge as the lending Senate restrictionist and advocate of the literacy
test, was planning to oress hard for th measure, w1ich he tr nught the
Senate would a11rove OuiCZlT and easily. bl 1ile t1 e bill Wes being debated

‘

before the Senete, President Wilson he a grain announced that he would

‘3

definitely veto the measure if it cezie to him containing the literacy
76
test. But this warning seem ed to heve no e11ect on tre Senators, for

after three days of fairly short debates, they 9%» ily he ssed the bill with

77

the test intact by the over xxrrelmin: vote of 64 to 7. During the debates

on the bill, one of the chief e.r :uments used b; the restrictionists was

7200ns. Rec., 64 Cong., 1 SeSS., 12923—su.

73xew York giggg, August 23, 1916, p. 9, c. l.
7492?”..BEE’. 6v Cong., l Sess., 12951-53.
759gn5, :fi23, 6M Cong., 2 SeSS., 152.

763ew York _ige§J December 12, 1916, p. 10, c. 6.

779235, Rec., 6% Cong., 2 Sess., 316.

_ 97 _

the tc after the war the real delu3e of undes ir e‘ole imxigrents would begin,
with our whole economy and way of life suffering as a result. They also
dwelled somewhat on the nypnenate issue and thereby to some extent linked
8
imni grert1 on restriction with national defense and neti onal security. 7
Although President Wils son L18 firmLy set on vetoing the bill, he did
not act on that decision iI.1Mdately. Instead, 11e decided to delay his
action until the last moment, ther ebya llowin; Congress as little time as
posm iole to override hi s veto. While Wilson thus marked time, he
again received encoure3er ent to veto the bill from Cardinal Gibbon and
.0 u g n n- o c 80 m1 q 1
iron Jewish-emerican or3anizations. 1ne -er*an—aier1cans would prooably
have followed suit had they not already been under heavy fire as a result
of growing anti-hypheism.
’fter waitirg the full period of time allowed him by the Constitution,
. 81 , .
Wilson vetoed the Burnett bill. In a brief veto message he declared
that he approved of most of the bill's provisions, but still could not
help but feel that the literacy test constituted a radical change in the
o 1 . ., o ~ " c of. a a o "8 .L
policy of the nation whicn was not Justilied 1n pr1n01ple. u was not
a test of character, quality, or fitness, but in the main would be a mere
penalty for lack of Opportunity. He singled out for Special attack the
DroviSion in the li te re m; test section tflich would admit illiterates if they

fficials that hey were Coming to America to

0

could prove to immigration

78.111211. :1?)- 152-162. 205—226. 253-277. 31, ~315.
79?? 1 '5
new Yor; Tirnes m, January 29, 1917,17, c. a.
O

O

Iew York Times, Ja uany 19, 1917, p. 3, C. 2 and January 26, 1917,
7‘). 9, CO 20

81"
nesSnxfi_Fr on The President of The United St? teS (/h 0035»: 2 5955':
House Document 2003, Washington, 1917).

821312.41- a

 

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1 .C‘ m ,. ' ‘O ~ 0 o o o a 5‘.
seem relube from religious persecution. Allowing immigration oiiicials

to thus pass on the lafs and nractices of foreign governments "might lead

0
to delicate and zazar ous diplomatic situations."U3 This nrovision in

itself, deClared Wilson, furnished a good enough reason to veto the bill.8+
In this, his second veto of a literacy test bill, Wilson was suooorted by
most metrOpolitan newSpaners as well as the United States Chamber of

85
Commerce.

Anti-hyphenism and nationalism were now running high in America and

nist s ntiment made

C)

these factors when added to the increasing restricti
it easy for Congress to override Wilson's veto. In the House, with
Southern restrictionist John Burnett leading the way, Wilson's veto was
as
o q . U o

QUlCIIy overridden by a vote of 287 to 106. The vote was non—partisan
and followed the same general geOgraohic lines as he previous votes on
the bill. After a short delay by anti—restrictionists, the Senate also

(1
I O Q Q ‘
overrode the veto 62 to 19. 7 Thus, after more than tnree decanes of

agitation, over a quarter of a century of trying to gain Congressional

L»... A

approval ond some thirty—two favorable votes in one Heuse or the other,
the literacy test had finally become a law. Henceforth adult imm'grants

who could not read a simnle passage in Some language “Vula be excluded

from the United States. Two innortant ,xcentions however, were made to
‘ ' ‘ “ “ c' a 5' a l 11' v‘aht br'ie with hin into the
313 rule. One was that an admissub e c 1en Jloh 130 n

‘ 5 his immediate family. The other exception

country, illiterate m moers o.

.01CL. ’ T). 3.

..

 

bi o :30 30

 

 

\ ,.
\O
I

was the one to which nilson had so stron 1y objected. This provis ion

uc“

0")
d
O

exetnted from the test, aliens who could prove the t they were fleein-
Anerica to avoid religious persecution.88 This excevtion .as a con—
- n

cession mainly to the Russian—Jews who had lobbied'vigorouSIy for it.09

The Burnett bill itself had origin allr been be sed uion the recom-
mendations of the United States Immigration Commission of 1911, but
additions had been made to the bill each time it had been reintroduced
into Congress. Therefore, tfii s cwvnre1ensive bill now contained mar pro-
visions of both a restrictive an d a selective nature, as well as a re—
codification of enistinr immigration laws. Revertheless, the literacy
test still stood as the core of the measure and to many restrictionists it
was the bill itself. 90

Ironically, this test, for thich.so many restrictionists had labored
for so long, turned out to be a very mild restrictive measure. When the
idea of the literacy test was first conceived, it was designed as a read-
ing and triting test. In tm sform and with the rate of illiteracy'then
existing in Southern and E8 stern Europe, had it become a 180, the test
would nrooeb1;v have bxrred a aood nanv inhigrants coming from this area

1

O . O 91 ‘ Q
from entering the United States.‘ However, the test had soon been modified
to a simple reading test and in t is form it had fi n “llr become a law. Xcan-

while, the rate of literacy in Southern and Eastern Europe had risen consid~

erably, thus 18 5e number of immigrants from the° e aress were able to nass

 

-.— 0.. -n -

’70
UUStELtut S “t Larr‘fe 31.11....“ fir 7‘33]le :18) “ton, 1917), “Pitt. 1’ p. 877.

 

a

b9"1n11igration 3111 Passed Again," Survev, 15321711 (1916).331+.

If'l'r‘i ”TO tiOZ" Restriction° _A__ Stu C”? of t: :e C3 osition to

9
—h—--——-— ’-

and_§evulation 01 Im:igr3tion into the United StT tes (Jewm York, #1927)

 

 

\..-'-'

\--.

 

91Retort of the Select Com ittee on 1311 igrgtion and Saturalizction
P. 1052 ; H. Hoyt, "Relation of the Literzcd T- st to a Constructive 13131-

gration Problem," Jor nal of Politic: Ll Econor_{, IAIV (1916), ww7, e57.

 

 

 

- 100 -

the test. In fact, it Soon adueered that with the large influx Of immi—

grants after the war, the number entering deemite the test would equal

the number who had entered before it was in effect. 30, after finally

. 0
..

becomlng a law, the literacy test, it was discovered, had arrived on the

O O 92
scene too late to be a really restrlctlve measure.

LiteraEI_D;;Bst, LXV, June 5. 1929. 32 9nd TVI: Septefiber 11. 1920:
rice Davie, Vorld Immigration (38“ York, 1936). 39- 27b‘753 I:°L
cs

~'.wb01‘iC{Il
M
9 U. 33.

‘.

 

 

- .101 —

BibliOQraphical Note

Primarv Sources:

The Congressional Recor§_wes the most irmort .nt and va lueble urinary

 

 

source used in this study. As a record of the debates on tr e various
literacy test bills it is invaluable. It also contains a record of the
enormous number of resolutions, memorials, petitions, and letters pre-
sented in Cong‘ess relative to the test. However, the Journal_ of the

Gene 3_ and. the Journal g: the House contain more complete iniices of these

H .....-

 

 

communications and pres ent then in a more readily acces eform. There
are a large number 0: Con ress ional documents and retort s which deal with

the topic of the liter :cy test. However, or 1' a few of these w-u ch seem

U

 

mOSt innortzlnt will be discussed here. The Rejort of the Select Co 01:; ittee

 

q.

0n 1““1"r‘* on end.1turr ligation (51 Cong., 2 Sess., House Report 30. 3472’

 

Washington, 1891) is a very valuable s urce of nublic and official Opinion
on the test when this nronosal was still in its infancy. This rej>ort also
provides some interesting insights into the reasoning of those who favored
and those W110 OJOOsed the measure. Senate Report 22: 229.(54 Cong., l 5985-.

I

VCE ington, 1896) and House Resort 29, 1029 (54 Cong., 1 Sess., Washington,

 

 

1896) contain the te} Its of and tile are1ments for theziirst literacv test
bills to be passed by either House of Congress. The arguments and the
reasoning used to defend the test in these reports were more or less re-
jieated in the manv renorts of lite acy test bills over the next twenty

J

years, Senate Document 3g, 62 (57 Cong. 2 SeSS., 1FSlmigton,1903) con-

 

tains a considerable amount of pro and con testimony on the literacy test
as well as a long list of organizations that endorsed the test. Taft‘s

brief veto message and Secretary bagel's letter concerning the test which

)

 

._ L "_n n.‘ o 1 _: o _ ‘5 ~_ '1 l _‘ 1"“ _' j ‘3‘: a _C\ 4.13 T I -u1" ”I.
013031119 [fight 130 1.18 (“303151011 Ci" '1 oe 1.011413. 1.11 I1t::':,L=1:_1‘1u1O.l 0:. b1- .1..‘. 1.33 {35101

of Aliens (62 Con3., 3 Sess., Senete Docvuent 30. 1037, Wbshin3ton, 1913).

The texts of Wilson's veto messnwes

O

f 1915 and 1917 can be found in gouge
D cuhent g9, 1522 (63 Con§., 2 5683., "‘u shin3t n,1915) and Hons e Docu.ent
:3. 2223 65 Con35, 2 5083., Ulsn1n ton, 1917) respectively.

Theodore Roosevelt's iews on imn‘r ation restriction in general and
the literacy test Specifically, as well as Some indication of his ef1ort t.

4‘

on belielf or it can be found in the letters sureud through the several

.h

volumes of The Letters of rrieo1ore Roosevelt (Cambridm l95l-5w), I— VI,

 

edited by Eltiis E. Herrison.

Although I was unsole to utilize them, the Files 9§_th§_1nxi:regyni

Restric ti g1 Lee g~1e, in the Houghton Librurv, Errverd University contain a

‘0‘“..—

{a

3

189' to 1920 as well as

detp.iled record of the League's activities fron

'

revealin3 letters from Congressmen and citizens with whom the Leegu made
Contact.

Secondzw v Sor‘c ces:

f

The book which would be of the greatest aid to en5rone stud511 n3 American

netivism after 1865 is John Ei3hen's, Strenrers in the gong; :tterns of

k:1e3r_i_c_3_:__z.n 1.2t13V1_s..., 1860-1913511’61-1 31m1swiclc, 1955 ). A sunerb study, it
helps immeasurably in understanding the currents of nativism, racism, and

.1.

anti-1153311 en '.sm tint wider 215' the movement 1‘ or the lit or eC5 test. His
critical bibli03raohy and ex tenrive end notes furnish the most valuable

guide to further inquires into American nativism now available. Some sig-

nificant ins i‘hts into the movement for the literacy test up to 1904 are

0-.

furnis ohed o;r Prescott F Hall‘s, Immi re ion; _n€ Its Effect U:on t1 e United

State§.(f ew Yor1:, 1906). Samuel Gomuers‘, Seventg_Yenrs g:_Life end pror:

 

 

 

... 133 ...

An Autobiogrnwhv (Zew York, 1925), Vol. II, details some of GOMUGrS'
efforts on behalf of the test and reveals some of this motives for

sunnorting the measure. Allen Kevin's, Grover Clevel nc? .é'u &t1dr ii

 

 

Courgfie (few York, 1932) tells so:netzfi wt of Cleveland‘s veto and points

’1‘.)
out that Cleveland me; have been influenced by the steamship lobby to make
a decision he later regretted. Very helpful in understanding the part
Joe Cinnon pl Wed in the 6e: ect of the literacy test bill in l906-O7 is
Y1
A;

N

, .. - ..,._ .r: .
non's E- eriment Litn

lrj

Bl ir Bolles Tvrrnt Jiioig: Uncle Joe “

— .....-

rem.

 

 

 

ersg-al_fow.r (Kev York, 1951). A number of books on the general tonic

of inxigration and imxi*ration restriction also contain comments on the

literacy test movement. Anon; theSe Roy Garis', Ins: r*tion Restriction:

‘ ‘.~Vr1~’9 4" 4" \ -
£3: oils; 9: o- e O ;.

M8_tioqi o and Refulctign; f I.;* i rst

——-—~ -m .— ~ -—.—.- —_ h... c— -

93_int9_the Un mite d

‘}Jo

 

 

 

tatpg :ew Ygrk, 1927) contains the fullest tr ttme nt Of the literacy

_.-—

 

test Lnd the whole restrict ionist move =.ent.

‘

s of the South's attitude toward the new

7
}_h

The best account and anal
Wolgrctlon and 1‘"4"Tants in general is contained in Rowland T. Berthoff's,

"Southern Attitudes Toward Inxigre ion, 186 —1914," Journal of Sontnern

 

Historv, XVII (1951), so—ol Doin* the sere for ous ness but over a

,
(
\J ’
I

much shorter swan of yeers 1n Xorrel Herld's, "Business Attitudes Toward

Euronean In igration, 1830—1900," Journal of E ononic Ei

—-—¢——

story, XIII (195?),
291-304. This erticle vmo1ld De rore veluaole however, if it had traced
these attitudes into the first decades of the twentieth century. No one
has reviewed laborgs attitudes toward ixrai ration as He ld hcfi -treated
those of ousiness, but, Gomners racism is dealt with in Arthur Henn's
"Gompers and the Irony of Recism," Altiogg Review, XIII (1953), 203—14.
Contemoorary €.rticles, both pro and Con, which deal with the literUCy

test are numerous, but they can be found most frequently in Ce:1turr, 30 r

K’s-u; ’

.. ”J“! n: “1' r1 7" 1' . .+'1 1.- <3 . 1 ma . - -
~O~ “1 --‘3+ +0111. [Lev—9V. 01.110011, M‘le'CJ, :1 31c- 1--e Journal oi'_Po‘1tical

w-.—

 

 

 

1-‘n v‘ .-.,o ‘Y - 1‘ '~ (u . ‘l . ' ‘ a -
s:99~_4y. hone 01 these 7e11on1cals firesented the arguments o: e1ther
the restrict1i nists or anti-restrictionists ex111sively, but rgtver

maintained a fairly even balance between the two.

The Rev York Times is a mine of information on CongreSS1nel action

“A

on the literacy test, esoeciallr after 191:». ts rep01ts heve the great
value of providi n5 information on behind the scenes acti V“1 tr in Congress
as well as nresenting innortnnt off the record convents made by member of
Con:"ess. f even greater value is the information conte ineC in the
Tires 01 the activities of the verious pressure gronns which sonzght to

influence Confres and. the President relst ive to the li t,racy test. In—

forms. ion concerni‘r Presidential action enfio Oninion rel:.t ive to the test,

V

which would often be hard to obtain, cal also be found in the Tings. Th

“rest bulk of press ovinion on the 1iterecy test used in this theSis was

 

gleaned from Piblic Ooinio: and Lite“‘“" Di es t. Although one can never
a - - "3

oe nositive tnet he is ooteining a fair sample of nress o11nion on a

question when he uses either of these perioéi als, they no have the dis-

‘ ICt RchuU1ge of pres tin" nres s 0 ion from all n: rts of the country

tJ-p1‘LL’Ap—A‘L.)

'v ' _° t‘ 1: vr r) .1 'P .
and from the oress 0: both mcjor partleg 1n n rewc1lJ “009991319 1orm.

.- - .1." ‘ a - -' w '0 k “ '
Public O,in io_ .rovea to oe more valuable ior the perion beiore 1900 end

“...—o

Li er arr Di for the neriod after that date.
———.-'—- —--.J- ......b—i..-_.... _

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‘EQUUH

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it. in: km: ii 24" ‘.'

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Date Due

 

 

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