our cities, nor that it is permanent; nor does it appear that this
condition where it exists demands as its remedy the reversal of our
present immigration policy.

The claim is also made that the influx of foreign laborers deprives of
the opportunity to work those who are better entitled than they to the
privilege of earning their livelihood by daily toil. An unfortunate
condition is certainly presented when any who are willing to labor are
unemployed, but so far as this condition now exists among our people it
must be conceded to be a result of phenomenal business depression and
the stagnation of all enterprises in which labor is a factor. With the
advent of settled and wholesome financial and economic governmental
policies and consequent encouragement to the activity of capital the
misfortunes of unemployed labor should, to a great extent at least, be
remedied. If it continues, its natural consequences must be to check the
further immigration to our cities of foreign laborers and to deplete the
ranks of those already there. In the meantime those most willing and
best entitled ought to be able to secure the advantages of such work as
there is to do.

It is proposed by the bill under consideration to meet the alleged
difficulties of the situation by establishing an educational test by
which the right of a foreigner to make his home with us shall be
determined. Its general scheme is to prohibit from admission to our
country all immigrants "physically capable and over 16 years of age who
can not read and write the English language or some other language," and
it is provided that this test shall be applied by requiring immigrants
seeking admission to read and afterwards to write not less than twenty
nor more than twenty-five words of the Constitution of the United States
in some language, and that any immigrant failing in this shall not be
admitted, but shall be returned to the country from whence he came at
the expense of the steamship or railroad company which brought him.

The best reason that could be given for this radical restriction of
immigration is the necessity of protecting our population against
degeneration and saving our national peace and quiet from imported
turbulence and disorder.

I can not believe that we would be protected against these evils by
limiting immigration to those who can read and write in any language
twenty-five words of our Constitution. In my opinion, it is infinitely
more safe to ad