INTRODUCTION.
I. The question of further restricting immigration to the United States by an educational test gains in importance from the alleged impairment of American institutions and standards by immigration.
II. The following explanations will aid in the discussion of the question:—
A. Immigration to the United States means the migrating of people into the United States for the purpose of permanent residence. (Century Dictionary.)
B. The restrictive measures now in force are as follows:—
1. Idiots, insane persons, paupers, convicts, diseased persons, anarchists, polygamists, women for immoral purposes, assisted aliens, contract laborers, and the Chinese are excluded. (Statutes of the United States.)
2. A head tax of four dollars is imposed. (Ibid.)
C. The proposed restrictive measure is as follows:—
1. Every immigrant to the United States between the ages of fifteen and fifty must be able to read and write a few sentences of some language. (Congressional Record, Vol. XXVIII, page 5421.).
III. The points to be determined seem to be:—