Part 17 (1/2)
4. It would decrease the amount of crime, for
a. It would keep out most of the immigrants from southern Europe, for
1'. Ninety-three per cent, of the illiterates come from this source.
b. The criminal tendencies of people from southern Europe are well known. (Henry Rood, Ibid.)
B. The educational test would improve the condition of the cities, for
1. They would be more sanitary and less criminal, since
a. These evils are due largely to congestion.
b. Under this test the cities would be less congested, for
1'. Immigration would be reduced twenty-two and six tenths per cent.
2'. Educated immigrants are not likely to settle in the slums.
c. If the cities were less congested, charitable societies could remove more evils from the slums, and in time even eliminate the slums.
C. The educational test would aid the country politically, for
1. We should receive only those immigrants who are intellectually capable of becoming good citizens, for
a. Education enables a man to become interested in the government in which he lives.
2. Bribery would cease, for
a. Greed for small amounts of money is not so strong among the intelligent. (Prescott F. Hall, Ibid.)
D. The educational test would aid the work of a.s.similation, for
1. It would bar to a great extent the clannish immigrants, as
a. Clannishness is largely a result of superst.i.tion and ignorance. (Henry Rood, Ibid.)
2. It would practically force the immigrants to learn the English language, for
a. Their clans broken up, they would naturally come in contact more and more with English-speaking people.
3. It would produce among the foreign-born element of the United States a wider interest in civic affairs, for
a. Those who have some education can better appreciate our government than those who are illiterate.
b. It would admit only those who, by reason of their education, small though it may be, have had the chance to study somewhat their home governments. (N.
S. Shaler, Ibid.)
E. The educational test would tend to raise the standards of American labor, for