52 NATIONAL ORIGINS PROVISION OF IMMIGRATION LAW 
Senator Rep. Now, let me see if I understand your point. You 
believe in the literacy test established by the act of 19177? 
Doctor Friepenwarp. I do—not necessarily. 
Senator Rrep. Now, you do not believe in the literacy test? 
Doctor Frizpexwarn. I do not believe in the literacy test, for 
this reason, or one of the reasons: To illustrate, a Jew applied for a 
position as sexton of a synagogue, and when he was asked if he could 
read and write he said “No.” So they could not employ him. But 
he went into business and was very successful, and one day he was 
perfecting a loan, and to the surprise of the new clerk he could not 
sign his name but made his mark, and the new clerk said to him, 
“ Why, my God, can’t you write?” “ No,” he said, “1 can not write.” 
“And you have made all this money while being unable to read and 
write. My God, what would you have been if you could read and 
write?” And he replied, “I ‘would have been sexton of the syna- 
gogue.” [Laughter.] 
Senator Reep. Now, Doctor, I see the point, but I do not see the 
moral. 
Doctor Friepexwarp., I mean literacy is a test of a certain kind, 
but it is not a test of character. As Joe Cannon said some years ago, 
when the literacy test was up and some of his constituents went to 
him and asked for his support against it « Why,” he said, “ certainly 
I am with you. One of my best constituents and ablest supporters 
spells ‘shot’ with two t's.” 
Literacy is a test, but it is not adequate. I have known some men 
so lacking in education that they could barely read and write, and 
yet they were of the highest character; and women the same. Liter- 
acy is not really a test, but that is part of the law and we are not 
going to revise that law to-day. 
Senator Reep. Let us see if we can get a categorical answer, If 
you were rewriting the entire body of the immigration law, would 
you exclude or include the literacy test? 
Doctor Friepexwarp. That is rather a leading question. 
Senator Rep. Yes; I meant it to be. 
Doctor Friepenwarp. I do not know that I can answer that. 1 
do not know that I have the information on which to make a real 
answer. 
Senator Remp. Then we will leave that in the record as undecided ; 
we are not sure about the literacy test. You would include the test 
of whether the prospective immigrant would be likely to be a public 
charge? 
Doctor Friepexwarp. Certainly 
Senator Reep. That is definite. Then would you also include the 
est of whether the proposed immigrant had certain especial diseases? 
Doctor FriepeNwaLp. Certainly 
Senator Rexp. You would exclude those? 
Doctor Frizpenwarp. Certainly 
Senator Reep. Who were gravely diseased? 
Doctor Friepenwarp. Or contagious disease of any kind. 
Senator Resp. A serious disease? 
Doctor Friepexwarp. A serious disease. 
Senator Reep. We are agreed that the test for disease and for 
pauperism in the act of 1917 are wise: we are not sure about the lit-