Mr. Chairman. in this connection I wish to call attention to another argument used in connection with this bill. which seems to me to be entirely fallacious. There is no man on this floor. of any party. who is not ready at all times and under all circumstances to use his vote. and voice. and influence atgainst the importation of pauper labor. Now I want to put the question. why exclude the pauper laborer and yet enact here a bill which allows him. while staying on the other side. to send his manufactured product here to compete with the labor of the men with whom he would come into competition if permitted to come here. Every man everywhere is ready to use his influence to exclude pauper laborers from this country . yet we have the great Democratic party coming here with a bill which proposes to house those foreign laborers on foreign soil and admit their fabrics into this country free. Would it not be better to let the pauper laborer come here and do his work in this country? We would gain at least this much good out of him. he would be fed by us. and we would dispose of that much of our surplus products by reason of the greater demand in the home market. Do not misunderstand me. I am not in favor of the importation of pauper labor or contract labor. but here is the Democratic party which Rudcrtakes to oppose the importation of pauper labor and yet proposes to admit. in competition with American products. the products of foreign pauper labor. I say there is neither logic nor statesmanship nor sound policy at the bottom of any scheme which permits the products of pauper labor to be shipped to this country free. while refusing to admit the pauper laborer himself upon our soil. The Democratic policy is to let the pauper remain abroad and consume English supplies in his living. but to admit free all the products he can manufacture under the shadow of the English flag. What good does it do to exclude the pauper and still let his handiwork blot the prosperity of American industry by coming in competition with our laboring class.
Keywords matched
pauper labor contract labor foreign pauper