Speech #500108693

But. so far as I can learn. the fact that.thousands of Italian padrones. practically bound by contract to serve at the beck of an overseer. and not intending to become American citizens. have landed at New York since the act of 1885 was passed. has not elicited even a passing notice from the President. The gentleman from Indiana may find in this fact reasons for implicating the Republican party. but the public sentiment of the country will hold another party responsible. I notice by the published testimony taken by the House Immigration Committee in New York that many vessels registered or enrolled as vessela of the United States. and yet either owned by foreign capitalists or commanded by foreigners. who have been imported to serve at cheaper wages than American citizens would serve. are engaged in our coastwise and lake trade in defiance of a law which has been on our statutebooks nearly a hundred years. and which provides that only American vessels shall participate in this trade. and that no vessel shall be registered or enrolled as an American vessel unless it is wholly owned by American citizens and commanded by a citizen of the United States. Would not it be well for the gentleman from Indiana to admonish the officials of the Administration to enforce the laws before he mounts an Indiana stump to tell the people that the Republican party favors the importation of cheap labor. Mr. Speaker. it is not difficult to discover in the manner in which the gentleman from Indiana couples the importation of contract labor with a protective tariff. and the shrewd manner in which he appeals to workingmen to votefor free trade. that there may be the same reason for laxity in enforcing the contract labor importation act. and neglect to recommend amendments. as for the refusal for many months to purchase bonds with the surplusto wit. a desire to use labor importations in defiance of law. as the surplus has been used. as a lever to overthrow protection. It will not be surprising during the present campaign to hear the same orators who have been using the fact of a large surplus in the Treasury. kept there by a refusal of the Administration for many months to use it in purchasing the bonded debt and stopping interest. as a lever to overthrow protection. using the facts gathered by the Immigration Committee as evidence that the Republican party is trying to restrict the importation of the products of cheap labor and at the same time to promote the importation of the cheap labor itself. while the impression will be given that the Democratic party proposes to reverse the plan. I desire here and now. Mr. Speaker. to repeat what the platform of the Republican party declares. what the votes of the Republican mnembers of this House have so often emphasized. that the Republican party stands for protection to home industries. not only through the imposition of duties on imported competing products of cheaper labor abroad. but also by the prohibition of the importation of contract labor. paupers. and criminals. or any other immigration that does not come here on its own motion to become American citizens. adopt American civilization. and demand American wages. I believe that I speak for this side of the House when I say that we have always beenready. that we are ready now. to amend or strengthen the present law prohibiting contract labor. if the President shall inform Congress that it needs amendment in order to accomplish the end sought. and that we further ask that it shall be faithfully enforced. In view of the intense competition which exists in the various industries in this country. there will here and there always be found men who seek to obtain an advantage by importations of contract labor if they find no obstacle. just as ere and there have been found selfish woolen manufacturers who favor the Mills bill because it gives them protection and at the same time furnishes them free wool by depriving the farmer of the same kind of protection that they have. The logic of protection requires that it should be applied not only to the imported products of cheap labor. but also to imported labor under contract made abroad to work at ibreign cheap wages. The sober. industrious. voluntary immigrant who comes here to improve his situation and become an American in every sense of the term. and who has entire freedom of choice after his arrival. demands and soon receives American wages. and their coming in such numbers as they are likely to voluntarily leave old homes will not reduce the wages of labor. On the other hand. the logic of free trade in the products of foreign labor inevitably calls for free trade in imported labor. for if the American producer is to be compelled to compete freely with the foreign producer. he must be given the privilege of getting his labor in the cheapest market. The latter is the correlative of the former. as Henry George has so clearly shown in an article pointing out that the Democratic leaders. in professing to desire to restrict the incoming of foreign labor. are simply convicting themselves of inconsistency. Every argument presented in the late tariff debate in favor of free trade or the removal of restrictions on importations. applies with equal force to the free importation of labor. Indeed. the position taken by the gentleman from Indiana. and made the keystone of his argument by the gentleman from Texas . that our labor measured by results accomplished is the cheapest in the world. is as decisive an argument against restricting the importation of contract labor as it was claimed to be against restriction of importations of products. I t is evident. Mr.