Speech #500148556

And his clothing also. Being the friendsof the American laborer. and there being no such friends in the world of the American laborer as this committee. the honorable Senator from Iowa leading this committee first takes the clothes that the immigrant may choose to bring. it makes no difference how costly. how much of them. or where he got them. or at what price. and lets him in free with all his clothing. He comes here as an immigrant not pledged to stay. He does like the Canadians do. he expects to go back in a month or a year. or perhaps he expects. like the Chinaman. to go back or. after he is dead. to have his bones carried back to the old country. You let him in free with the clothing he chooses to bring. it makes no difference what its cost. You let him in free to labor for a year with clothing enough bought in cheap foreign markets to last him the whole time. so that he will not buy a dollars worth in the United States. You let him in free because he is an immigrant. and yet you pretend to be the friend of the American laborer as against the foreign laborer! The Senator from North Carolina speaking of Canadian immigration. used this language on the same day: Onehalf of the factories of New England now are filled with men who are not even naturalized citizens of the United States. but who come across the border from Canada and elsewhere to labor here and return with the proceeds of their labor. You welcome that foreigner when be comes in the midst of your strikes. whom you can use for the purpose of putting down and suppressing the efforts of labor to secure its share in this taxation that is imposed in its name. but when he comes with anything to sell he is anathema maranatha. and all men are social traitors who desire to purchase his products at a reasonable price. That is the history of this labor question. Those remarks are based upon the mistaken idea which seems to prevail upon the other side as to the character of the immigrants from Canada. I speak from some knowledge on this subject. I have lived among them for the last thirty years. I have seen them in the city of my residence grow from a handful until now I suppose they are a population of perhaps 1.300. Some of them have become our best citizens. They have all conducted themselves with as much propriety. with as much regard for our institutions and customs. with as earnest a zeal to make good citizens. as have the immigrants from any other country whatever. I suppose out of this 1.300 people perhaps 100 of them own thehouses in which their families reside. some of them nice houses. which they have built or purchased as the result of their daily earnings. They have one and perhaps two churches in our midst. built also with the proceeds of their daily labor. one a very fine church costing several thousands of dollars.