And to make thisremedy more effective it puts it into the power of the Secretary of the Treasury to deny a clearance to the steamship until the terms of the act are complied with. The bill also provides for a penalty upon the mater of the steamship violating the provisions of this act. It also provides that the officials appointed by the Secretary of the Treasury for the purpose of assisting in the carrying out of the provisions of the law against the importation of contract labor shall have the right to examine under oath any immigrant brought into this country to ascertain whether or not such immigrant is being brought in in violation of the terms of the law. And that power is given to those officials to examine not only the proposed immigrant. but any other witness that may be produced. The proposition first was. as the bill originally stood before the committee. to make any such person coming into this country under acontract to labor guilty of a misdemeanor. butyour committee thought the effect of that would le to at once close the moutb of any such immigrant. because it is well understood that you can not compel any one tooffer any testimony to criminate himself. And therefore they proposed this substitute. which takes away the criminal feature from the immigrant. but subjects him to an examination by the inspectors appointed under the law as it now stands. It also. as I said. gives these inspectors the right to take testimony as to the facts in the case. This bill proposes to. cure another evil. It is a fact today that all through European countries the steamship companies have their placards at every crossroads. in every wine shop. in every place of resort. advertising for immigrants to the United States of Arnrica. These companies secure the benefit of the passagemoney. It makes no difference to them what becomes of the immigrant after he has landed upon our shores. He may. as often happens. at once become an object of charity at the hands of the municipality within the boundaries of which he has landed.
Keywords matched
immigrants contract labor immigrant