England. and Spain. That provision of the bill of the last Congress is exceedingly objectionable to the citizens of the United States who own plantations in the island. whether they live there or whether they live here. because they claim the right. as they do now in the Philippine Islands. to raise sugar or anything else with just such labor as they choose to employ. without any legal restriction. The demand has been made upon the Government of Cuba that they shall not restrict the class of immigration that shall come into the country. and they have not done so. As it stands today Cuba may import Chinamen or Japanese or any other Asiatic servile labor that they see fit in any numbers they may wish. Mr. President. if there was no other objection to the pending bill. I should have this objection to it. that it is a proposition to put the laboring people of the United States into actual competition with the already 20.000 Chinamen in the island of Cuba. with as many more as they can induce to come. who will for a mere pittance perform the labor of raising sugar on that island. and thus place them in competition with the men who are making sugar in Louisiana and Texas. and sugar from beets in the great West. I do not intend to extend myremarks upon that subject. except to say that it is our policy here. and it has been for many years. by positive enactment to exclude Chinese and all other contract labor from coming into this country to enter into competition with American labor. It is true that we do not have control over the legislative department of Cuba. but when we say to Cuba. " We are going to make you a concession." we have a right to say it shall be made upon the theory that the men who raise sugar to come in competition with the freemen of our country shall also be freemen and not serfs. We have a law in the United States umder which. if I should go to Great Britain or any other country and hire the wisest and best of their laborers to come here.
Keywords matched
immigration contract labor Asiatic