Speech #590120413

They are as follows: [From proceedings of national convention of American Federation of Labor. held in Plttsburg. Pa.. November 13 to 25. 1905. page 238.] A further check should be put upon assisted immigration. The law now permits the passage of an. alien to be paid by any relative or friend" living in this country. Every employer who wants to bring in cheap laborers is of course a " friend-" to them. or can find somebody to play the part. It is one of the readiest means of evading the contractlabor law. The privilege of paying.the passage of others should be restricted to the nearest relativesfathers. mothers. and children. brothers and sisters. husbands and wives. In accordance with the views here outlined. we recommend that you authorize your officers to use all honorable means for the amendment of our immigration laws. so as to exclude persons physically unfit. to check the evil of assisted Immigration. to Introduce an educational test. and to provide that ports of entry shall be confined to those on the Atlantic and Pacific oceans and the Gulf of Mexico. Resolution passed by the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen at its seventh biennial convention. held at Buffalo. N. Y.. May. 1905. Whereas the Rdpublican party platforms of 1896 and 1900 contained planks favoring the further restriction of Immigration. and Whereas the Representatives of that party have been in complete control of the Congress of the United States for the past ten years. and have failed to carry out these pledges: Therefore. be it Resolved by the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen in seventh biennial coinvention assembled. at Buffalo. N. Y.. this Rith day of May. 1905. That we criticise the Representatives- of the Republican party In Congress for their failure to make good their pledges with regard to legislation for a further restriction of Immigration. It is not the farmers who want them. for in their latest national congress they spoke out in the resolution which I here insert in the RECORD: Resolved. That we urge upon Congress the Importance of further judicious regulation of immigration. and in particular demand the enactment of a law raising the present head tax upon immigrants and excluding absolutely immigrants of poor physique and those unable to read in some language. The test in the bill now under consideration meets just the proposition stated in this resolution. and yet gentlemen representing farmers are trying to defeat it. Under the rule adopted for consideration of this bill there can be no record vote. In my opinion this rule was brought in by the enemies of the educational test with the deliberate purpose of allowing gentlemen to oppose the educational test without their constituents finding it out. and I fear that there are some voting against a restricted immigration that will be denying it before five years shall have come and gone. It is not because I look down upon the man who can not read that I favor this bill. Many of the best friends that I ever had were totally illiterate.