If these statutes are to be maintained as a prohibition against introducing slavery into the United States. and then to be used by the courts to punish and to suppress a wholly different offense. then certainly they ought not to remain upon the statute books. None of the classes indicated by the Senator from Idaho can fairly be classed in any court or by any legislative assembly as slaves. If shipowners contract for the foreigners labor and bring them here. they will violate the law against the Importation of contract labor. and they can be fairly and pioperly and sufficiently punished under that statute. If they bring a man here and without his consent make a contract for his services which they call upon him to perform. that contract has no more binding force upon his conscience or in the law than if I contracted with somebody that the Senator from Idaho would perform some service for that third person. It is a contract which no man can lawfully make in this country with respect to the work of another man. and even if the other man subsequently ratified it and entered upon the performance of It he could abandon it whenever he pleased. because there is no such thing known to our law as the specific performance of a con.tract for personal service. If the Senator seeks to prevent the importation of people for immoral purposes. another statute should be employed to meet that. If the Senator seeks to strengthen our law against the importation of contract labor. I will join him in passing any sensible amendment upon that subject. but to keep a relic of the long ago upon our statute books to remind us of a condition which w.e all rejoice has forever passed seems to me worse than useless. I would like to go further.
Keywords matched
contract labor