Speech #630132163

In the contest against the transportation companies of the Northwest by the shippers. whoul I represented. sweeping reductions in rates were secured which were confirmed in the famous Minneota rate case. and which will save the consumers of my State over $3.000.000 annually. The great fight .against the express companies for a reduction of their rates. which I tried for Sen. Sundberg. a Scandinavian immigrant farmer of my State. resulted in sweeping reductions which will be put Into effect tomorrow all over the United States. and which will mean a saving to consumers of the country of not less than $25.000.000 a year. I tried the Pullman sleepingcar case. which lowered the price of all upper berths. without retainer or fee of any sort. simply as the peoples lawyer and for the sake of justice. Further. I say this: I feel so keenly upon this subject of labor. and realize so fully the injustice which laboring men and women endure. that I would be temptedI hope I would not yield to the temptationto be recreant and unjust to the spirit of American institutions and to vote for this bill were any convincing reasons offered or any sort of proof made that labor conditions would be improved. I know that it is stated and claimed that the literacy test will help the cause of labor by reducing the total number of immigrants who come to this country. and that by reducing the number of Imunigrants you lessen the competition of laboring men and improve their condition. I take issue with both propositions. and I will ask gentlemen wvho attempt to defend this bill to give something like a reason wly this bill would actually result Iii restriction in number of immigrants iu tie face of the admitted facts that the steamuship I- 165 companies. for the purposes of traffic. are largely responsible for the incoming of the immigrants in such large number. No man with respect for his reputation or judgment will take issue with my statement when I say that the great transAtlantic steamship companies are largely responsible for the vast numnber of immigrants who come to our shores. Will this literacy test handicap these companies to any considerable extent in view of the profits they make annually from steerage passengers? Certainly not. It will simply divert their efforts. Instead of seeking immigrants from the peasantry of Europe. tie more rural places where there is a humbler and less educated people. they will concentrate their efforts in the great cities of the old country and still have their carriage capacity full of steerage passengers. The number will not be lessened materially. but the character of the imigrants will be lowered decidedly. Is there any question about that? I want to ask the advocates of labor what character of immigrants do they have most to fearthe peasantry of Europe who are more inclined to go to the country and fitted for agricultural work. those who naturally as time goes by become engaged in agriculture. or. on the other hand. do they most fear the city dwellers of the old world. the men who can meet this little test of reading 25 words? It must be obvious that this test will exclude the humbler peasantry from the most oppressed portions of Europe. but permit the incoming of those who can meet the test. often the most vicious and dangerous men from the congested cities. always the least desirable character of imnigrants: Therefore you do not by this literacy test improve the condition of labor at all so far as number of immigrants is concerned. but you do place labor in jeopardy by bringing men from the cities of Europe. who. because of their city dwelling and wrong conception of life. are more apt to be a menace to our institutions and a handicap upon labor than the farmers are.