Speech #630433821

I now wish to call attention. while I am upon this. subject. to the effect of the competition of recent immigrants upon native Americans and older immigrant em. ployees. found in volume 1. at page 500. I give these pages in order that they may be referred to by any person who is interested in the subject: If the foregoing characteristics of the Immigrant labor supply froni southern and eastern Europe be borne in mind. the effect of the Influx of recent immigrants upon native American wage earners and those of older Immigration from Great Britain and northern Europe may be briefly stated. The remarkable expansion in manufacturing and mining during the past 30 years. by creating a constant demand for a relatively small number of additional places for experienced and trained employees in supervisory and skilled positions. has undoubtedly led to the advancement in the scale of occupations of a relatively small proportion of native Americans and of English. Irish. Scotch. Welsh. and members of other races who constituted the wageearning classes before the arrival of recent Immigrants. On the other hand. the entrance into the operating forces of American Industries of such large numbers of wage earners of the races of southern and eastern Europe(1) Has exposed the original employees to unsafe and Insanitary working conditions and has led to or continued the imposition of conditions of employment which the Americans and older immigrants havd considered unsatisfactory and in many cases unbearable. (2) Has brought about or continued living conditions and a standard of life with which the native American and older employees have been unwilling. or have found it extremely difficult. to compete. (3) Has led to the voluntary or involuntary displacement from certain occupations and industries of the native American and older immigrant employees. (4) Has weakened the labor organizations of the original employees. and in some industries has led to their entire demoralization and disruption. The existence of unsatisfactory working and living conditions because of the competition of the recent immigrant has been due to his lack of industrial training abroad. his tractability or subserviency and his low standard of living. When the older employees have lound unsafe and insanitary working conditions prevailing In the mines and industrial establishments. and have protested. the recent immigrant employees. usually through ignorance of mining or other working methods. have manifested a willingness to accept the alleged unsatisfactory conditions. The southern and eastern European employee also. because of his tractability. necessitous condition. and low standards. has been inclined. as a rule. to acquiesce in the demand upon the part of employers for extra work or longer hours. The industrial workers of recent immigration have also accepted without protest the system of socalled company stores and houses which prevails so extensively in bituminous and anthracite coal. ironore. and copper mining and other industrial localities. The impossibility of competition between the older employees and those with standards of living like the standards of the recent immigrants may be readily Inferred from what has already been said relative to the methods of domestic economy of immigrant households and the cost of living of their members.