Mr. Chairman aind gentlemen of the committee. tile Burnett Act of 1917. an act which dealt particularly with contract labor. contained this proviso: Provided further. That skilled labor. if otherwise admissible. may be I imported if labor of like kind unemployed can not be found in this country. and the question of the necessity of importing such skilled labor in any particular instance may be determined by the Secretary of Labor upon the application of any person interested. such application to be made before such importation. and such determination by the Secretary of Labor to be reached after a full hearing and an Investigation into the facts of the case. Under that provision of the law the Department of Labor adopted elaborate provisions as to the manner of proving that such labor was needed and all the other things incidental to bringing it in. All went well until the passage of the quota immigration law. When the numerical limitation was superimposed upon the Burnett law the exemptions afforded by the latter staltute became practically a nullity in respect of aliens born in the quota countries of Europe. Aliens born in nonquota countries of the Western Hemisphere could still avail themselves of the exempting provision. but aliens born in Europe could not do so.
Keywords matched
immigration contract labor