Millheim Journal. [volume] (Millheim, Pa.) 1876-1984, 1886-10-14
Degrading American Labor.
The Republican Party the Pioneer
in Legislation Against the
Workingmen.

WOrKlngmen.
The Beaver platform in Pennsyva-
MIA, 1856, says: 1--WE deprecate the me-
farious work of importing foreign pau
per labor, criminal and contract labor,
and demand the passage of national
law summary and positively prohibit
ing such importation under any pretext
whatever"
1t is n curious fact, not generally
known, that the first and only law eyer
passed by Congress expressly authoriz-
ing the importation of foreigners nndcr
the contract TO perform labor for a
stated time in place of our American
wOrkingmen, was put through the
two Houses when the Republicans had
an overwhelming majority in each. 1t
is true. also, that the record fails to dis
close any opposition to that atrocious
measure on the part of Republicans in
either house. It's champion in the Sen
ate was the Hon. John Sherman, of
Ohio, and in the House the Hon. L. B.
Washburne, of Illinois.
The bill is entitled "An Act to En-
courage immigration" 1t passed both
Houses July 2, 1864. on a conference re-
port signed 10y Sherman and Anthony
on part of the Senate, and by Wash-
burne and Window on the part of the
House, the Democratic conferees re-
fuslng to sign, and it was approved by
the President July 4, 1864, which was
the last of the session.
The managers OF the bill exhibited
hot impatience to put it through before
the close Of that session. June %, on
motion of Mr.. Sherman, call prior or
ders'' of the Senate were postponed, i,
and the bill was taken up and passed, i,
the ground of haste being as stated by
the Ohio Senator, that 'wages were
very high" in this country, and we
needed importation on that account.
In the House ] bad. Stevens had moved
to go into Committee of the Whole on
one of the great appropriation bills,bu
withdrew his motion. Washburne's
earnest appeal, and the pauper, alien,
contract labor-bill was passed without a
word of manly opposition from the Re-
publican side, the Democrats being so
few in that House that they could not
enforce the demand of Mr.. Pendleton,
of Ohio, for call of the yeas and nays.
The bill itself, aside from the outrage
it proposed to inflict upon American
workingmen, in putting their labor in
competition with that of imported
aliens, is prime curiosity. AS it APP
pears in the Statutes at large, section l
authorizes the President to appoint a
Commissioner of immigration, subject
to the directions of the Department of
State. at salary of $500, with three
clerks, sc. The remaining sections,
except section ., provide for United
States emigrant office .in New York
City, with one Commissioner, who is
authorized to make contracts with rail-
road companies, &C., to carry imported
workmen to their destination =; for eX-
emptlng such alien laborers from mill
tary service; appropriates $4,000 for
carrying the law into effect, and speci-
fies the number of clerks to be employ
ed, salaries, tenure of office, &c. The
sting is in section 2, which is in the
following words
"All contracts that shall be made
by emigrants with the United States in
foreign countries, in conformity to reg
ulations that may be established by the
said Commissioner, whereby emigrants
shall pledge the wages of their labor for
term not exceeding twelve months,to
repay the expenses of their emiglation,
shall be held to be valid in law, and
may be enforced in the courts of the
United States, or of the several States
and Territories and such adyances, II
so stipulated in the contract, and the
contract be recorded in the Recorder S
office in the county where the emigrant
shall settle, shall operate as lien upon
any land thereafter acquired, until
liquiLated by the emigrant, whether un-
der the homestead law when the title is
consummated, or on property otherwise
acquired by the emigrant but moth
ing herein contained shall be deemed to
authorize any contract contravenlng
the constitution of the United States, or
creating in any way. the relation of
slavery or servitude."
Everybody knows that swarms OF
aliens have been imported into this
country under contract since the pass
age of that act !; that they have worked
their appointed time at wages utterly
ruinous to American workingmen, and
then returned to their squalid homes in
Europe. They came with no intention
of becoming citizens of the United
States. The perpetrators of this griev
Gus outrage against American work
ingmeE find their apology in the Repub'
lican law above quoted, and which may
be Justly styled the pioneer act in legls'
lative assaults on American labor.
In the light of this law there is some
thing like grim irony in the declara-
tions on this subject found in Republl'
can platforms of late years.