Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1886-04-14

be remedied.
Mr.. Harrison--I wish to ask the sena
tor from Texas question Does he de
sire that the bill shall be so left as tha'
farmers and stock-raisers In Texas may
go or send to Italy or Germany, or TO any
other foreign country, TO make contracts
with people there upon the advance o.
their passage money to work for them al
certain rates Of wages in Texas?
Mr.. Coke--No sir; | do not.
Mr.. Harrison--Then II the senator
from Texas does not wish to accomplish
that, his agricultural labor is left per
fectly free under the bill as 1t stands. Il
his amendment should be adopted it would
be lawful for the farmers and the stock
'raisers in Texas to send an agent abroad
and make contract there at Europear
rates OF wages, and bring the men here
under bondage to perform those con.
! tracts.
Mr.. Coke--I simply desire that our peo
| pie should be let alone in this regard,
because they need no legislation. There
has never been any complaint there by
immigrants; they all do well who come
there. There is no law there under
which the specific performance OF a con
tract for labor can be enforced. When
they get to Texas they are free in this re.
gard to comply with their contracts or
not comply with them, as they choose, IL
they have made any. An immigrant can
not land upon that soil aud breathe that
atmosphere without feeling that he is
free man. The servlle labor senator's
speak OF in the North and Esst does not
and can not exist there Homesteads are
4 too easily acquired for that. There is too
much competition among landowners,
anxious either to rent or sell The man
| with labor in his muscles is more indie
pendent there than in any other country
under the sun.
| | simply desire our people to be let
alone, not interviewed with, not Constructed
by legislation which is totally inapplica-
bic to their condition. This legislation
may be needed in the North and East. |
am willing to give gentlemen in the North
and East such remedies as they think are
needed in their country; but l ask them
to listen to me when | say TO them that
we need nothing of the sort in the counl
try that | have the honor in part to repre-
sent.
hope that the amendment that | have
offered will be adopted.
Mr.. Maxey said: Mr.. President, have
NGil AlLllc W say III duulJlOu W Wudb was
SAID by my colleague (Mr. Coke, but I
desire to call the attention of the senate
to what appears TO me to be a very i'm
portant consideration.
There canbe no question, take it, from
what hear from gentlemen much better
qualified to speak than myself, that in the
North and East there is superabun-
dance of labor which can not tlud employ.
ment; that there are, according to what
we have heard here, several hundred
thousand laborers out Of employment.
In that condition proposition is made to
prohibit the importation OF labor from
abroad under contract. The reason for
that is entirely apparent to me; but if the
bill passes, according to the first section
1T applies to every character of labor and
TO every section of the country.
Take the country west of the Mlssiss-
ippi river. There is a scarcity OF labor
there; there is nothing like so much as
we need, and the character of labor
needed there is agricultural labor. The
bill prevents making a foreign contract
for any character oflabor whatever. Now,
| let us see the practical operation of that
Take my state. We began there fiftv
years ago, and we offered head-right of
1900 acres OF land to the head of every
family who would come into Texas and
settle. Under that provision we received
a large number Of settlers from the old
states OF the Union, Texas not then being
in the Union, and large number from
Europe. As our land gave out we re-
duced the amount from 1905 acres TO the
head of family to 1880 acres, and then
to $40 acres, and then to $40 acres, until
now we have no public land left.
But what has been the effect of that pol.
icyp Fifty years ago we had in Texas
but $4,000 people; in 1870 we had little
over 100000 and in 1880 we had a popula-
ton of 1898, 600. In other words, not
withstanding what the senator from New
York has said, we nearly doubled our pop
ulation in the decade between 1870 and
1850, and we largely increased that popu-
latton by the inducement-yo NAV call it
by any name you will--which we gave to
people to come into our state and settle
by Offering them a homestead for them.
selves and their families; and, under the
laws OF Texas, that homestead, once Sc
cured, is free from debt of any kind,
character, or description. Under our
homestead laws, however pronigate the
husband may be, the wife and her chill
cren are secured in their homes; IL can
not be touched by forced sale, levy, or
execution.
As said, large portion of the popu-
lation coming to Texas came by induce
ment OF tie land which was offered to
them In the very county to which my
colleague refers, where there was a very
large Bohemian settlement, those people
came largely to get the land which thew
got by coming, and until year or two
ago, under the census of 1880, it was the
finest cotton-producug and the first
cotIon-produciug county in the state of
Texas, To-day the county in which I
i've IS the first, but that was the first cot
ton-producing county ia the state of
Texas. Under the census Of 1880 that
county produced twenty-four Thousand
two hundred and odd bales; while inc
county OF Lamar, in which / live, pro. |
ouced twenty-four thousand six hundred
and odd bales
! say what we need in Texas is popula.
tlon' On the same ratio OF population Of |
the state OF Massachusetts,, which under
the census Of 1880 was SO to the square |
mile, the state of Texas is capable Of !
sustaining population OF 80, 030, 600 neo,
pie. You may fnaka thu 40 a,,t. - ~