St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1886-11-01
RECORD OF WINDOW.
He Poses as the Friend of Labor, But Was
in Reality Its Bitterest
Enemy.
BE was One of the Fathers of the Infa-
nous Law to Import Pauper
Labor,
And Use it in Direct Competition
With the Free Labor of Ameri-
can Citizens.
The Scheme Entirely Republican,
Rushed Through in spite of DEM
Ocratic Protests.
wiudom,s Uus,vorv Record.

" tuQ0Ie7S nSaVOEy kcCOrus
Ex-senator William Window, who is the
| chief campaign orator of the Republican
managers. has been preaching wherever
! he goes of the love of his party for the
| laborng men. He spouts grandiloQuently
OF throwing the broad shield of American
law over the American laborer, and says the
Republican party is the only guard between
labor and the pauper wages of Europe.
Look at his record! What he is and what
he has done in Minnesota against labor are
too well known to require repetition, but
to eternally condemn him and to drive him
forever from the stump in Minnesota it is
only necessary to say that he was one of
the fathers of that infamous act of con-
gress, legalizing the Importation, under
contract, of foreign pauper labor.
1t is a fact not generally known that the
first and only law ever passed by congress
expressly authorizing the importation of
foreigners under contract to perform labor
for stated time in place of our American
wOrkingmen was put through the two
houses when the Republicans had an over
whelming majority in each. 1t is true
also, that the record fails to disclose any
opposition to that atrocious measure on the
part of Republicans in either house. Its
champion i'll the senate was Hon. John
Sherman, of Ohio. and in the house Hon.
E. b. Washburne. of Illinois.
The bill is entitled IAN act to encourage
immigration" 1t passed both houses July
2, 1864. on q conference report signed by
Sherman and Anthony on the part of the
senate, and by Washburne and Window on
the part of the house, the Democratic con-
ferees refusing to sign, and it was approved
by the president July 4, 1864, which was
the last day of the session.
The managers of the bill exhibited hot
impstence to put it through before the close
OF that session. June 81, on motion of Mr.
Sherman, ''all prior orders" of the senate
were postponed. and the bill was taken up
and passed. 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 Thad. Stevens had moved to go into
committee of the whole on one of the great
appropriation bills, but withdrew his mo-
ton on Washburne's earnest appeal, and
the pauper, alien, contract labor bill was
passed without word of manly opposition
from the Republican side, the Democrats
being so few in that house that they could
lot enforce the demand of MIR. Pendleton,
OF Ohio, for call of the yeas and nays.
The bill itself, aside from the outrage it
proposed to intiict upon American work
ngmen in putting their labor in cOmpeti.-
ton with that of imported aliens, is a prime
curiosity. AS it appears in the statutes at
large, section l authorizes the president to
appoint commissioner of immigration.
subject to the direction Of the department
of state. at salary of 81, 500, with three
clerks. ETC. The remaining sections, ex-
| cepting section ., provide for a United
States emigrant office in New York city,
with one commissioner. who is authorized
to make contracts with railroad companies,
etc, to carry imported wOrkmen to their
destination; for eXempting such alien labor
ers from military service; apprOpliates $685.
900 for carrying the law into effect, and
specifies the number of clerks to be EN-
ployed, salaries, tenure of Office. etc. The
sting Is in section 2, which is in the follow
ing words:
All contracts that shall be made by emf
grants 10 the United States in foreign coun-
tries, in conformity to regulations that may
De established by the said commissioner,
whereby immigrants shall pledge the wages of
their labor for a term not exceeding twelve
months to repay the expenses of their immi
grafton, shall be held to be valid in law, and
States or OF the several states and territories.
and such advances, if so stipulated III the con-
tract, and the contract be recorded in the
registers office IN the county where the imm-
grant shall settle, shall operate as lien upon
any land thereafter acquired, until liquidated
by the immigrant, whether under the home
stead law when the title is consumated, or on
property otherwise acquired by the immigrant:
but nothing herein contained shall be deemed
to authorize any contract contravening the
constitution OF the United States, or creating
in any way the relation of slavery or servi-
tude.
Everybody knows that swarms of aliens
have been imported into this country under
contract since the passage of that act; that
they have worked their appointed time at
wages utterly runouS to American work
men and then returned to their squalid
homes III Europe. They came with no III
tentlon OF becoming citizens of the United
States. The perpetrators OF this grievOus
outrage against American wOrkmen find
their apology i'll the Republican law above
quoted, and which may be justly styled
the pioneer act i'll legislative assaults on
American labor.
W lliam Window poses as the friend OF
labor, yet there is his record. Nothing
more is required to show the utter hypoc
risy of himself or the party and candidate
lie represents. Ii is only necessary 10 Say
the outrageous law was repealed by bill
introduced by Democrat, Martin FOran,
of Ohio.