Daily tobacco leaf-chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1890-1895, 1890-06-27
IMMIGRATION.
The Present Laws Not Just What
They Should BE.
Points from the Argument OF
Paul Wolff.

Means OF Keeping Out UnuesNaDA@
would-Be Citlzens-The Contract Labor
Law ms 1t Stands Goes Too Tar-~Mr.
wolfF-s Opinion Of the Germans.
WASHINGTON, June 27.--In addition
to the proposition of Mr.. Paul Wolff, OF
| The New York Staats Zeitung, before
| the Joint committee ON immigration,
that there should be an educational test
| in the law as means of restricting inn
| proper immigration, he also presented
other interesting points. The following
is an extract from his address to the
| committee;
wish to say in the beginning that the
committee has received good many pro-
tests from German societies, and suppose
from individuals, too, against any change
| in the present law These protests were
sent here, may say now, under false
| impression, We had not great confidence
| in congress doing the fair thing" This
| impression was mostly created by
the bills introduced in both houses. I
must say, now, that this idea has changed;
| that the people have become more conf
| dent in consequence of the manner in
| which the investigation has been con-
L
| what has been proposed, but will simply
| make a few suggestions in regard to what
| should be done.
| In the first place, the contract labor law
as it stands to-day, is not what it
ought to be, as far as it goes, to restrict
the immigration of undesirable people.
| This is question not of principle, but
think, of simple discretion. | believe
that we all agree that we should not adj
| nit two or three hundred laborers that
are brought over by contract TO take the
place of others in amy factory; but II a
law against such immigration excludes
for instance, the preacher of u church, as
the case was in New York, we go too far
l. am not lawyer, and | know that you
could make the law much better than
could propose; | mean in regard to the
working of it. The law should only ex-
clude those people that are brought over
here in competition or to take the places
of striking workingmen. The law to-day
admits people that are brought over to
labor in new industries. If some new in
dustry Is started you don't want to give a
man monopoly of it. Now suppose an
other man wants to start factory of the
same kind. He cannot set the workmen,
here in the United States, and conse-
quently he has to send over to Europe or
somewhere to get those men. He las to
make a contract with them.
Under the present law he would be pro-
hibited from bringing in those men, be-
cause it would be said that they are noi
employed in new industry in the United
States The regulations in the treasury
department shows that we leave too
much to the discretion Of the officers.
hs,.l, hat 1a luh Intu nTnhf
to be reconstructed, and the definition
should be more clearly made so as to de-
fine the power of the Inspector and give
him not as much discretion as he has to-
day The same is true of the laws In re-
gard to general immigration.
have here the law that was proposed
by Mr. Guenther in the last congress-the
minority report on the Ford bill. ] will
take it up because in going through It we
. will touch all the questions that are really
involved The present law provides fol-
the heexclusi ion of persons legally convicted
of felony, infamous crimes, misdemeanors,
etc. Then we come to the question OF
Anarchists and Socialists and Nihilists.
Everybody that has read Mr. kennan's
description of Russia will find that Mill
list over in Russia may be II very good citi
zen in the United States. He may not adj
vocate the use of dynamite or anything
, else He simply may be a man that wants
a constitutional government.
, t. exclude such man would certainly
} be unjust. Therefore we proposed-I had
q little TO do with this bill-to say "or a
, person seeking to change or overthrow
our political, economic or social system
by forcible means" / think IL you were
TO adopt something similar TO that 1t
1 IL, atn-s 1v N
!. come in that has good intentions; and |
know that u good many Socialists have
become very good citizens here, and have
: entirely given up their ideas; and know
the same of good many Anarchists--iD
fact, If you go down to the very founda-
tions, Socialist is only Republican who
went to the extreme, and an Anarchist IL
nothing but Democrat who went to the
extreme Laughter. A Socialist CON
Il centrates everything in the state, and an
Anarchist belives In self-government, not
even of the state or county or city, but OF
; the individual But these people, when
! they come here, change their theoretical
ideas to something more practical Then
,, there comes up the question of clause In
regard to the prepaid tickets.
In a general way--no, ] cannot say In q
general way, but speaking of my own peo-
Die here--the Germans-I think that those
Germans that come over here on prepared
tickets are the most desirable that we can
|, have. because, as Mr. Owen has found out
: in his Investigations, these people have
the money sent from their relations A
man comes over here and starts little
: grocery store on the corner somewhere.
: Well, he wants some help and he sends
over money to bring frieDds-a nephew or
: some young boy That young boy Is
: started right away. He Is no trouble to
anybody, aud in a short time viii be
come good citizen and business man
himself. So that in that respect this pro
vision should be very carefully guarded.
There is some provision now in the law
allowing these people TO come over, but
I think that II you go over that provision
carefully you will find that there is oc
. css!on TO change il. A proposition has
been made that vessels should carry over
= only q certain number Of passengers. The
general navigation law has made pro
vision for that, and these provisions
would bring down the number OF passen
! gers that vessel may carry 10 about one
half what is now allowed by law This u
simply cutting down Of the Number ol
immigrants that can De brought to the
y United States do not believe that any
body viii propose 10 eus down the number
= simply.