Daily capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1896-1899, 1896-10-29
Another 0regonian Lie Is
Nailed.
is NOT AN ENEMY OF LABOR.
His Record Proves Him a Friend of
the Laborer.

PORTLAND, Oct. 2s.Ns(Editor Tri-
! bune) e)-The Oregonian has seen fit to
stigmatlze me as an enemy of organ
lied labor, in the hope of inducing la
boring men to vote against me as a
candidate for electOr on the Bryan
ticket. If its charge were true would
deserve to receive the vote of no labor
ing man, and | would never take
public Office as against the protest Of
organized and intelligent laboring
men. But its charges are false in ev-
cry particular. As member of the
committee to which all labor bills
were referred in the last legislature /
drafted and introduced the we'll
known house bill in the last general
assembly, to prohibit corporations per-
forming public service under fran
chise of the state from employing on
its payrolls other than American cit
izens, or those who have declared
their intention to become such.
Chinese skilled labor is more and |
more displacing American labor in
the public corporations: there is no |
justice or necessity in this. a trans
portation corporation that has fran
chise from our legislature or congress,
that carries American mails, and is
supported by the patronage of the
American people, ought to employ
citizens and keeps no aliens,
who never intend to become citizens
on its payrolls.
introduced a bill to that effect in
the last Oregon legislature. 1t got Al
votes in its passage, and before the
vote was announced Hon. John Nc
Cracken, of Portland, ,arose and stated
il this bill passed it would seriously
cripple the river steamboat companies
who employ Chinese cooks and could
not supply their places. Eleven So
called Americans then changed their
votes to defeat the bill and accOmmo-
date the corporations.
WHAT ARE THE FACTS?
have been travelling on the Colum-
bia river boats some lately and made
lnquireies as to how many employ
Chinese cooks. 1 find not over half
the boats employ Chinese cooks. The
I. j. Potter, r. R. Thompson, the
Geo.W. Shaver and Kellogg Transpor-
tation boats employ American cooks,
and are quite as well served as any.
In the city of Portland are plenty of
white and colored cooks,
men unemployed and who would be
perfectly competent to fill their
places.
How many American citizens could
secure permanent employment in a
foreign country on public corpora
tion, if these places could be as well
filed by native of that country? Not
many. Yet in our generosity we allow
our public corporations to give the
preference to aliens who never intend
20 become citizens, who do not support
homes or families, who do not sustain
church, school or state, who are not S
.ven consumers, and who send their
TO China.
1t is a fixed principale of law that
/ corporation created by law owes its
irst alleglence to its creator, and IN
his instance these corporations are ]
,he creature of the American citizen. !
While private citizen might do as 5
he pleased about employing American
n alien labor, public corporation [
ike the Southern Pacific or a river !
transportation company has no legal '
light to employ others than Ameri- !
AN citizens. ] believe that princi- !
,le should be enacted into law in /
oregon and every state in the union.
e. HoFER.