The Portland daily press., 1897-02-01
FROM FOREIGN LANDS.
The Immigrants and the Congressmen-
Provisions of the New Law NowlPend-
ing-Home Seekers Must BeAbIe to Read
and Write.
ESPECIAL TO THE pREss.l

week has heen the immigration bill AT
present the immigration laws OF this
country shut out criminals, and such
persons as are liable to become pubic
charge; but in practical application the
present restrictions shut out very lew.
During the last session of Congress the
House passed bill, which was sent to
the Senate. The Senate amended 1T by
substituting practically Ie" bill. The
House disagreed to these amendments
and the bill went to q conference COM
mittee composed of three members of
each House. These conferees agreed upon
bill different in many particulars from
either the House or Senate bill. This
bill of the conferees was considered on
Wednesday,
To understand readily the compromises
which have been necessary in Congress
in or der to come TO an agreement, it is
worth while to examine the House bill,
the Senate bill and the bill which the
conferees made up from the two.
The House bill provided as follows:
That section one of the Act of March
third, eighteen hundred and ninety -one,
in amendment OF the immigration and
contract labor acts, be, and hereby IS,
amended by adding to. the classes of
aliens thereby excluoed from admission
to the, United States the following: ID
Ali male persons between sixteen and
sixty years of age who can not both read
and write the English language or some
other language. But no parent Of PEI
son now living in, or hereafter admitted
4 -bn be,o al toa az
OF his inability TO read. and write.
Sec. Q. That the provisions Of the Act
of March third, eighteen hundred and
ninety three, to. facilitate the enforcement
of the immigration and contract labor
laws, shall apply to the persons iAen-
toned in section one of thistact.
Sec g. That it shall be unlawful for
any alien who. resides or retains his home
in foreign country to enter the United
States. for thst purposeIof engaging in any
mechanical trade or manual labor within
the borders thereof while residing OF
retaining his home in foreign country !:
Provided, sThat the Secretary of the
treasury may permit aliens to come INTO
and enter.th country for the purpose OF
teaching new arts or industries, under
such rules and regulations rs he may
provide.
ser. A. That it shall be unlawful for
any person, partnership. company, or
cor joration knowingly to employ In any
me ehanical trade or manual labor IN the
United States any alien who resides or
retains his home in foreign country .
Provided, That the provisions Gof this
Act shall not apply to the employ ment
of sailors, deck hands, or other employees
of vessels of the United States, or rail
train hands, such as conductors, en-
ginsers, brakeMen, firemen or baggage
men, whose dutiessrequire them TO pass
over the frontier to reach the term1nl OF
their runs.
anv alien to enter the United States,
except subjects of the Dominion Of
Canada and other American countries.
except at the places where the United
states maintain an immigrant inspection
board.
Sec. 6 That any violation OF the pro-
visions of this Act shall be deemed mis-
demeanor, punishable by a nne not ex-
ceeding i've hundred dollars or by I'M
prisonment for the term of not exceeding
one year, Cor both such fine and imprison-
msnt. in the discretion of the court.
| THAT ell persons convicted under section
| three of this ACT shall be departed to the
country from whence they came.
! The Senat. struck out this House Dill
and substituted the following.
| All parsons over sixteen years or age
| who can not read and write the lang uage
of their country or some other language;
| but an admissible immigrant over such
age of sixteen years may bring In with
| him or send for his wife or parent or
| grandparents orsminor child OF grand
child notwithstanding the inability OF
such relativeato read and write az aiore-
said.
| Second. For the purpose of testing the
ability of the Immigrant to read and
write, as reouiredsby the foregoing Sec
| tioD, the inspection officers shall be fur
nisled with copies of the Constitution
of the United States, printed on num-
bered uniform pasteboard slips, each
| containing five lines of said Constitution
printed in the various languages OF the
| immigrantsiin double small plea type
| These slips shall be kept in boxes made
| for that purpose and SO constructed as TO
conceal the slips from view, each box to
contain slips Of but one language. ana
| the Immigrant may designate the IAN
| euage in which he prefers the test shall
| be made Zach immigrant shall be re-
| ouired to draw one of said slips from the
| box and read, and afterwards write out,
| in full view of the immigration officers,
| the five lines printed thereon. Each slip
| shall be returned to the box Immediately
after the test is finished, and the con-
| tents of the box shall be shaken.u by an
| inspection officar before another drawing
| Is fpau0, NU AfiE W AotsSe
and write out the slip thus drawn by
him shall be admitted, but he shall be
returned to the country from which he
came at the expense of the steamship or
railroad company which brought him., as
now provided by law. The inspection,
officers shall keep in each tox at all
times full mum Der of said printed paste
board slips, and in the case of each ex-
cluded immigrant shall keep certified
memorandum of the number Of the slip
which the said immigrant failed to read
or copy out in writing.
Sec. 2. This Act shall not apply to per-
sons arriving in the United States from.
any port or place.i i'll the island of Cuba
during the continuance Of the present
disorder there: Provided, That such per-
sons have heretofore been Inhabitants OF
| that island.
TheFconferees, Messrs. Lodge. Chandler
and Faulkner of the Senate, and Dam
ford of Ohio and Wilson, of South Caro-
lima, Of the House, threw aside both pills i
the NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. this country
All persons physically capable and