The Indianapolis journal., 1899-07-27
CONTRACT LABOR LAW
INDUSTRIAL COMMISSION FINDS EVIL
DENCE OF VIOLATION.
Half of All the Cheap Foreign Labor
Goes to PennsyIvania-Faith
Wives as Immigrants.

| Industrial commission Roman Dobbler.
| chief of the board of inspectors of immgra-
| ton at large, testified that his experience
was that clerks coming to the United States
| In the second cabin with $40 or $50 were the
| first to become public charges. The witness
| prepared a table showing the comparative
arrivals of passengers in the first and Sec
ond cabins and the steerage. On such lines
as the North German Lloyd Cunard, Amer
| lean, Anchor and White Star lines the num-
| Der OF saloon passengers almost equaled
| the arrivals in the steerage. In vessels
| from Mediterranean ports, however, the
| steerage passengers greatly exceeded the
| other classes. Mormons he said. always
come on vessels of the Anchor line from
| Glasgow in the second cabin. His figures
showed that, while 20S3 passengers came
| from Italian ports in the steerage, only
| twenty-five came as cabin passengers. Mr.
| Dobbler said that many persons came in
| the second cabin In order to avoid the rigid
scrutiny at the barge office. He believed
many of the new arrivals had been coached
| as to their answers to questions put to them
| here.
| DR.. Lorenzo Ullo, legal adviser OF the
Immigra ton Bureau, said there was great
| difficulty in enforcing the laws owing to
| the many contradictions found in the stat
| utes relative to immigration. A case in
point was the law regarding criminals COM
| ing to this country. whom the law requires
| shall be returned to the nation to which
| they belong and the port from which they
| came Sometimes the criminal was an
| Oriental and came from Bremen. He
thought the law should say such persons
should simply not be permitted to land and
the steamship companies left to do with
them as they deemed best. Witness said
that in none of the immigration laws was
there an express provision for the deporta-
ton of contract laborers. The law Of 1891
did so by implication. and 1t was under this
act that the department was working.
The witness said that he favored amend
ing the law regarding contract laborers. so
to include any agreement to come here
to work, not rigidly a contract. He would
also give persons brought here by the
steamship companies contrary to the immi-
grafton laws cause of action against the
| owners of the vessel that brought them. If
| 1t is advisable" he said Ito restrict con-
| tract laborers from coming here the law
must be amended. The law as It stands
| does not restrict"
Mrs. Virginia Stuckler, the chief matron
| at the barge office, testified regarding the
| treatment Of enceinte women arriving here.
| OF 1,4n women arriving during the month
| in that condition, ffty-two were married at
| the barge office, twenty-eight were ad-
| mitted on appeal and the others were found
| to be married women. Mrs. Stuckler said
| that there was an average Of one marriage
| day at the landing bureau. Thirty-one
| women arrived who had been unfaithful to
their husbands. but except in three cases
| they were permitted to land. Mrs. Stuckler
| thought that the laws should include act
| prohibiting the landing of girls brought
! here for immoral purposes. There was no
| such prohibition In the present laws.
William Weihe, Of the Contract Labor
Bureau. who was formerly president Of the
Amalgamated Association of Iron and Steel
Workers. said that 80 per cent of all
cheap labor coming here, Slovaks. Polaks
and Russian Poles. went to Pennsylvania,
where they not only worked on railroads
and in the mines, but entered into competi-
| tion in the industrial centers in the iron and
glass works. 1T has been shown" said Mr..
| Weihe, that the companies give the prefer
ence to foreigners, even when skilled Amer
| lean workmen offer to work for the same
| wages. In 1897 a tin-plate mill at Harris
| burg brought to this country two roll tun-
ners from Wales at $35 and $50 a week. re-
spectively. We had the letters sent to these
men in which these salaries we're promised
| They were written on the company's letter
head by the manager. The men came here
and went TO work. We could not prove that
the president had authorized the manager
to hire the men and as the manager was
q hired man the company could not be
prosecuted
DR.. Egisto Rossi. chief of the Italian
bureau, at the barge office. said his bureau
was supported by the Italian government.
His government did not encourage emigra-
| tion to this country The bureau had been
| established here to regulate the padrone
system and for the purpose of keeping a
record of Italian immigrants arriving in this
country.
DO you still regard Italian immigrants in
this country as colonists?" asked Chairman
| Smythe.
I'VE consider as colonists all Italians who
have not taken out naturalization papers
and notified the Italian government that
they had renounced allegiance to King
| Humbert."
lis it true that you issued circular let
ter on April p, in which you said that
owing to the war with Spain, labor and in
dustry had ceased in this country and ad-
vised your government not to grant pass
ports to intending immigrants?'
mo, the person who gave you such in
formation did not understand my Italian
circular. Many persons were arriving from
Italy with insufficient funds and / simply
called on the government to urge on the
mayors and projects the necessity Of being
careful in issuing passports. the more so
as this country was engaged in a war and
industrial enterprises were, in a measure,
| suspended"
I'VE have been informed that certain
Italian government officials are interested
In sending contract laborers to this coun-
| try and share the profits with the pad
rone." said Major Farquhar
II don't believe 1t possible said DR..
| Rossi. II should like names and data. Amer
| lean foremen. acting for American contrac-
tors, have been employing the methods of
the padrone since we have been able TO re-
| press the operations of the latter"
| Commissioner McSweeney was called and
| examined on several minor matters and the
| commission then adjourned to meet in
| Washington in September.
| INnIICTDTnT TCUCIJC