The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-08-18
.LABORERS CANNOT
 BE BROUGHT OVER
Attorney General Robb Renders
 Important Decision
LABOR IS "UNSKlLLEDD
Skilled Laborers Cannot Be Admitted to the United States Under Con- tract to Compete With
 American.

Washington. August 17.-An important question respecting the importation of labor from Mexico into the United States for work on railroad construction in Texas has been determined by the department of justice at the instance of the depart ment of commerce and labor.
 The question was whether men em- ployed as laborers on railroad eonstruc- tion were skilled" or "unskilled" in the meaning of tine law. The department of justice, through an opinion rendered by Acting Attorney General Charles H. Robb, has decided that the men are "un- skilled" laborers. and that therefore they cannot under the law be admitted into the country under contract
 On June g. 1906, Doreteo Arelamb. a Mexican. applied for admission at Fl Paso and was debarred by a board of special inquiry on the ground that he was con- tract laborer, and that his entry into the United States was in violation of the n- migration act approved March l. 1903 An appeal was taken at the instance of ]. F. Hut, who has contract to furnish labor to the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe railroad, the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific railroad, and the Fort Worth and Denver City railroads, all east of Albu- | querque N. NJ. and George H. Mosher, who has similar contract for the Atchi- son, Topeka and Santa Fe railroad, west of Albuquerque, as far as the Pacific coast
 Admission Denied. On June 25. 19o5 Sebastian Sotelo was denied admission at Fl Paso by board of special inquiry under the alien contract labor law. The appeal was taken at the instance of the Ben Heney company of | Tuseon, Ariz., which has a contract to furnish labor for the Southern Pacific between Fl Paso and San Jose on the Coast Line, and to Fresno on the Valley Line.
 The question involved the construction of the term skilled labor' in section 2 of the immigration act of March 3, 1905, 1t being contended by the appellants that laborers ordinarily employed in the con struction and maintenance of tracks of l railroads were skilled laborers within the meaning of the term as used in the act, and that if labor of like kind could not be found unemployed in the United States, laborers of this class could be employed in the United States under contract.
 Acting Attorney General Robb in his opinion, says:
 Tt is probable experience demonstrated that very few skilled laborers were brought to this country under the provls- l ions of section 6 of the act o1 1885, For 1 this reason, when the law came to be amended in 1903. 1t was not deemed neces- sary to limit the exception to it's opera ton to new industries as was the case
 in the original act. In other words Con- gress recognizing the vast difference be- tween skilled and unskilled labor, con- cluded that it might with perfect safety permit skilled labor to be imported in all cases where labor of like kind un- employed could not be found in this coun- l try
 No Exception.
 But no exception was made in favor of importation of unskilled labor Indeed, to rule otherwise would in effect nulify l the whole law.
 '"rhe act was designed and intended for the protection and security of the amer ican laborer whose welfare every pa- triotic citizen is bound to promote.
 ."rhe legislation with which we are now concerned has been on the statute books in substantially its present form for more than twenty years As previously pointed