The Oskaloosa herald. (Oskaloosa, Mahaska County, Iowa) 1885-1919, 1906-08-23
MEy|CANS BARRED
FROM TEXAS SOIL
RAILROAD LABoRERs CANNOT BE
IMPORTED.
CONTRACT APPEAL LOST
Effort to Have Department construe
Law So as to Admit unskilled
Workmen from Neighborln9
Republic Proves Futile.

Washington, Aug. 1S.--An important
question respecting the importation of
labor from Mexico into the United
States for work on railroad corstruc-
ton in Texas has been determined by
the department of justice at the in
stance of the department OF COM
merce and labor. The question was
whether men employed as laborers on
ordinary railroad construction were
skilled or "unskilled," in the mean.
ing of the law. The department OF
justice, through an opinion rendered
by Acting Attorney General Charles
H. Robb, has decided that the men
are 'unskilled" laborers and that,
therefore, cannot under the law be
admitted into the country under con-
tract.
Mexicans Denied Admission.
On June 9, 1906, Doreteo Arellames,
a Mexican, applied for admission at
Ell Paso, Texas, and was debarred by
a board of special inquiry on the
ground that he was contract labor
er, and that his entry into the United
States was in violation of the immi-
grafton act approved March 1, 1903.
An appeal was taken at the instance
of ]. E. HUT, who has contract to
furnish labor to the Atchison, Topeka
G Santa Fe railroad, the Chicago,
Rock Island &c Pacific railroad. and
the Fort Worth and Denver City rail-
roads, all east of Albuquerque, N. NJ,
and George H. Mosher, who has a
similar contract for the Atchison,
Topeka & Santa Fe railroad west of
Albuquerque as far as the Pacific
coast.
On June rs, 1905, Sebastian Sotelo
was denied admission at Ell Paso by
a board of special inquiry under the
alien contract labor law. The appeal
was taken at the instance Of the Ben
Heney company, of Tucson, Ariz.,
which has a contract to furnish labor
for the Southern Pacific between Ell
Paso and San Jose on the coast line
and to Fresno on the Valley line.
Question OF Skilled Labor.
! The question involved the construc-
ton of the term Skilled labor" in Sec
ton of the immigration act of
March 3. 1903, It being contended by
the appellants that laborers ordinar-
lily employed in the construction and
maintenance of the tracks of railroads
were skilled laborers within the mean
ing 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
imported into the United States under
contract.
Admission Would NulIify Law.
Acting Attorney General Robb, in
his opinion, says: 1T is probable ex'
perience demonstrated that very few
skilled laborers were brought to this
country under the provisions of sec.
ton of the act of 1885. For this
reason when the law came to be
I amended in 1903 it was not deemed
, necessary to limit the exception to its
operation to new industries as was
the case in the original act. In other
words, congress, recognizing the vast
difference between skilled and I'M
skilled labor concluded that it might
with perfect safety permit skilled la
Dor to be imported in all cases where
labor of like kind unemployed could
not be found in this country" But
no such exception was made in favor
of the importation of unskilled labor.
Indeed, to rule otherwise would, in ef-
feet, nullify the whole law.
Should Favor Home Labor.
1.-THE act was designed and intended
for the protection and security of the
American laborer, whose welfare
every patriotic citizen is bound to pro-
mote. Laws designed for his benefit
should, if possible, be so construed as
to effectuate rather than retard the OBJ
jects for which they are enacted.
ut is certainly not for the executive
department of the government to null
lily the will of congress because de-
clining or failing to give the words OF
the act their natural and logical i'm
port. Especially is this true in case
involving the welfare of such very
large number of our. own citizens.
Moreover it does not appear that
since the enactment of this law In
1885 it has ever before been contend
ed that unskilled alien contract labor
could legally be imported.
Orders Aliens Deported.
"The determination Of the question
as to what is skilled and what is un-
skilled labor within the meaning OF
the law rests largely with you. en-
terrain no doubt, however, that 'ordin-
airy hands, commonly employed in the
construction and maintenance of
tracks of railroads, are not skilled
iaborers within the meaning Of the inn
migration act Of March 8, 1908. Hav-
ing reached the conclusion that they
are not skilled laborers, 1t follows
from what have previously said that
such laborers may not be imported
into this country under contract in