The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-12-31

past quarter of century. But what ever was known before him, and what ever has been done since his day, a monument to Robert Fulton will be ap- propriate and well-deserved.
 The Rights of States to Import Labor. New Orleans Picayune.
 It was announced a day or two ago that in face of the attempt by ene- mics of Southern development to pre- vent immigrants from Europe from being brought into the Southern States. Secretary Straus, the newly appointed head Of the Department of Commerce and Labor, had decided that a ship load of immigrants should be landed in Charleston.
 It appears that there are persons, and not few of them, who are deter shall be landed at Northern ports, and chiefly New York. The numerous steamship lines that bring in foreign CTS ply to that port and enormous profits are made in the business. These people are coming Tn at the rate of a million and over year, and the busi- ness is worth from $30.000,000 to $50.- 0e0,o0O annually to the. ships that do transferred to Southern ports 1t will fall into the hands of other rarties,
 The fight was made against the Southern immigration movement upon the pretense that the narties coming here were being brought in as contract laborers contrary to law, and that they were not coming at a venture with no prospects, as 1t Is demanded should be the case. 1t was claimed that because the immigrants who re- gently landed at Charleston have como of South Carolina, that fact amounted to contract, and was iii c6ntraven- ton of the Federal law.
 Secretary Straus has but recently been appointed. and he had barely got into his office when the protest against bringing immigrants to South Carolina was lodged with him. The Secretary decided with extreme promptness and their duly qualified officials are nor subject to the anticontract labor law. It is true that the law against immi- grants who belong to the classes that are forbidden and excluded on account of individual disqualihcations holds good in all cases. but otherwise the State have alright to to send their com missioners to canvass foreign countries and to secure as many proper persons .as settlers as it will please them. 1 In the case of South .Carolinas the Legislature enacted law establish ing State Department of 1mmigra. ton under the -dirction of a commits sioner. It was made the duty of this commission to collect from farmers ana Ianu owners as 10 agricultural opportunities. terms on which farms might be leased or bought mines, forest and trucking land, and all other information that might be small sum was appropriated by the Legislature but 1t was provided that the commissioner might accept volun tary contributions from the South Carolina Immigration Association and similar bodies. The commissioner was authorized to go abroad to make nee essary arrangements with steamship companies and, if possible, to bring about the establishment of regular ser vice between Europe and Charleston
 In passing this law the Legislature was influenced by the actual necessity of securing settlers for unoccupied farm lands ond for timber reserva- tions which needed only intelligent set clement to be prosperously developed. Besides that. however, there was condition In the cotton mills whichfn- dicated that unless d new labor supply could be provided. independent alike of poor negroes and poor whites, the eX pertinent of making cotton cloth in the Southern States would have to be abandoned. ..~s
 It was shown that fully twenty per cent. of the spindles in South Carolina were idle from lack of labor alone l The other employees of the mills were l suffering because of the inability of | establishments to operate the full com- pIement of their machinery. The South ! ! memorial of the Cotton Manufacturers 1 Association, had tried in all parts of l that State. in adjoining States. and | In a distant section of the United | States to secure the necessary labor, 1 and had been unable to do so because of the extraordinary demand for labor | all over the South. As neither the mills individually nor 1 any association representing then! l could encourage immigration from abroad in any way even by advertise ments. the Legislature was asked to ! create a State Department of Immi- l grafton as the only means of relieving | the demand for labor without violat- ing the Federal law. Because 1t was pay the expense of immigrants the l association agreed to contribute fiber | ally, with the distinct understanding that when the Immigrants arrived they i should be directed to mills or farming ! countries, or elsewhere, at the dis | erection of the commissioner himself, without the slightest regard for con- | tributors to the fund.
 In all of this the State of South | Carolina acted in an entirely fair man 1 ner. The Secretary of Commerce and Labor and Commissioner General of Immigration Frank Sargent were kept posted at all times as the nrogress of l the South Carolina plan. Commissioner CT of that State. F. J. Watson. went paiZn. was remarkably successful. He succeeded in inducing the North Ger man Line Company to run ship dlrec. l to Charleston with the understanding that If the experiment were satisfac-
 tory permanent one then would be established
 He received the heartiest support of
 the Bureau of Immigration because
 under a recent amendment to the immi-
 grafton law by a special proviso
 States and Territories are allowed to
 advertise abroad, which is forbidden
 to persons and corporations. From
 this 1t was argued that a sovereign i State had a right to induce inlmigrantJ
 to come into that State. and even go
 SO far as pay their passage and lel them work it out.
 All this Louisiana or any other State
 may do and be within her rights.
 The situation Is plain. and It discIos-
 es conditions which are of the utmost 1 importance. because our State needs
 large additions of honest. industrious aud reliable white population.
 One Matter settled.
 Chicago Tribune
 'Oh. by the way. Laura" said Mir
 Ferguson. T shall not want any neck