The Washington bee., 1907-03-30


thoritative source, as they are not men
who are accustomed to buying pigs in
a poke. They were able TO hold up the
immigration bill indehitely, and might
have conducted successful flibuster
against It. They would hardly have
withdrawn their opposition on the
strength of a mere rumor. 1t is possible
that interesting disclosures may be made
if the two Senators from South Caro-
lima and Georgia actually received au-
thoritative assurances that the immigra-
ton plans of their States would be sup
ported in the execution of the new law.
A few days ago two Southern men,
a Mr.. Haywood and a MrWatson, came
to Washington to get what they termed
a definite Interpretation of the law and
after a conference with the President
these Southern men talked for the press
as follows; 1--WE feel that the President
is in sympathy with what has been done
and is being done in the South. We
cannot go further in our plans for for
eign emigration until we know where
we stand. We told the president that We
did not want to nullify or secede, but we
simply wanted to know where we stood. -
We do not understand what these
Southern men meant by nullify or Sc
cede. Probably President Roosevelt
clearly understood their meaning and its
full import.
These Southern gentlemen will them
selves neither have to nullify or secede.
They have received their instructions
from the White House and gone forth
rejoicing to proceed with their plans to
assist emigration to the South and the
daily press of yesterday, March 70, in
di:ated the loop-hole provided by the
Administration.
Attorney-General Bonaparte no doubt
under instruction from the President,
has modified his first construction of
the law in a manner to provide this very
necessary loop-hole. The press dis
patches read as follows:
President Roosevelt yesterday made
public the decision of Attorney General
Bonaparte, which was rendered upon
request of the Executive, who had re-
ceived certain questions bearing upon
daily, and if is to the credit of the judge
the subject of immigration from Gov
Ansel, of South Carolina.
Briefly, the Attorney-General finds
that the State would be violating no
law if it advertised its wage scale and
inducements to prospective immigrants
abroad; provided that no contract, ex-
pressed or implied, were made; pro-
vided there is no such contract, the State
may prepay the passage of an immigrant
to its borders, if the immigrant is free
to choose his own employment when he
arrives; the State may, without liability
under the Federal law, accept cOntribu-
tiOns for the purpose of advertising its
advantages abroad, and the immigrants
who come in response to thes induce
ments will be allowed to enter, but the
parties who make the contributions to
the State for the same purpose may sub
ject themselves to prosecution. Under
the new law, the Atorney-General holds,
the status of both State and immigrant
will be different.
When this statute goes into effect on
July I all immigrants induced to mi
CRATE from their homes by reason Of in
ducements, offers, or promises, even
when no contract is made, will be ex-
cluded. In the next place, the new law
will exclude the immigrant whose pass
age is paid by any corporation, or for
eign governments; but, curiously enough,
does not prohibit a State from thus pre-
paying passage money. Neither the old
nor the new law, the Attorney-General
says, prohibits the importation of skilled
laborers when the like cannot be found
unemployed IN this country"
Now as to the investigation Of the
Child and Woman Labor conditions in
this country as passed by Congress:
"The bill provides that the investiga-
ton shall be made by the Secretary of
Commerce and Labor, which means that
the work must be done by Commissioner
Neil of the bureau of labor, who was
also in consultation with the President
zone stumbling block to the President
in the bill is that the investigation shall
be made by employees of the government
appointed under civil service laws and
regulations.
Representative Crumpacker, however,
expressed the opinion that the President
would no doubt be able to circumvent
the provisions of the law limiting the
investigation to civil service employees.
The President usually gets what he
wants. said Mr.. Crumpacker, and he
will know how to take care of this 1t
is said to be likely that the President will
issue an order for a special examination