The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1907-04-10
OPENS
The DOOR TO US
tContlnued from page one.l

This question must be answered in
affirmative. Section of the act APP
proved February 20, 1907, provides that
the following classes of aliens shall be
excluded from admission into the United
States "An idiots, imbeciles, feeble
minded persons, epileptics insane per-
sons" and a large number of other
4 categories of undesirable immigrants;
and includes among the classes of
aliens to be excluded the following:
Persons hereinafter called contract
/ laborers, who have been induced or
solicited to migrate to this country
by offers or promises of employment or
| in consequence Of agreements, oral
| written. or printed, express or implied
4 to perform labor in this country of any
] kind, skilled or unskilled;" and also
! ANY person whose ticket is paid for
with the money of another, or who is
assisted by others to come, unless it
is affirmatnvely shown that such per-
son does not belong to one of the fore
going excluded classes, and that said
ticket or passage was not paid for by
! any corporation, association, society,
municipality, or foreign government,
either directly or indirectly"
/ These provisions change the law in
two particulars: In the first place,
aliens, solicited or induced to migrate
by reasons of offers, or promises, even
when there is no contract of employ
ment will be excluded after this act
takes effect. At present, although their
/ importation is unlawful and subjects
/ the parties responsible for it to punish
ment, the aliens themselves are allow
ed to enter. Secondly, the person whose
passage money is paid by another must
! be prepared to show, not merely that he
does not come within any of the cate
gories of immigrants to be excluded,
! but also that his passage was not paid
/ by a corporation, an association, a So
ciety a municipality, or a foreign gov
ernment; and this provision against
such payment by any of the agencies
mentioned is effective whether the pay
ment be made directly or indirectly
While, therefore, the payment of the
passage money of such immigrants by
a state with it's public funds is not pro-
hibted it's payment with funds con-
tributed by any society or association
renders the immigrant liable to exclu-
sion, although the payment may De
made through the agency of the State
or it's officers, and although the immi-
grant would be otherwise entitled to
admission. The same prohibition, how
ever does not extend to the payment of
thepassage money by individuals, whe-
Their directly or through the agency of
a state; provided that their action Is
and Is satisfactorily shown to be, in
good faith individal and is not attended
by such combination or concert of ac-
ton as would make it substantially the
act of an association or society.
For the sake Of clearness only, may
here note that section 4 of the same
act is as follows:
T"hat it shall be misdemeanor tor
/
corporation in any manner whatsoever
to prepay the transportation or in any
way to assist or encourage the impor-
tation or migration of any contract Va
borer or contract laborers into the
United states, unless such contract la
borer or contract laborers are exempt
ed under the terms of the last two pro-
visos contained in section two of this
act"
/ The last provisos mentioned in Sec
ton are those relating to the importa-
ton Of skilled labor when the like can
not be found unemployed, and to GER
tain classes of aliens who are not in
cluded among those whose importation
is forbidden. These provisos are in the
same language precisely as is used in
the law of 1903. In the act of 1903 the
conduct described in section 4 is only
characterized as unlawful" while in
the act of 1907 it is made "a misde-
meanor;" this seems a matter of minor
consequence, and since, as above noted
the definition of contract laborers
given in section of the present law,
is broad enough to include the persons
whose importation is forbidden by sec
tion 4 of the law of 1908, it follows
that the same section of the act APP
proved February 20, 1907, although diff
ferent in language from section i'm
the act of 1908, is substantially the same
in meaning.
/ remain, sir, yours very respectfully
CHARLES J. BONAPARTE,
Attorney General.