St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1911-08-16

provides for the exclusion from the
United States of persons who are
not eligible to become citizens of the
United States by naturalization. :
Government officials, travellers, and
those who may be counted as be-
longing to the learned profession
are not included in the clause. As
check to illiteracy the bill pro-
vides that .'all male aliens sixteen
years of age or over, who are physi-
cally capable of reading and writing,
but unable to read and write in
some language or dialect" be ex-
cluded, but an alien may bring in
his father or grandfather over So
years of age, or son not over 1S
years of age, whether such persons
vides that Asiatic immigrants shall
be given the same legal status ac-
corded to all other immigrants.
The only portion of the various
Chinese exclusion laws not repealed
is that section of the act of 1882
which provides that no State or
Federal court shall admit Chinese
to citizenship. The bill penalties
any steamship company that brings
to the United States any illiterate
alien of the class mentioned, or any
alien not eligible to naturalization.
The contract labor provision of
the immigration law is retained
practically in it's present form, but
to the excluded classes persons who
have come in consequence of adver-
tisements for manual laborers pub
lished in a foreign country are adj
ded. There is provision for the
criminal prosecution of corporations,
companies or persons who solicit or
assist in the Importation of contract
laborerS.
The provision of the present law
which permits the importation of
skilled labor if labor of like kind
country, is amended so as to permit
the Secretary of Commerce and
Labor to determine the necessity
for such importations prior to its
accomplishment. A fine of $500 is
imposed by the bill for encouraging
or soliciting alien immigration. As
further punishment the President
is authorized to prohibit the landing
Of passengers at United States ports
by steamship companies violating
this provision.
Authority is given for the depor-
tation of immigrants imprisoned for
crime within five years after arrival
and of those who become a public
charge within three years of land
ing. Immigrant stations at inter-
ior points are provided for as a
means of inspiring better distri-
button of Immigrants.
The Montpelier Journal says of
the bill:
Apparently this change as it re-
lates to the Chinese is not so sweep
ing as might appear at first glance,
as the greater part of the Chinese
immigration consists of manual Ia
borers, who are not eligible to citi-
zenship. The hostility to the adj
mission of Chinese has been very
great, particularly on the Pacific
coast, on the ground that they I'M
derbid American labor, being will
laborers could not and ought not to
initiate.
The law, however, has been very
harsh in it's application to the edu-
Gated Chinese, and it is to be hoped
that the removal Of unjust discrim-
nations against this more desirable
class may be removed. 1t is at least
an open question whether the Chin
csc laborers are any more undesir-
able than some other classes of i'm
migrants hitherto admitted, but
one wrong does not justify another.
Senator Dillingham's long study of
the subject of immigration fits him
admirably for the preparation of
measure likely to be of great bene-
fit to the country if it is enacted
into law. - Hardwick Gazette.