The labor journal. [volume] (Everett, Wash.) 1909-1976, 1912-03-01
LABOR ALIVE
TO MENACE
UNIONS AND ORANGES REP
RESENTED AT TACOMA
MEETING CALLED TO DIS
CUSS PANAMA CANAL AND
IMMIGRATION.

| lMMlGKATlON.
During the convention of the Wash
ington State Federation of Labor in
| Spokane in January the executive com
mittee was invited by representatives of
the Y. NJ. C. A. of Spokane and Tacoma
| to send delegates to the first Pacific
Northwest immigration convention to be
held in Tacoma Febraury 2l-22, 1912,
and President Case designated Secretary
Taylor to represent the Federation at
the convention, held at the Y. NJ. c. A.
in Tacoma.
Nearly l20 delegates were in attend
ance from the Pacific coast states, some
coming from Los Angeles and San Fran
CISCO All sorts of organizations were
represented, commercial, religious, social
and labor. The purposes of the conven-
ton were to consider all problems that
might arise as result of the influx of
immigration consequent upon the open
1t had appeared probable before the
meeting convened that the convention
was a land boomers gathering because
one of the subjects to be discussed was
locating the coming immigrant on the
| logged off lands, but before the session
| closed whatever ambition in that direc
tion might have been cherished was
speedily punctured by some of the ad-
dresses, notably those by farmer and
labor delegates. AS was to have been
expected, the Y. M. c. A. and ministerial
delegates attending had fulsome praise
| for foreigners as prospective citizens,
particularly enthusing over the prospects
of saving souls from CONTIGUOUS and
other heather religions, but the real
transactions of the convention consisted
in an interchange of views on what to
do with such immigration as could not
be prevented from coming to the Pacific
coast after the canal opens.
Briefly, the results of two days dis
cussions were boiled down into the fol
lowing:
Congress is to be memoralized to
establish on this coast the same i'm
migration, detention and quarantine sta
tions as are now established on the At
lantic coast, and do it before 1915.
Congress is to be memoralized to en-
act amendments to the naturalization
laws requiring that no applicant for
naturalization shall be entitled to first
papers without having taken a minimum
of three months study in English Ian
guage in a night school or public school
Congress is to be memoralized to es-
tablish officers on steamships carrying
immigrants to this country who will in
vestigate immigrants before arrival as
to eligibility to entry into the country
and as to eligibility as to naturalization
and many of the delegates desired that
such officers be stationed in foreign
ports originating immigration, in con-
neculOn WlUH tHe consuldi SeiNico'
Some of the addresses were well worth
hearing, particularly that by Ellis DE
Bruler, U. S. immigration agent at Sc
attle, whose exposition of immigration
laws prevented unwise action by the
convention in more than one respect
The addresses by Hon. John p. Irish OF
California, while it breathed hostility to
organized labor, was an able exposition
of his subject, Immigration and the Co
ordination of Labor" MIR. Irish de-
scribed at length the squat labor per,
formed by Japanese in beet sugar fields
of California during hot weather, and
how the Hindu and other long legged
long backed laborers were not so salts
factory as Japanese.
Dr. Sydney Strong of the Social Ser
vice club of Seattle, urged that the bars
be not put up" while Secretary Taylor
of the Federation of Labor took the op
} posite view, urging the convention t.
4 "help put up the bars higher" as immi
D grafton of the right sort would CONF
! fast enough without solicitation, an(
immigration of the wrong sort we ough
to keep out. Fred j. Chamberlain of tn
State Grange exploded the fallacy of ex
! pecting the coming immigrant to g
upon the logged-off lands of Washing
ton, which are held at so high a pric
even the labor that is here can not oc
cupy those lands. One of the sugges
tions adopted was to memorable con
gress to enact legislation for improve
ment of loggedoff lands similar to thos
at present in effect to make arid o
semi-arid lands available for settlement
These immigration conventions are t.
be held in coast cities each year be
tween now and the opening of the cana
They viii have tremendous infuenc
on national immigration legislation, an,
it will be sad mistake if the labor or
ganizations of the Pacific coast are no
fully and actively represented in tn
conventions of the next few years, 5,
that our people may exert their influ
ence to the full upon this and all othe
movements that seek to influene
American immigration legislation.
CHARLES PERRY TAYLOR,
Secretary Federation of Labor.