El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1912-12-14
UNDESIRABLE
IMMIGRANTS
SLIP IN
Difficult to Keep Contract
Aliens From Evading New
immigration Law.
EVIL ENCOURAGED
BY STEAMSHIP LINES


Washington, D. C, Dec. 14.-One Of
the classes of immigrants that the
/ government desires to keep out of the
! United States is made up Of laborers
( who come by contract, or who have
e their passage paid. A law prohibit
passed in 1885 and has been strength
ened by later amendments. The first
weakness was found in the lack Of
! provision. Of machinery for the en-
! fOrcement of the law The first
amendment gave the secretary of the
treasury the right to exclude such i'm
migrants, and the second amendment,
in 1888, gave him the right to deport
any who were discovered here within
a year after their arrival.
New Law Is Sweeping One.
When the new immigration law was
passed in 1907, it contained broad
provision shutting the doors of our
ports to all who have been induced
or solicited to come by offers or prom
ises of employment or in consequence
of either. written, printed. or verbal
agreements, whether express or i'm
piled. 1t must also be shown that no
organization of any kind whatsoever
paid for the ticket or passage of the
immigrant
of skilled labor under contract when
such labor unemployed cannot be
found here, and for the admission OF
professional people and personal and
is imposed for the violation of the act
and it is to be applied to any person
or organization preparing transpor-
tation or assisting or encouraging i'm
migration Suit may be Instituted by
the United States, by any person for
his own benefit, or by the alien at
fected. The issuance of circulars or
advertisements in foreign countries in
wiling immigration renders the person
or organization doing so liable TO the
penalties of the law, and the immi-
grant coming as a result thereof la
bic to deportation. An exception is
made Of the states. territories, and
the District of Columbia They may
advertise their natural Inducements
to immigration. Steamship lines may
announce their sailing dates and tell
of the facilities they offer, but may
not tell Of the attractions Of the
United States.
Z It has been found to be one thing,
however, to enact a law shutting out
contract labor and induced immigra-
ton, and quite another to secure an
effective enforcement Of 1t. The com
missioner general OF immigration says
it is exceedingly difficult to secure
evidence that will convict the person
or organization that plainly Is sur
reptitiously eTading the law
Courts Are Liberal.
The courts have been inclined to be
liberal in their construction Of the
law but woe betide the immigrant
has a certain, definite job in sight !
when he lands. a still larger num-
Der get here under direct and indi-
rect violation Of the law against soli-
citation of Immigrants.
Large employers of labor have
smooth way OF getting around the
law. The prospective immigrant is
not particular about having a def
All he cares for is a reasonable as
surance that there is work in sight !
All the employer has to do is to let
it be known around his plant that
he needs more labor and that he will
give employment to the relatives and !
friends of his employees when the come. |
Letters by the score are sent back to I
Europe, some containing money for
tickets for relatives, and all containing .
the information that job is in sight |
The next steamer brings a goodly /
number Of immigrants in response.
Then there is the immigrant bank I
er, the immigrant grocer, the fmmf- 4
grant saloon keeper, and their ike. 4
they want more immi grants to come, I
for 1t makes their business better. !
They are in touch with steamship 4
needs more labOrers only has to tell 4
them, and straightway a stream of l
letters goes to Europe telling of the 4
incessant demand for labor, and en-
closing fictitious newspaper articles /
telling of the fine living conditions,
the good wages, and the like. Armed ]
with these, the steamship agent in
European labor eenters can work just
about as successfully as our American
railroad immig ton worked in DAYS
gone by. although he must work sur
repti5Ously.
To avoid difficulty with the immi-
grafton authorities the immigrants |
who come in this way are furnished
with various and mostly fictitious
addresses, and only the leader of the
group, selected for his superior intel
haz he 1E D
consignee, who usually is an immi-
grant banker or saloon keeper
The operations in behalf of emil
grafton IN southern and eastern Eu-
rope are not carried on for the pur-
pose OF assisting the en1igrant to es-
tablish a home in America nor to sup |
ply American employers with labor.
Rather, they are simply for the pur-
pose OF getting Storage passengers
for steamship lines. Nor are they de-
sIrnus that these people shall come
to the United States to stay. They
prefer the kind that come back, for
stead of one.
The smooth Labor Agent.
one OF the most effective Of the
promoters of immigration is the trav-
ellng labor agent He is a common
labOrer himself, and frequently
travels back and forth between the
United States and his native country
be IS supposed to be 2 man who likes
---~-- 10 81 ~ 1Al N1AdL ne IS making 1t
his permanent home, and who returns
to his home country only to see the
old folks He tells ali the natives
he meets of the splendid opportuni- ]
ties in America, and draws and ideal
lstic picture of conditions here If
MS auditors are Interested and would I
go but for fear of, the perils of the !
trip, he readily assures them that on
such and such a day he will be going
back himself, and will be glad to look
liter them en- route. When they meet
lie is elected the leader Of the grour.
Zach on paying him a certain stipend
or his services, all the while ignor-
lant OF the fact that the steamship
pays him a commission on
zach immigrant he gets. and that the
abor agents or employers in America
VII also pay him so much per head
or his wards
Another method resorted to by the
oreign steamship agents lis to scatter
circulars of American land compan-
es and labor agents, to inspire tho dis Z
.ussion of immigration in the local
'apers, with a view to arousing the J
Of the potential fmmi-
rant Then there are runners c.~ agi-