Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1912-12-27

| $50 lack provision o machinery
/ the enforcement the
The first amendment gave the
| secretary of the treasury the
$aeA | right to exclude such immi-
grants. and the second amend
ment. in 1888. him the
right to deport who were
discovered within year
s. IS 49, after their arrival
When the new immigration
law passed in 1907, IT
tanned broad provision shut
ting the doors OF ports
all who have induced
solicited to come by offers promises employ
hent or In consequence OF either written, printed
verbal agreements. whether express or implied 1t
must also be shown that no organization of any kind
whatsoever paid for the ticket passage OF the Inn
migrant
The law provides the admission of skilled
under contract when such labor unemployed cannot
be found here the admission of professional
people and personal and domestic servants PEN
atty Of $1,000 is imposed violation of the act
and 1t is to be applied to any organization
preparing transportation or assisting encouraging
Immigration Suit may instituted by the United
States, by any person own benefit or by the
alien affected. The issuance Of circulars adver
Hsements in foreign countries inviting immigration
renders the person organization doing so liable
the penalties of the law, and the immigrant coming
as result thereof liable to deportation An
of Columbia They may advertise their natural IN
ducements to immigration Steamship lines may
their sailing dates and tell of the facilities
they offer but may not tell of the attrsctops
United States
found to thing however. to
act law shutting contract labor and induced
immigration, and quite effec-
tive enforcement OF it. The commissioner general OF
immigration it is exceedingly difficult to secure
evidence that will convict the person organization
that plainly is surrepttiously evading the law. He
it easier find immigrant and de-
port him than to detect the that brought
him in specific violation OF the statute.
The courts have been inclined to be liberal in their
construction of the law. but betde the immigrant
WHO permits it to leak out that he has certain def
job In sight when he lands. On the other hand
it is the almost universal opinion Of the immigration
authorities that hundreds OF thousands of immigrants
better idea Of the jobs they going to get
than the allows. A still larger number get
here under direct and indirect violation OF the law
against solicitation Of immigrants.
Large employers Of labor have smooth way OF
getting around law. The prospective Immigrant
particular about having definite contract for
a job when he lands. All he cares for is reasona-
BILE assurance that there is work in sight, All the
employer do is let it be known arsE2d his
plant that needs labor and that he win give
employment to the relatives and friends or his en-
pIoyes when they come LISTERS by the
sent back to containing money for tick
relatives. and all containing the information
goodly number Of immigrants in response How can
the officials the government detece punish
violations of the spirit If not the letter Of the
Iaw7
Then there is the immigrant banker. the imni-
grant grocer. the immigrant saloon keeper and their
like They immigrants come for it
makes their business better. They touch with
steamship ticket agents A plant which
needs laborers only has to tell them and
straightway stream of letters goes Europe tell
ing Of he nd for labo
fictitious newspaper articles telling Of
ing conditions. the good wages, and the like
with these the steamship agent in European labor
centers work just about successfully
own American railroad immigration worked days
gone by although he must work surreptitiously.
OF course the people who are determined to evade
the law know its ms and outs. and they always
careful to rake their offers and promises in
vague way that they could hardly be held by the
courts to b. really offers and promises and the inn
migration commission admits that they probably
not actually violations Of the letter of the law.
The operations in behalf of emigration in south
ern and eastern Europe not carried for the
purpose of assisting the emgrant to establish home
in America to supply American employers with
labor. Rather. they simply for the Of
getting passengers for steamship lines. Nor
they DESTROYS that these people shall to the
United States to stay. They prefer the kind that
back for that two Storage fares instead
of
One OF the most effective of the promoters Of i'm
migration is the travelling labor agent. He is a
laborer himself, and frequently travels back
forth between the United States and his native
country. He is supposed to be a who likes
America well that he is making it his permanent
home, and who returns to his home country only to-
the "old folks" He tells all the natives he
meets Of the splendid opportunities In America and
draws idealistic picture of conditions here If
his auditors interested go but for fear
of the perils of the readily them that
such and such day he will be going back him.
route
When they meet he is elected the of the group
each paying him certain stipend for his serv-
ices, all the while ignorant of the fact that the
steamship company pays him a commission on each
immigrant he gets and that the agents or en-
pIoyes America will also pay him so much per
head fer his wards.