Wheeling majority. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1907-192?, 1913-07-24
A WARNING TO EMIGRANTS

The Trades Council of Portland
Oregon, North America, writes as fol
lows The Panama Canal is expected
to be opened to traffic in 1914. The
Pacific Coast States of North America
are threatened, as the result of same,
With Il scat flood of artifcially Undue
sd emigration. Press reports state
that the great steamship companies
ale now securing the European coun-
tries, especially those of Southern
to settle in California, Washington,
Oregon, British Columbia, and the
Western states generally
These steamship companies are &C
tuated, of course, by the most selfish
motives. They want passengers and
profits. What becomes of the people
once they are dumped upon the Pacific
Coast States is no concern of theirs
The great corporations of the West,
always bidding for cheaper and cheap
er labor, are supporting these steam
ship companies. Vast sums of money
has been appropriated by commercial
bodies and some of the state legisla-
lures to picture the Western States in
the most alluring .colors, as a land of
milk and honey for all who might set
tie there. Now the plain truth is
that while our Western country is fer
tile and suitable for settlement of the
white race, the great combinations
are largely in control of it's resources.
There is very little opportunity for ac-
quiring land, except by men of con-
siderable means. The wages of labor,
especially of the so-caled unskilled or
common labor kind, are simply up to
the standard of bare living, just
enough to furnish energy to respond
to the fierce driving of the boss.
In skilled trades wages are some
what above. this bare level of subsis-
E-tence, but the Immigrant possessing
such skill has for some time to con-
tend with the handicap of different
method of work and often against the
inability, to understand the English
language.
Delegates from eleven Western
States will hold conference at Port
land, Oregon. on the fifth of June, to
deal with this danger of abnormal i'm
migration, a danger not only to the
working people of the Western states
of America, but also of great hardship
and suffering to the misguided immi-
grants.
At this conference steps will be
taken to emphasize that the organized
working people of these western
states freely welcome our brothers
and sisters from Europe, who, of their
own free will, and with full under
standing of conditions here, wish to
throw in their lot with ours But
steps will also be taken to expose the
representation of the steamship
companies
Our purpose of writing to you is to
sound an initial note of warning, and
to ask you to send at your earliest op-
portunity definite information as to
the methods used by the agents of the
steamship companies to secure these
Immigrants. It is rumored that tickets
by the Panama Canal route to the
Pacific Coast ports are being sold on
the installment system. Try to find
out as to the truth of this rumor and
the method of payment, if true All
other information bearing upon this
subject of immigration that you can
send US, will not only help to protect
labor of the United States of America.
but prevent great injury, to the work
ers of Europe.
The data you furnish will be used
by the conference to aid its work we
therefore ask that you kindly answer
at your earliest convenience.