The Irish standard., 1914-02-21
IMMIGRANTS AND TRADE UNIONS
Judge Hugo Pam of Superior Court Chicago,
Attacks Literacy Test in Bill
Test Not Standard Morality of Immigrants
Compared--Statistics on those Deported

Addressing an audience in Chicago
on the Burnett immigration Bill Judge
Pam said:
''The Burnett immigration Bill in
terests me greatly. I and mine are
deeply concerned. am of the peo-
pies that are being Disseminated
against. There is no need to hide
facts. The Burnett Bill is designed
to keep out of the country, southern
Italians, Slavs, and the Russian Jew.
"The representatives who are han
ding this bill are hiding behind the
cloak Of organized labor. But from
the discussions in the immigration
Committee it was evident that their
attitude is prompted not by the best
interests of the country ut large, but
by personal views. and also because
they represent a section Of the coun-
try that does not use immigrant la
Dor.
For all evils in the industrial world
low wages. long hours. unsanitary
working conditions, for the evils Of
social order. congestion. crime, pros
titution, for every wrong that can be
traced at least only remotely to the
immigrant. restriction of immigration
is blazOned as a panacea.
"rhe question should not be mat
ter of personal opinion. of racial and
religious prejudices. The primary
and fundamental question being: Is
the immigrant an asset or a liabilty?'
The duty of our government is first,
to protect our own people and guard
our own institutions. Then to UNFOLD
justice and humanity generally. Any
restriction of immigration not neces-
sary for the protection of our own
people and institutions is contrary to
justice and humanity and contrary to
the very ideals on which our instit,,-
tions rest. The cry is made that the
immigrants from southern and south.
eastern Europe. the Italian, the Slay
ana the Russian Jew are poverty.
stricken and of low ideals and are
ready to work for lowest wages and
establish lower working conditions
generally.
we must first of all remember that
the immigrant who now comes over
does not come to take the place q,
the skilled laborer He is of the I'M
Skilled class and comes to fiji q noei
IN our country. The German. the
irish, the Scandinavian Immigrant ha,
vacated the place that the new imm;
grant comes to fill. We will sufro
II we close off the source that is sun
plying this want Nothing is NOR,
raise than the statement that the i'm
migrant helps to lower industrial, an,
social conditions. Turn to the soutl
the most backward section of III,
country. The percentage of imm,
grants going there is the minimum
yet sec what conditions prevail there
oh'id labor is not only tolerated I'm
".a.e assemblies refuse to pass re-
strfctfon bill. Women are slave an;.
en- working hours unlimited ,aho
F, unions hardly known. In the state
""ere immigration is greatest chill
: iaDor is not tolerated. nlino,s =.
'a'r example. In the immipr,t;o
s'''es iaboring hours have been p.
"uced since 1872 in the woo,on :,
dustry alone from 50 to eo hou.,
week, to So to So hours. Among -
+ so-calIed desirable citizena f,a,
8 ,'o''"ern Europe only 10 per cent h,
.1"s 10 organized labor, while anon
? .ne ,a so'called undesirable Immigrant,
10 per cent support organized 1,ho
=" the south. IL per cent NJ oil :,
oor is child labor. In the great imm
n s'a.'on states of New York and Mo-
n sacn"setts only per cent and q ~
ce'it respectively of all labor aro M,
n st'tuted by child labor. They cal, ~
''al'ah Immigrant bird of nass.o
. ""' say for instance that after The
~ aug the subway of New Yorn 49,
- LOOK their hard-earned coin hack
n ,'a'y' Yes, 1t was declared but tbe
II ,e'' New York it's subway, wbt,
q. Americans would not have d,o
n Iney say the immigrant will II,
T., er American DOlitical ideals In cr,-
County, Penn, where citizens so
. their votes for from $1,000 to s45.,
Is on primary day, there were only
I'd aliens among a population of IA
u. natives and 80 negroes. In Adam
County, O., 1000 citizens were d
franchised for selling their votes a,
in this county there were only 1
foreign born residents.
They say that the immigrants co