The Connecticut labor news., 1922-10-06
PLOT MATCHED
 TO OPEN GATES
 TO IMMIGRATION
By w. C. ROBERTS, Chairman, A. F. of L. Legislative

'.
 While millions of wage earners are idle the congressional sl<ids are be- ing greased to slide through amend ments to the immigration law that will permit the flooding of the United States with European cheap labor. The steel industry, the meat packers and a score of other big corporations that are opposed to adequate wages are behind the scheme.
 Plans for breaking down the inn migration law are cunningly devised. A bill will be presented in the House as soon as congress reassemb1es for a reduction of the three per cent law to two per cent. This is a case of the Greek bearing gifts" The idea is to stir up the opposition to the two per cent law and while the fight IS being made on that the amend ments will be slipped in to repeal the literacy test and other important pro- visions of the present act.
 The three per cent law does not expire until June 30, 1924. There fore there is no need of haste in pre- senting new bill.
 Propaganda, however, Is being sent broadcast with the one object in view to make it possible to so amend the law as to open the gates and flood the United States with immigrants as never before. This will be done by repeal of the iteracy test and the es- tablishment in it's place of an intelli gence test, which can be made as in operative as the government officials see fit.
 The Iron Age" the defender of the United States Steel Corporation, 4l, HoI tary of Labor Davis in an interview 26, and presumably in many other papers throughout the country, de- clared he was in favor of aliens being examined as to their mental, physical and other characteristics; that an annual census of the foreign born should be taken and an annual fee required of each of them.
 Representative Isaac Siegel. oi New York, who is, candidate for a federal judgeship, in an interview in newspaper which favors wide open immigration, declared his op position to reducing the three per cent law to two per cent, and around this objection he built up an imagi- nary conditoin in this country in which he stated that there was great business revival at hand and there would be a "serious shortage of 1aborers." That his interview was intended to help big business in huence congress was made evident by the insertion of his remarks in the Congressional Record at the re- quest of Representative Rossdale of New York, who is opposed to immi- grafton restriction.
 The National City Bank of New York City, which publishes pamph- let in which it seeks to guide the enemies of labor ip their methods of attack upon American standards for wage earners, says the increase bor in the steel industry was forced Johnson & Company, of Wayne, Penna., declares that unless the per centage law Is repealed there must be a further increase of from 50 cents to ST per day. Representative Johnson, of Washington, chairman of the inn migration committee, in speech in the House on September 22, de clared:
 Propaganda to break down re- strictions. and open up the flood gates has been launched by big em- ployers and importers of foreign cheap labor The drive is on and is increasing. Members of congress are being besieged with letters from fac tory districts and labor centers pie turing shortage of common labor and demanding foreign labor's inn portation in order to hold down the wages of unskil1ed workers.
 Any attempt to change the immi- grafton law before the 6Sth congress meets will be considered by Labor as a scheme to break down the law to the detriment of the American wage earners.
 THE OPEN SHOP and
 The JJnion TabeI are die.