The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1924-01-29
CONGRESS- WOULD
REVIVE SERFDOM
AS ALIEN STATUS
Lineberger Bill Now
Before Congress
Ccontinued from page ID

These two provisions taken to-
gether mean that every foreign-born
worker here or who may come here
in the future will, for a period of
seven years, be under the absolute
control of the Department of Jus
tice. These foreign-born workers
will be assigned to certain industries
and cannot leave those industries
without the consent Of the Depart
ment of Justice. No scheme of indus
trial slavery could be devised which
would more effectively serve the in
terests Of the employing class of this
country. No more effective strike
breaking agency could be set up than
that which is set up under the Line
berger bill.
The bill goes even further in its
provision directed against all for
eign-born workers Those now here
and those coming to this country in
the future must immediately declare
their intention to become citizens.
They must take out their first citizen
ship papers within three years or
they will be deported. They must
satisfy a committee of the Depart
ment of Justice that they can speak
English. If at the end of a seven
year period they have not completed
their naturalization they are to be
deported.
The Lineberger law also provides
the machinery to enable the Depart
ment of Justice to keep track of all
the foreign-born workers in this coun-
try. In writing this provision Repre-
sentative Lineberger evidently in
tended to give the foreign-born work
ers something to be thankful for. for.
in a cynical way, he has provided
that during Thanksgiving week of
each year the foreign-bon workers
must report to the Department of
Justice and register.
Those who know of the attitude of
the Department of Justice toward
foreign-born workers as shown in the
1920 raids in which thousands
upon thousands of foreign born
workers were herded into prison,
starved and mistreated by the agents
of the Department of Justice, will
realize what it means to the foreign
born workers to be made the wards
of the Department of Justice for the
period of time until they become citi-
zens of the United States.
One exception is made in the Line
berger law to the rule that foreign
born workers VINO do not become citi-
zens within seven years shall be de-
ported. Representative Lineberger
provides that a foreign-born worker
who is over 65 years of age may re-
main in this country even if he does
not learn English we'll and become
citizen, with the proviso, however,
that he may remain only $50 long as
his actions are acceptable to the De-
partment Of Justice
The section of the law which ex-
tends the new rules to apply to immi-
grants to all foreign-born workers
already in this country, reads as fol-
lows: "All aliens in the jurisdiction
of the United States at the time this
act becomes effective shall comply
with the provisions of this act and all
other laws and regulations govern
ing aliens and prescribing methods
for becoming a citizen Of the United
States, and shall become subject in
every way to the penalties and pro-
visions thereto and of all other laws
upon the subject"
Threatens Whole Labor Movement.
The Lineberger law, if it is passed
by Congress, will sound the DEATH
knell of the whole organized labor
movement in this country. If the
employing class of the United States
can create an army of industrial serfs
attached to certain industries, who
must annually report to the Depart
ment Of Justice, who cannot move
from place to place but are depends
ent for their livelihood upon the in
dustries to which they are assigned,
wages can be forced down to the
starvation point, hours of labor can
be increased, organization can be pro-
hibited and the employers rule su-
preme over the lives of not only these
foreign-born workers but of the ma
tive born alike. With such an army
Of serfs it would only require an or
der from the Department Of Justice
to move them from one industry to
another in which there is a strike of
native born workers and thus break
that strike.
II would seem almost inconceivable
that such law could be seriously
proposed to the Congress Of the
United States, but that it is seriously
meant Is shown by the score Of other
laws Of similar character, all in
tending to enslave the foreign-born
workers and with them the native
born.
Congress will undoubtedly pass
some Of these laws unless there is a
mighty protest from the labor move
ment Of this country. The organize
ton Of native and foreign-born work.
ers to fight against these slave laws
is one Of the most important tasks Of
the hour
The Workers Party Of America has
the way in its call for the organiza-
ton Of Councils for the Protection
Of Foreign-Born Workers. Every
labor organization, every organiza-
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