Douglas daily dispatch., 1927-10-12
FEDERATION OF
LABOR RATIFIES
MEXICAN PACT.

American Federation Of Labor late
today ratified an agreement of it's
executive council with the Mexican
Federation of Labor involving Mexican
immigration restriction only after the
! full force Of the federation admins
tration was thrown in to break what
( threatened to become. a. deadlock.
The agreement. reached at Wash
! ington last August 6, provided that
the labor organization of Mexico would
petition its government to enact laws
/ relating to emigration which would
conform to American immigration
regulations.
California and Arizona delegates to
the convention, backed up by a Penn
sylvania spokesman for the United
Mine Workers of America fought to
| the hour of adjournment to defeat the
committees favorable report and put
the convention on record as favoring
the placing Of Mexico under the quota
| law.
| The issue involved, administration
Spokesman said, grave international
I angles in that Canada and all South
American countries would necessarily
/ have to be put under the quota law II
that action was taken against Mexico.
| The prolonged debate, apparently
taking convention officials by surprise,
was precipitated when State Senator
Daniel C. Murphy of California halt
ed a vote on the committee report by
asking that his own resolution, with
its Mexican quota resolve, be consld-
cred before the delegates voted thelr
views into the record.
When Matthew Vol, Of Chicago, VINO
! headed the American delegates at the
labor conference out of which the
agreement sprung, stated that Muir
phys resolution could not be consld-
i cred in connection with the report on
the councils findings because the for
rner had been acted upon uatavoraDle,
| the. California senator asked permls-
sion to address the convention
He painted a picture of a horde OF
Mexicans crossing the line into Call
I fornia. He declared living standards
were being lowered by the influx OF
potentially cheap labor. In one year,
he said, 67,721 Mexicans legally mao
! entered the country, not to speak OF
those who had come across the border
i surreptitiously.
VOL, in an impassioned plea 10
the delegates, asked support OF tne
committee report that the tederaUlon
might not be accused OF bad talth
He said he fully agreed with the
sentiment of California regarding the
influx Of Mexicans but that the prob
lem involved delicate international
phases.
i The Canadian situation was no dit
/ ferent than that of the Mexican.
Limit one country and the other also
would have to be limited.
California's labor representation was
prepared to battle to the last, how
ever and Paul Scharrenburg, of San
Francisco, secretary of the California
State Federation Of Labor, took the
platform to discuss the international
phase.
He cited the gentleman's agreement
with Japan, which, he declared, had
been in effect IL years. During that
speriod he estimated that 100000
japanese had "overrun the Pacific
coast
1 eff Japan cannot keep such an
agreement to limit immigration" he
demanded, chow can Mexico do it
when business and industrial interests
Of southern California are throwing
fishhooks across the line and saying
Come on in: the waters fine?'"
Then Arizona took hand. Henry
/ S. NGcCluskey, whose presence at the
{, convention was taken to mean a
battle against adoption of a resolu-
ton fayoring the Colorado river
Boulder canyon dam project, rose to
present a picture of cheap Mexican
labor competition in Arizona. Nc
Cluskey is chairman of the Arizona
Colorado river commission.
Referring to "a recommendation in
the councils report that attempts be
made 10 organize Mexicans, McClus-
key declared, 1--WE cannot organize
Mexican laborers."
t'We are in thorough sympathy with
CALIFORNIA; resolution to place Mexico
under the quota law" he said. every
stale on the Mexican border will
support it and demand that the edu-
cational tests, now supposed to be
effective, be enforced"
1.-THE present revolution in Mexico, .
he added, will result in thousands
Of Mexicans crossing the border. The
situation along the line, however, is
a condition, not a theory. I do not
believe that the agreement reached
with the Mexican Federation of
Labor will fulfill the need of the
times"
Victor Olander, chairman of the
resolutions committee, added his voice
in favor Of the administration and
declared the federation could not
. afford to lay itself open to accusa-
lions that it repudiated an agree
,nent. 1t was test of the wisdom
of the convention, he said
4 Sound APPLAUSE had been given each
speaker opposing the adoption of the
committee report and at this point
President William Green, whose Wig
orous speeches have been outstanding
points of interest in the convention,
made a plea for ratification of the
agreement. He promised the dele
h gates that if the measures put ten
tatiyely into effect we're found want
ing, he would go to congress and ask