of the subject in view, together with other causes, when he stated that "the national example will be more puissant than army and navy for the conquest of the world."

JAPANESE AND KOREAN LABORERS.

By the last proviso to section 1 of the new immigration act the President was authorized to refuse admission to any aliens making use of passports limited to the insular possessions or to foreign territory contiguous to continental United States to gain admission to such continental territory of the United States to the detriment of labor conditions therein. The President, by his proclamation of March 14, 1907, availed himself of this law to direct the exclusion from the mainland of Japanese and Korean laborers holding such passports. This was followed by a general understanding between the Governments of the United States and Japan, in accordance with which the latter Government is continuing its policy of discouraging the migration of its laborers to this country.

The statistics show that in June, 1907, a total of 2,208 Japanese were admitted (1,134 to the continent and 1,074 to Hawaii), and that in June, 1908, only 781 Japanese were admitted (446 to the mainland and 335 to Hawaii). Of the 446 admitted to the mainland, 263 were engaged in nonlaboring pursuits and only 183 in laboring occupations. As a further illustration of the gradual but sure reduction accomplished, it might be noted that in the first month of the past fiscal year 1,158 Japanese were admitted to continental United States; in January, 1908, only 495 were admitted, and in June, as already stated, only 446. During the entire year, 9,544 Japanese were admitted to continental United States, of whom 5,503, or over half, were nonlaborers; during the same period, 5,718 Japanese departed from continental United States; so that the net increase in the Japanese population was only 3,826.

The understanding with Japan, in accordance with which the two Governments are cooperating to enforce the law and the President's proclamation, contemplates that the Japanese Government shall issue passports to continental United States only to such of its subjects as are nonlaborers or are laborers who, in coming to the continent, seek to resume a formerly acquired domicile, to join a parent, wife, or children residing there, or to assume active control of an already possessed interest in a farming enterprise in this country. How well this understanding is already working is illustrated by the figures for the last month of the fiscal year 1908. During said month, 485 Japanese applied for admission to the continent, of whom 446 were admitted and 39 debarred. Of this total, 462 were, and 23 were not, in possession of proper passports. Of the 462 holding proper passports, 406

were found on examination to belong to the classes entitled thereto. These 406 consisted of 146 former residents, 179 parents, wives, or children of residents, and 81 new arrivals who were nonlaborers. The remaining 56 in possession of passports were found on examination to be neither former-resident laborers, nor parents, wives, or children of former residents, nor settled agriculturists.

CONTRACT LABORERS.

This subject has engaged my personal attention extensively during the past year; for I feel that the laboring men of the country have a right to demand that the Department of Commerce and Labor shall exercise its utmost vigilance and care to detect violations and to enforce the laws regarding alien contract labor, which were passed especially for their protection. The act which became operative on the first of the year is a great improvement over previous legislation upon this subject. It has codified and made much more definite the provisions of prior laws and has removed all doubt as to the excludability of aliens who are induced or solicited to migrate to this country by offers or promises of employment or in consequence of agreements, oral, written, or printed, express or implied, to perform labor in this country of any kind, skilled or unskilled, and also all doubt as to the penal culpability of individuals or corporations that encourage such migration. Moreover, it has established a new class of excludable persons, which class frequently includes aliens coming to this country contrary to the spirit of the law as it was previously enacted, by placing upon those whose passage is paid by others the burden of showing not only that they do not belong to one of the excluded classes, including contract laborers, but also that their "passage was not paid for by any corporation, association, society, municipality, or foreign government, either directly or indirectly."

Much greater success has attended the Department's efforts to enforce the alien contract labor law during the past year than in any preceding year. One reason is the increased scope of the law already mentioned; another, the fact that the last act authorized the appointment of special officers to conduct investigations for this purpose; and a third, the fact that industrial conditions have been such as to make it less difficult to obtain evidence of violations than it was during a period when not only all domestic labor but all labor that could be brought to this country was steadily employed.

The greatest violators of the contract labor laws are the American manufacturers, who, as a rule, do not act directly, but indirectly through agents and subagents. It is very difficult to secure evidence in such a form as will be sufficient in detail to enable suit to be

brought under the penal provisions of the act, though from an administrative point of view the circumstances are often sufficiently convincing that the law has been surreptitiously evaded In practice it is less difficult to secure the evidence upon which deportation proceedings can be instituted against the laborers who have been imported.

Labor unions themselves have at times been found among the violators of the law. Early in February last information reached the Department to the effect that, as a result of a disagreement between two rival organizations of glassworkers, an effort was being made by the president of one of the organizations to bring into the United States several hundred cutters and flatteners, to be furnished under an agreement between him and the president of the Belgium Glass Workers' Union.

Shortly thereafter there arrived at Ellis Island a party of fifteen, who, on being examined by a board of special inquiry, were rejected as contract laborers. Evidence adduced at these hearings, with that already before the Department, justified the institution of a further investigation, with the object of determining who was responsible for this attempted violation of the law.

The report of the officers detailed on such investigation shows that at least three glassworker organizations, including the two already mentioned, were connected to some extent with the matter. It was clearly shown that the aliens were being brought to the United States in pursuance of some distinct understanding for employment here, of which they had been made aware through the columns of a newspaper published in Charleroi, Belgium, by the president of the Belgium Glass Workers' Union, and their deportation was accordingly ordered.

During the year, 1,932 contract laborers were rejected at United States ports and returned to their countries of origin, an increase of 34 per cent over the rejections for the year 1907, notwithstanding a falling off of 39 per cent in immigration. In addition, there have been arrested within the United States and deported therefrom 240 aliens found here in violation of the alien contract labor laws. Thus it will be seen that a total of 2,172 contract laborers have been removed from the country.

The enforcement of the law has not been restricted, however, to dealing with the aliens themselves, but every effort has been made to mete out appropriate punishment to the individuals and corporations found violating the law. About 30 instances of this kind have arisen during the year, and the matter is of such importance that I deem it appropriate to mention a few of the more prominent cases and the results attained with the assistance of the Department of Justice and the local United States attorneys,

The Allis-Chalmers Company, a large corporation of Chicago, having direct business connections with houses bearing similar names in England and Canada, brought to the United States four English iron molders. These skilled laborers were apprehended and were deported after being used as witnesses against the company. A conviction was obtained in the district court at Chicago and the maximum fine of $4,000 imposed, which decision was sustained when the case was appealed by the company to the circuit court of appeals.

The Duquesne Mining and Reduction Company, a mining corporation of Tucson, Ariz., arranged for the importation from Mexico of a party of miners. The aliens were apprehended and deported, and every effort was made to obtain from them the evidence necessary to a conviction of the company. After carefully considering such evidence as was secured, the case was settled by compromise, the corporation pleading guilty to one of the counts of the complaint and paying a fine of $1,000 and costs in the amount of $1,500.

The Arizona Copper Company case also arose on the Mexican border. The corporation is a branch of an Edinburgh establishment, and it was shown that in at least several specific instances employees had been sent out from Edinburgh to attend to the company's business in Arizona. This case was also compromised, the company being required to pay $2,000 on account of the two aliens against whom the limit of the law had not run, and who were actually deported.

The Tsokas Brothers case was that of two Bulgarians who were shown to have brought to this country a large number of Bulgarian and Macedonian laborers under a system violating the spirit of the contract labor laws and involving an outrageous exploitation of the aliens themselves. The prosecution was brought in New York City and one of the brothers, the one really responsible for the violation of law, was convicted of conspiracy and sentenced to eight months' imprisonment. As many as 87 aliens were apprehended and deported. The Steelton case was another of similar character, in which a large number of aliens were apprehended and, after hearing, deported on the ground that their migration had been induced by offers and promises of employment. Unfortunately, however, in this case it was not possible to secure evidence sufficiently definite in a court of law to place the responsibility for the numerous violations of law, and therefore no prosecution was brought.

Other cases in which similar action has been taken might be described, but the foregoing are sufficient to illustrate the scope of the Department's endeavors and the general success which has attended them.

One respect in which even the amended law does not produce satisfactory results consists of the fact that the exception made in favor 67044-C & L 1908-2

of States and Territories advertising the facilities and inducements they offer to immigration is neither broad nor specific enough to accomplish its apparent object. Taking the exception literally, it does not seem to contemplate more than that States should be allowed to place in foreign newspapers and magazines advertisements describing in general terms the opportunities for settlers and wage-earners within their limits; and the Attorney-General has held that an alien is inadmissible if the representative of a State induces his migration by holding out to him individually a promise of employment. As I said on this subject in my report for 1907, the law should state clearly, in terms incapable of misconception, and not leave to the uncertainties of deductive reasoning, the exact intent of the legislature, not only as to the exception in favor of States advertising their inducements, but also concerning the extent to which a State may proceed and the methods which it may adopt to make its advertisements productive of an increase in population by securing alien settlers. The law could be materially improved, also, by amending section 5, which attaches a penalty of $1,000, to be recovered in an action of debt, for the importation of a contract laborer, so as to make it discretionary with the court whether the punishment shall be by fine or by imprisonment. In many instances aliens are imported under promise of employment by parties who are not so situated financially as to make it possible to recover a penalty of $1,000; this is particularly true in the cases of padrones, who bring in boys for employment in bootblacking establishments, restaurants, etc.

MORALLY UNFIT ALIENS.

Under the law aliens who have been guilty of crimes or misdemeanors, who are believers in anarchy, or who are prostitutes, procurers of prostitutes, or persons otherwise similarly immoral, are inadmissible to this country. This subject is one of great importance and has received special attention during the past year. The duty of detecting and excluding all such aliens has been constantly impressed upon the immigration officials stationed at the seaports and along the land boundaries, and special efforts have been directed toward the cooperation of immigration officers with municipal officials in apprehending and deporting aliens of this class who have entered the country contrary to law. A large measure of success has attended these efforts. Numerous prosecutions have been brought against procurers and keepers of houses of ill-fame, and convictions have been had in 14 cases, 4 of which resulted in imprisonment for one year, four years, four and one-half years, and five years, respectively, and 10 in imprisonment ranging in duration from six months to eighteen months, and fines ranging from $50 to $1,000,