Show PENNSYLVANIAS ALIEN LABOR LAW Last Thursday Pennsylvanias law imposing a tax af three cents a day on alien laborers In the state went into effect In Its preamble the purpose of the law Is declared to be to protect citizen laborers of America against the competition of citizens of other I countries Onehalf of the tax Is to be I used for school purposes and the other I half for defraying the general expenses I of county government The lawjs said to have been carefully framed tIt oUh t-It is expected that its constitutionality 1 will be attacked Ifi1s and the at tack is successful the law may be adopted by other states One conss quence may be to cause aliens to takeout take-out citizenship papers If it does it will have a bad effect for it will be the cause of bringing into the electorate a large and mostly undesirable class The Philadelphia Times commenting upon the law says It Is entirely proper that the proceeds of this ta < < should go into the treasury of the county in which it is collected A number of counties in the state have been compelled to suffer oppressive burdens in maintaining schools for the children of naturalized residents and the costs of the criminal courts have been doubled or quadrupled by the lawless foreign element while Increased costs have also been put upon the county coun-ty to sustain their almshouses and prisons < by this allen element that is prone to lawlessness Even with this tax imposed the people of the counties who pay the cost of local government i will not be compensated for the additional 1 tlonal expense put upon them by the class that must pay this tax The constitutionality of this law will doubtless be contested in the courts as i If maintained It must work quite aj J i revolution in labor circles In many sections sec-tions of the state Upon what ground It could be accused of unconstitutionalIty unconstitution-alIty we cannnt r ftnr oitn Tt I c tie ly equitable ii Is entirely i just as far as It goes but even when most strictly enforced it cannot fully compensate the honest American i taxpayers who are given some measure of relief by the new law It Is no discrimination against citizens and It Is certainly within the power of the state to impose im-pose upon any alien element that largely increases the taxes of the people peo-ple such taxes as will afford at least a measure of compensation for the additional ad-ditional exactions put upon lawabiding and taxpaying people Pennsylvanias experiment In dealing with the problem of alien labor in competition com-petition with American labor and all in the United States will be watched with much interest |