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case, exceptas herein provided, absolve the vessel, or the master or owner thereof,

from full payment of wages after the same shall have been actually earned, and

shall be no defense to a libel, suit, or action for the recovery of such wages:

Provided, That this section shall not apply to whaling-vessels: And provided

further, That it shall be lawful for any seaman to stipulate in his shipping agree-

ment for an allotment of all or any portion of the wages which he may earn to

his wife, mother, or other relative, or to an original creditor in liquidation of

any just debt for board or clothing which he may have contracted prior to

engagement, not exceeding ten dollars per month for each month of the time

usually required for the voyage for which the seaman has shipped, under

such regulations as the secretary of the treasury may prescribe, but no allot-

ment to any other person or corporation shall be lawful. And any person who

shall falsely claim such relationship to any seaman in order to obtain wages so

alloted shall, for every such offense, be punishable by a fine of not exceeding five

hundred dollars, or imprisonment not exceeding six months, at the discretion

of the court. This section shall apply as well to foreign vessels as to vessels of

the United States; and any master, owner, consignee, or agent of any foreign

vessel who has violated this section shall be liable to the same penalty that the

master, owner, or agent of a vessel of the United States would be for a similar

violation.

SECTION 11. Every vessel mentioned in section forty-five hundred and sixty-

nine of the Revised Statutes shall also be provided with a slop-chest, which shall
contain a complement of clothing for the intended voyage for each seaman em-
ployed, including boots or shoes, hats or caps, under clothing and outer cloth-
ing, oiled clothing, and everything necessary for the wear of a seaman; also a
full supply of tobacco and blankets. Any of the contents of the slop-chest
shall be sold sold, from time to time, to any or every seaman applying therefor, for
his own use, at a profit not exceeding ten per centum of the reasonable whole-
sale value of the same at the port at which the voyage commenced. And if any
such vessel is not provided, before sailing, as herein required, the owner shall be
liable to a penalty of not more than five hundred dollars. The provisions of this
section shall not apply to vessels plying between the United States and the Do-
minion of Canada, Newfoundland, the Bermuda Islands, the Bahama Islands,
the West Indies, Mexico and Central America.

TITLE 70.-Protection of employés as voters.

SECTION 5506. Every person who, by any unlawful means, hinders, delays,

prevents, or obstructs, or combines and confederates with others to hinder, de-

lay, prevent, or obstruct, any citizen from doing any act required to be done to

qualify him to vote, or from voting at any election in any state, territory, dis-

trict, county, city, parish, township, school district, municipality, or other ter-

ritorial subdivision, shall be fined not less than five hundred dollars, or be im-

prisoned not less than one month nor more than one year, or be punished by

both such fine and imprisonment.

SECTION 5507. Every person who prevents, hinders, controls, or intimidates

another from exercising, or in exercising the right of suffrage, to whom that
right is guaranteed by the fifteenth amendment to the Constitution of the United
States, by means of bribery or threats of depriving such person of employment
or occupation, or of ejecting such person from a rented house, lands, or other
property, or by threats of refusing to renew leases or contracts for labor, or by
threats of violence to himself or family, shall be punished as provided in the
preceding section.

SUPPLEMENT OF 1881.

SECTION 1. Whoever shall knowingly and wilfully bring into the United States,
or the territories thereof, any person inveigled or forcibly kidnapped in any other
country, with intent to hold such person so inveigled or kidnapped in confinement
or to any involuntary service, and whoever shall knowingly and wilfully sell, or
cause to be sold, into any condition of involuntarily servitude, any other person for
any term whatever, and every person who shall knowingly and wilfully hold to in-
voluntary service any person so sold and bought, shall be deemed guilty of a felony.
and, on conviction thereof be imprisoned for a term not exceeding five years and pay a fine not exceeding five thousand dollars.

SECTION 2. Every person who shall be accessory to any of the felonies herein declared, either before or after the fact, shall be deemed guilty of a felony, and on conviction thereof be imprisoned for a term not exceeding five years and pay a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars.

CHAPTER 246.-Skilled men only to be employed by government printer.

(Page 233.)

PARAGRAPH I. It shall be the duty of the public printer to employ no workmen not thoroughly skilled in their respective branches of industry, as shown by a trial of their skill under his direction;

ACTS OF 1884-'85.

CHAPTER 164.-Alien contract labor.

SECTION 1. From and after the passage of this act it shall be unlawful for any person, company, partnership, or corporation, in any manner whatsoever, to prepay the transportation, or in any way assist or encourage the importation or migration of any alien or aliens, any foreigner or foreigners, into the United States, its territories, or the District of Columbia, under contract or agreement, . parol or special, express or implied, made previous to the importation or migration of such alien or aliens, foreigner or foreigners, to perform labor or service of any kind in the United States, its territories, or the District of Columbia.

SECTION 2. All contracts or agreements, express or implied, parol or special, which may hereafter be made by and between any person, company, partnership, or corporation, and any foreigner or foreigners, alien or aliens, to perform labor or service or having reference to the performance of labor or service by any person in the United States, its Territories, or the District of Columbia previous to the migration or importation of the person or persons whose labor or service is contracted for into the United States, shall be utterly void and of no effect.

SECTION 3. For every violation of any of the provisions of section one of this act the person, partnership, company, or corporation violating the same, by knowingly assisting, encouraging or soliciting the migration or importation of any alien or aliens, foreigner or foreigners, into the United States, its territories, or the District of Columbia, to perform labor or service of any kind under contract or agreement, express or implied, parol or special, with such alien or aliens, foreigner or foreigners, previous to becoming residents or citizens of the United States, shall forfeit and pay for every such offense the sum of one thousand dollars, which may be sued for and recovered by the United States or by any person who shall first bring his action therefor including any such alien or foreigner who may be a party to any such contract or agreement, as debts of like amount are now recovered in the circuit courts of the United States; the proceeds to be paid into the treasury of the United States; and separate suits may be brought for each alien or foreigner being a party to such contract or agreement aforesaid. And it shall be the duty of the district attorney of the proper district to prosecute every such suit at the expense of the United States.

SECTION 4. The master of any vessel who shall knowingly bring within the United States on any such vessel, and land, or permit to be landed, from any foreign port or place, any alien laborer, mechanic, or artisan who, previous to embarkation on such vessel, had entered into contract or agreement, parol or special, express or implied, to perform labor or service in the United States, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and on conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine of not more than five hundred dollars for each and every such alien laborer, mechanic or artisan so brought as aforesaid, and may also be imprisoned for a term not exceeding six months.

SECTION 5, (as amended by chapter 551, acts of 1890-'91). Nothing in this act shall be so construed as to prevent any citizen or subject of any foreign country temporarily residing in the United States, either in private or official capacity, from engaging, under contract or otherwise, persons not residents or citizens of the United States to act as private secretaries, servants or domestics for such foreigner temporarily residing in the United States as aforesaid; nor shall this

act be so construed as to prevent any person, or persons, partnership, or corporation from engaging, under contract or agreement, skilled workman in foreign countries to perform labor in the United States in or upon any new industry not at present established in the United States: Provided. That skilled labor for that purpose can not otherwise be obtained; nor shall the provisions of this act apply to professional actors, artists, lecturers, or singers, nor to persons employed strictly as personal or domestic servants: Provided, That nothing in this act shall be construed as prohibiting any individual from assisting any member of his family to migrate from any foreign country to the United States, for the purpose of settlement here, nor to ministers of any religious denomination, nor persons belonging to any recognized profession, nor professors for colleges and seminaries.

SECTION 6, (added by chapter 220, acts of 1886-'87). The secretary of the treasury is hereby charged with the duty of executing the provisions of this act, and for that purpose he shall have power to enter into contracts with such state commission, board, or officers as may be designated for that purpose by the governor of any state to take charge of the local affairs of immigration in the ports within said state, under the rules and regulations to be prescribed by said Secretary; and it shall be the duty of such state commission, board, or officers so designated to examine into the condition of passengers arriving at the ports within such state in any ship or vessel, and for that purpose all or any of such commissioners or officers, or such other person or persons as they shall appoint, shall be authorized to go on board of and through any such ship or vessel; and if in such examination there shall be found among such passengers any person included in the prohibition in this act, they shall report the same in writing to the collector of such port, and such persons shall not be permitted to land.

SECTION 7, (added by chapter 220, acts of 1886-'87). The secretary of the treasury shall establish such regulations and rules, and issue from time to time such instructions, not inconsistent with law, as he shall deem best calculated for carrying out the provisions of this act; and he shall prescribe all forms of bonds, entries, and other papers to be used under and in the enforcement of the various provisions of this act.

SECTION 8, (added by chapter 220, acts of 1886-'87). All persons included in the prohibition in this act, upon arrival, shall be sent back to the nations to which they belong and from whence they come. The secretary of the treasury may designate the state board of charities of any state in which such board shall exist by law, or any commission in any state, or any person or persons in any state, whose duty it shall be to execute the provisions of this section and shall be entitled to reasonable compensation therefor to be fixed by regulation prescribed by the secretary of the treasury. The secretary of the treasury shall prescribe regulations for the return of the aforesaid persons to the countries from whence they came, and shall furnish instructions to the board, commission, or persons charged with the execution of the provisions of this section as to the time of procedure in respect thereto, and may change such instructions from time to time. The expense of such return of the aforesaid persons not permitted to land shall be borne by the owners of the vessels in which they came. And any vessel refusing to pay such expenses shall not thereafter be permitted to land at or clear from any port of the United States. And such expenses shall be a lien on said vessel. That the necessary expense in the execution of this act for the present fiscal year, shall be paid out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated.

[The following amendments to the above legislation were made in chapter 1210, acts of 1887-'88.]

That the act approved February twenty-third, eighteen hundred and eightyseven, entitled "An act to amend an act to prohibit the importation and immigration of foreigners and aliens under contract and agreement to perform labor in the United States, its territories, or the District of Columbia," [chapter 2205 acts of 1886-'87] be, and the same is hereby, so amended as to authorize the secretary of the treasury, in case he shall be satisfied that an immigrant has been allowed to land contrary to the prohibition of that law, to cause such immigrant within the period of one year after landing or entry, to be taken into custody and returned to the country from whence he came, at the expense of the owner of the importing vessel, or, if he entered from an adjoining country, at the expense of the person previously contracting for the services.

That the act approved February twenty-sixth, eighteen hundred and eightyfive, entitled "An act to prohibit the importation and migration of foreigners and aliens under contract or agreement to perform labor in the United States, its territories, and the District of Columbia," [chapter 164, acts of 1884-'85] be, and the same is hereby, amended so as to authorize the secretary of the treasury to pay an informer who furnishes original information that the law has been violated such a share of the penalties recovered as he may deem reasonable and just, not exceeding fifty per centum, where it appears that the recovery was had in consequence of the information thus furnished.

Payment of per diem employés for holidays.
(Page 516.)

RESOLUTION NO. 5. The employés of the navy-yard, government printing office, bureau of printing and engraving, and all other per diem employés of the government, on duty at Washington, or elsewhere in the United States, shall be allowed the following holidays, to wit: The first day of January, the twentysecond day of February, the fourth day of July, the twenty fifth day of December, and such days as may be designated by the President as days for national thanksgiving, and shall receive the same pay as on other days.

ACTS OF 1885-'86.

CHAPTER 567.-Incorporation of national trades unions.

SECTION 1. The term "national trade union," in the meaning of this act, shall signify any association of working people having two or more branches in the states or territories of the United States for the purpose of aiding its members to become more skillful and efficient workers, the promotion of their general intelligence, the elevation of their character, the regulation of their wages and their hours and conditions of labor, the protection of their individual rights in the prosecution of their trade or trades, the raising of funds for the benefit of sick, disabled, or unemployed members, or the families of deceased members, or for such other object or objects for which working people may lawfully combine, having in view their mutual protection or benefit.

SECTION 2. National trade unions shall, upon filing their articles of incorporation in the office of the recorder of the District of Columbia, become a corporation under the technical name by which said national trade union desires to be known to the trade; and shall have the right to sue and be sued, to implead and be impleaded, to grant and receive, in its corporate or technical name, property, real, personal, and mixed, and to use said property, and the proceeds and income thereof, for the objects of said corporation as in its charter defined: Provided, That each union may hold only so much real estate as may be required for the immediate purposes of its corporation.

SECTION 3. An incorporated national trade union shall have power to make and establish such constitution, rules and by-laws as it may deem proper to carry out its lawful objects, and the same to alter, amend, add to, or repeal at pleasure. SECTION 4. An incorporated national trade union shall have power to define the duties and powers of all its officers, and prescribe their mode of election and term of office, to establish branches and sub-unions in any territory of the United States.

SECTION 5. The headquarters of an incorporated national trade union shall be located in the District of Columbia.

CHAPTER 572.-Leaves of absence to employés of the government printing office.

SECTION 1. The employés of the government printing office, whether employed by the piece or otherwise, be allowed a leave of absence, with pay, not exceeding fifteen days in any one fiscal year, after the service of one year and under such regulations and at such time as the public printer may designate. Such employés as are engaged on piecework shall receive the same rate of pay for the said fifteen days' leave as will be paid to day hands: Provided, That those regularly employed on the Congressional Record shall receive leave, with pay, at the close of each session, pro rata for the time of such employment.

[The above legislation was amended by chapter 722, acts of 1887-'88 as follows] The act entitled "An act granting leave of absence to employés in the government printing office," approved June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and eightysix, be so amended as to extend the annual leave of absence therein described to thirty days in each fiscal year: Provided, That it shall be lawful to allow pro rata leave to those serving fractional parts of a year.

ACTS OF 1886-'87.

CHAPTER 213.-Labor of United States convicts-Contract system prohibited.

SECTION 1. It shall not be lawful for any officer, agent, or servant of the government of the United States to contract with any person or corporation, or permit any warden, agent, or official of any state prison, penitentiary, jail, or house of correction where criminals of the United States may be incarcerated to hire or contract out the labor of said criminals, or any part of them, who may hereafter be confined in any prison, jail, or other place of incarceration for violation of any laws of the government of the United States of America.

SECTION 2. Any person who shall offend against the provisions of this act shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and, on conviction thereof, shall be imprisoned for a term not less than one year nor more than three years, at the discretion of the court, or shall be fined not less than five hundred dollars nor more than one thousand dollars for each offense.

Payment of per diem employés for holidays.

(Page 644.)

RESOLUTION NO. 6. All per diem employés of the government, on duty at Washington or elsewhere in the United States, shall be allowed the day of each year, which is celebrated as "Memorial" or "Decoration Day" and the Fourth of July of each year, as holiday, and shall receive the same pay as on other days.

ACTS OF 1887-'88.

CHAPTER 308.-Hours of labor-Letter carriers.

SECTION 1. Hereafter eight hours shall constitute a day's work for letter carriers in cities or postal districts connected therewith, for which they shall receive the same pay as is now paid as for a day's work of a greater number of hours. If any letter carrier is employed a greater number of hours per day than eight he shall be paid extra for the same in proportion to the salary now fixed by law.

CHAPTER 389.-Department of labor.

SECTION 1. There shall be at the seat of government a department of labor, the general design and duties of which shall be to acquire and diffuse among the people of the United States useful information on subjects connected with labor, in the most general and comprehensive sense of that word, and especially upon its relation to capital, the hours of labor, the earnings of laboring men and women, and the means of promoting their material, social, intellectual, and moral prosperity.

SECTION 2. The department of labor shall be under the charge of a commissioner of labor, who shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate; he shall hold his office for four years, unless sooner removed,

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SECTION 7. The commissioner of labor, in accordance with the general design and duties referred to in section 1 of this act, is specially charged to ascertain, at as early a date as possible, and whenever industrial changes shall make it essential, the cost of producing articles at the time dutiable in the United States, in leading countries where such articles are produced, by fully specified units of production, and under a classification showing the different elements of cost, or approximate cost, of such articles of production, including the wages paid in such industries per day, week, month, or year, or by the piece; and hours employed per day: and the profits of the manufacturers and producers of such articles; and the comparative cost of living, and the kind of living. what articles are controlled by trusts, or other combinations of capital, business operations, or labor and what effect said trusts, or other combinations of capital, business operations, or labor have on production and prices. He shall also establish a system of reports by which, at intervals of not less than two years, he can report the general condition, so far as production is concerned, of the leading industries of the country. The commissioner of labor is also specially

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