Below we publish a shortened version of what we think is the first ever leaflet against immigration controls in this country, produced by Jewish workers in 1905 in response to the decision of the Trade Union Congress in that year to support the introduction of the Aliens Act. The leaflet was launched at a series of meetings at which Eleanor Marx was the principle speaker. As the need to give the lie to the racist filth peddled by the new Labour government, the fascists and the media grows ever stronger, it is vital that socialists arms themselves with the arguments. "We, the organised Jewish workers of England, taking into consideration the AntiAlien Resolution, and the uncomplimentary remarks of certain delegates about the Jewish workers specially, issue this leaflet, wherewith hope to convince our English fellow workers of the untruthfulness, unreasonableness, and want of logic contained in the cry against the foreign worker in general, and against the Jewish worker in particuIt is, and always has boon, the policy of the ruling classes to attribute the sufferings and miseries of the masses (which are natural consequences of class rule and class exploitation) to all sorts of causes except the real ones. The cry against the foreigner is not merely peculiar to England; it is international....
It has been proved by great political economists that a working man in a country where machinery is greatly developed produces in a day twice as many commodities as his daily wage enables him to consume. For one half, he himself is the market; for the rest (the surplus), a market must be found elsewhere Until the market is found, and the surplus sold off, the worker must remain idleunemployed.
The greater the producing power, the larger the surplus. The larger the surplus, the SUNDAY 16 JULY (15pm) No One Is Illegal open meeting (working session). Cross St Chapel, Cross Street, Central Manchester. Contact: [email protected] [email protected]. longer is the period of unemplovment. "The larger the number of the unemployed, the keener and fiercer is the competition for work. Consequently the harder are the times and the greater the sufferings of the worker.
Who, then, is to be blamed? Surely we cannot blame the foreign workingman, who is as much a victim of the industrial system as is the English workingman. Neither can we blame the machine which displaces human labour.
The only party at fault is the English working class itself, which has the power, but neither the sense nor collage, make the machines serve and benefit the whole nation, instead of leaving them an a source of profit for one class.
To punish the alien worker for the sin of the native capitalist is like the man who struck the boy because ho was not strong enough to strike his father.....
(They) claim that the immigration of workers from other countries over-gluts the labour markel, displaces English labour, and reduces the wages of the native workmen.
From this it would logically follow that the emigration of workers from the would have the effect, ... the more the immigration, the worse for a country; the more the emigration, the bettor for a country. If this is so, then how will they account for the following facts and figures?
The average annual immigration of Aliens in England according to the report of the Board of Trade for 1891-92-93 has been 24,688, whilst the average annual emigration is put down by the Dictionary of Statistics at 164,000. In face of those figures, we repeat our argument. If immigration over-gluts the market then emigration must logically relieve it.
And, seeing that the emigration is more than six times the immigration, we cannot see why England should cry out so loudly about the foreigner.
We will carry the question further, and we will prove to our English fellow workers that immigration or emigration in no way affects the condition of the workingmen or the state of the labour market.
In Germany immigration is one-tenth of the emigration In the United States it is vice versa. Still, the wages of a tailor in Germany is 15s. whilst in the United States it is 58s. What will our opponents say to this! ....
With these statistics in view we can safely say, that if the English worker has reason to be dissatisfied with his lot, let him not blame his foreign fellow working man; let him rather study the social and labour question-he will then find out where the shoe pinches.
Leaving the foreign worker in general, we will now deal with the Jewish worker in particular.
...It is alleged that we are cutting down the wages of the English worker, and no proof is given in support of such an allegation....
We have been branded... as a class of people who are behind in the labour movement, who will not be organised, and to whose hearts it is impossible to appeal.
We beg leave to ask these gentlemen whether their appeals to our hearts during the boot makers struggle with their masters did or did not find a response? If their memories fail them, we will recommend them to the Strike committee.
Did it require much appealing to our hearts in the time of the great miners' struggle to induce us to organise a committee which raised £38 16s. 4d, besides what our Unions donated from their funds?...
The gentlemen named above woule nave ne wor o believe that we are blacklegs, and that we will not be organised. True, some of us are hard to be convinced of the benefits of organisation, cut when we can point to an army of 3,000 union men in London alone, out of a total of about 10,000 Jewish working men, then we believe that we can hold up
heads either English, Scots, Irish, or Welsh.
That there are some blacklegs amongst us is nothing more than natural, you will find them among all nations.
Just as we were about to write our concluding remarks in this leaflet, we have been informed by the Press that a deputation of the organised English working men met the Government and laid before them many resolutions that were passed at the Cardiff Congress.
Of all that was asked, only one thing was granted.
It is this: that all alien exploiters, swindlers, blacklegs, drunkards, idlers of all sorts who have money are welcomed here; but that skilful, industrious, honest working men, who have either been out of work for a long time, or have been locked out by their masters for taking part in strikes and boycotts, and therefore have no money, shall be prohibited from coming here
We cannot congratulate the English working-class on this achievement.
We believe that with all its influence with its great organisations and enormous funds. with its millions of votes, and, above all, with its great intelligence it ought to have achieved something better and nobler.
In conclusion, we appeal to all right-thinking working men of England not to be misled bv some leaders who have made it their cause to engender a bitter feeling amongst the British workers agalnst the workers or orner coumunes.
Rather hearken to the voices of such leaders as will foster a feeling of international solidarity among the working people.
... So far from being the enemies of the English workers, ll is not ratner lne capitalist class (which is constantly engaged in taking trade abroad, in opening factories in China, Japan, and other countries) who is the enemy, and whether it is not rather their duty to combine against the common enemy than fight against us whose interests are identical with theirs". Signed Independent Tailors, Machinists, and Pressers' Union. United Ladies' Tailors and Mantle-Makers' Union. United Cap Makers Union. The International Bakers' Union. Independent Cabinet Makers' Association. East London Branch of the National Union of Boot and Shoe Operatives. Amalgamated Society of Tailors, Jewish Branch. Slipper Makers' Union. The International SewRound and Operative Union. Upper Machiners' Union. Cabinet Makers' Alliance, Hebrew Branch.
page 22 of the scan
Socialist