176 WESTERN HEMISPHERE IMMIGRATION

could, and they would buy a lot of provisions; and then in the early
fall, when they would become a menace to us, they would be idle at
that time, and they of their own accord would move back to their
places. Why? For two reasons. About the 15th of September
they would have a fiesta, and they would come down, being attracted
by this fiesta, and then they would go back to their homes and would
remain during the time they would be idle. It was a happy solution,
and was almost providential; and they would stay and gather the
crops. They never had anything, and when they had money they
would buy clothing and shoes and provisions of all sorts.
Now, that condition was very good, until the time they began to
put the per capita restriction on immigration, and then this condition
 came. It was hard for them to pay $68 to come over, and they
would try to stay. They were told if they stayed there too long,
they would not be allowed to come back again, and thev remained
here, the larger portion’of them.
Again, since then they have had what they call the visa which they
had to have, which cost them in the neighborhood of $18. That law
was passed for the very purpose of remedying conditions that I can
not understand. We neglected to come and give you the real facts
in the case, and therefore we have gotten into this condition, which
was aggravated by those very restrictions, because when one went on
the other side, it would cost them so much, and they were afraid
they would not be allowed to come back.
Now, the Mexican citizen—not an American Mexican—would formerly
 go backwards and forwards. These conditions arose in the
central part of Texas, and part of that territory in east Texas. They
wanted the cotton pickers, and they would come into our county and
hire cotton pickers, and between sun-down and sun-up they would
be taken away from you on trucks, and a man and his wife and children
would be transported 200 miles away from us, and to our own injury;
and they took them over there under false pretenses and told them
they would be given better wages for picking cotton than we were
paying them, whereas, as a matter of fact, it was not. true; and then
they left them 200 miles away, stranded.
Mr. Box. I understand in a good many instances they would
take them some distance away, and then collect the fares. and drop
them in the thicket.
Mr. Canangs. Yes; they did outrageous things. Our people were
stolen from us and left us, left our fields without any cotton pickers;
they were stolen and taken off; and then somebody began to get some:
of them and bring them up here into these industrial centers; and then
you tried to correct that by that law which you mentioned.
Mr. Box. That is the law putting $1,000 tax for the State, and
from $300 to $500 for the county, for four of the State labor agents
operating in Texas.
Mr. Canavres. Yes; we did that for that particular reason, that it
was injuring us, and some there were abusing the law and this particular
 phase of this condition, and taking the people back over here,
and then, as the judge says, dropping them on the road.
Mr. Rutaerrorp. Are you familiar with the way the southern
sotton farmer handles his labor?
Mr. Cananes. We own a ranch of about 30,000 acres which was
transformed from a cattle ranch into a cotton farm.