390 WESTERN HEMISPHERE IMMIGRATION

general of the Department of Labor, which goes into some detail,
and the other is from the secretary of the Harlington Chamber of
Commerce.
I have a letter from the director general of the Department of
Labor transmitting several communications related to this matter,
which we will add to our record of this hearing. The letter from the
director general is as follows [reading]:
Hon. ALBERT JOHNSON,
Chairman Immigration Committee,
House of Representatives, Washingion, D. C.
My Dear MR. Jonnson: I am inclosing herewith copies of letters received this
day from J. H. Fallin, superintendent of the San Antonio, Tex., office, and letter
from Mr. C. W. Woodman, assistant director, Fort Worth, Tex., to Mr. John T.
Floore, secretary-nfanager, chamber of commerce, Harlingen, Tex., both of which
are self-explanatory.
Perhaps these letters will impress you, as they have me, that the United States
Employment Service investigated the statement that there was a great shortage
of labor, too thoroughly to please some of the people involved in the matter.
We are developing a splendid organization in the field to take care of the farmlabor
 requirements.
Very truly yours,

Fraxcis I. Jonms, Director General.
. The Cuamrman. He incloses two long letters, which we will put
into the record. . .
(The letters referred to are here printed in full, as follows:)
DepARTMENT OF LABOR,
Unitep States EMPLOYMENT SERVICE,
San Antonio, Tex., January 28, 1930.

Mr. C. W. Woobpman,
Assistant Direclor Farm Labor Division,
United States Employment Service, Fort Worth, Tez.
Dear MR. Woopman: Arrived from the valley last night.
In making the survey, as you instructed it be made, I went directly to Harlingen
from San Atnonio, since the Harlingen Chamber of Commerce were the authors
of the call for 5,000 vegetable workers for the lower Rio Grande Valley.
I arrived there on Sunday and did nothing until Monday morning. The
first thing I did was to call on some of the packers of vegetables and fruit, who
claimed to need only a few laborers and did not seem to know where the big
labor shortage existed. Then I went to the chamber of commerce to talk with its
secretary-manager, Mr. J. T. Floore. At first Mr. Floore requested that I go
with him to call on the various packing plants in Harlingen (since the packers
are the employers of that class of labor instead of the farmers) and have them tell
me what their labor needs were. We called on all of them and possibly because
Mr. Floore was with me, the packers all claimed to be in need of labor. I asked
each packer to give me a written order for the labor they needed and that I
would help them get all the labor needed through the United States Employment
Service at San Antonio. Only one packer was willing to give me a written
order. He was Mr. Hodgis, manager of the Valley Fruit Exchange, at Harlingen.
He signed an order for 100 Mexicans. After noting quite a number of idle people
in Harlingen who are residents of that community, I called on Mayor Botts, of
Harlingen, and suggested to him that the various city governments in the valley
enact a uniform vagrancy law with teeth in it, which could be enforced quiekly
at any time a real labor shortage developed, thereby utilizing all of their local
labor before bringing in outside labor. Mayor Botts was very favorable toward
the suggestion and assured me that he would begin immediately to request the
other valley towns to join Harlingen in enacting a uniform vagrancy law.
The I went to San Benito, where Floore had claimed a part of the shortage to
exist. Not a man was needed. Then to Brownsville and Los Fresnos, and could
find no demand for labor of any kind. }
Then when I returned to Harlingen, a truck bearing 28 Mexicans from San
Antonio were waiting me. I took them out to Mr. Hodgis, of the Valley Fruit
Exchange, and he exhibited hesitancy in accepting them. I then reminded
him that I had his written order for 100. He finally accepted the people, provided
 them with quarters. and advanced them money for provisions. He then