The New York herald., 1878-11-08
Naturalization scandals.

L
| In what we have heretofore said about
the deplorable condition of the federal
| law respecting the naturalization of aliens,
| and its disgraceful execution in this city,
we endeavored to confne our remarks to
the foreign and diplomatic or national
aspect of the question. But the elections
for this year have taken place and wo can
now discuss the domestic relations of the
subject without offending the susceptible
ties of politicians or the candidates OF poll
ticians on either side.
Every legislator, whether in Washington
or Albany, and every judge in this city or
State, who will take the trouble to inform
himself of the doings of Chief Supervisor
Davenport in New York during the last few
days, and especially on election day. must
be convinced that an efficient remedy for
existing naturalization evils must be adj
ministered, and administered Immediately.
We make now no criticism on the methods
Of Mr.. Davenport.
None but citizens of the. United States
are entitled to vote in this State. Fraud
vitiates everything, and it is obvious
by fraud in which he participated, is not
such citizen as the laws of New York in
tend shall be voter. But, on the other
hand, it is also plain that one holding .
certificate of naturalization, regular on its
face, ought not to bo deprived Of his vote
by such a summary proceeding as arrest at
the polls. That is not the way to try the
;ocra Of frorl The rropriafv Of tho rrock
may, to be sure, be justified by the result
of solemn judicial investigation but if
the naturalization certificate should, on
the other hand, be proved to be honest as
well as regular, then the arrested person
will have been wrongfully deprived of that
| which cannot be returned to him-which is
his vote on that election day.
1t will be observed, by those who look
into the facts, that the naturalization GER
tifcates which excite most suspicion are
those which pretend to have been issued in
1868. That was the year in which the
greatest Frauds under the Tweed regime,
were perpetrated. Then naturalization
papers were openly sold, or issued, in the
rum shops of this and of adjoining cities.
Or, if there were proceedings in court, testi-
mony has been taken in Washington and
elsewhere to show that the judges, on GER
| tain days, examined witnesses and ordered
| judgments at the rate of one applicant and
citizen a minute. Of course there could
with such rapidity have been no proper in
| quiry into residence, or good moral char
acter. or attachment to the constitution, or
| devotion to the good order of the State by
the applicant, which the statute demands.
That was in 1868; but, if rumor speaks
correctly, naturalization frauds were
rife in 1867. We hear it said that
even now there are naturalization
lawyers or brokers who undertake to de-
liver naturalization certificates for three
dollars each without the appearance of the
applicant in court. In the election before
that of Tuesday last we have heard rumors
| of Cuban who raised himself from poverty
to affluence by furnishing applicants for
naturalization to one or the other Of the
political parties for specified sum head.
Ifa clerk of court of record is con-
| spirator with the naturalization lawyer or
| broker there is not much difficulty in blind
ing the eyes of an unsuspecting or an indo-
lent judge by false personation of an appli-
cant or his witness, or Of accomplishing
the fraud by downright forgery of the
initials Of the judge, which forgery Of ini-
tials is all that is required, since the judges
do not condescend to write their names in
full.
Now it is plain to see that the public will
not tolerate such summary steps on election
days as Mr.. Davenport has felt it his duty
to take under the law and his oath of Office.
A frequent repetition of such conduct
would breed riots at the polls which the
police might be unable to suppress. And
this might be, even though the conviction
were general that fraudulent naturalization
papers were used abundantly in registra-
tion and at the polls. What is the remedy?
Obviously two things must be done. And.
first Of all, Congress must 80 amend and
strengthen the federal law as to compel
naturalization judges to be more deliberate
and circumspect, and clerks of courts to
enter more formal judgments and to Issue
more complete certificates Politicians
must cease to deal, or rather cease to refuse
to deal, with these scandals, in panic dread
of the ''foreign vote" Thus much for the
future.
In respect to the past the matter is even
more perple1ing; for what authority shall
move to test the validity of these suspected
naturalization papers-the nation or the
State of New York Those who have been
arrested by Mr.. Davenports inspiration
can demand trial, and so raise the issue
of fraud or no fraud in their papers but
those trials will leave other naturalizations
unexamined. And there is smother very
serious difficulty in the way Of trying the
integrity of the naturalization judgment
even under the arrests made on complaint