Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1891-06-18
STANDARDIZATION LAWS.

| NOT great while ago the committee
on political reform OF the Union League
club of New York made report on
the now much-vexed question of immi-
grafton, and how to restrict it so as to
! exclude the undesirable classes flock
ing to this country.
The report dealt mainly with the
question of naturalization, subsidiary
one, because of the difficulty OF hitting
| on solution that would go to the mer-
its of the immigration problem, and
| point out a way by which the burden
of undesirable immigration can be
lightened, or its menace averted.
The report sets forth the sufficiency
of our present naturalization laws. il
faithfully enforced. TO accomplish a
great deal in excluding from citizen
ship all persons palpably unfit, or in
eligible therefor. If the law were en-
forced as it should be, thousands that
annually become citizens to be herded
like so many cattle at election times
by political steerers, would be ex-
cluded. and the stream. of political
sewage that circulates in each of the
centers OF population. would be greatly
lessened in volume. with correspond
ingly favorably results. The execution
of the law is in the hands of state
judges, who disregard its spirit
totally, and administer it in
the most perfunctory and careless
manner. This is true in all the states,
no one Judge feeling that he should be
Rhadamanthus and execute the law
rigidly when others were shamefully lax
in their Interpretation of it. These are
facts and conclusions famil lar to all of
us.
The report cites figures showing that
in the city of New York 10000 persons
were last year naturalized by the courts,
chiefly in the months of October and
November. At this rate, the courts
naturalized 1000 persons daily. If they
had done their duty under the law in
the examination of applicants, they
could hardly have passed upon that
many cases in twelve months, even
though they did nothing else. OF
course the task of issuing naturaliZa-
ton papers was nothing more than the
merest routine work, conducted without
any reference whatever to the deserts
Of the applicants, and having only
single purpose, to wit: the swelling of
the polling lists at the fall elections.
The committee, believing that as long
as the execution of the law should be left
to those at present charged with it the
evil would continue, proposed change
of administrators that in its opinion
would result in more faithful and
rigid execution of the law. AS the con-
ferring of citizenship in one state
makes person a citizen of the United
States and of all the states if he chooses
to reside in them, let the issuing of
certificates OF citizenship be restricted
to the Federal judges. This, it is
claimed, will insure uniformity of prac-
tice and much greater degree of re-
sponsibility than can be concentrated
in a multitude of state magistrates
scattered from ocean to ocean. 1t is q
matter of common knowledge that
Federal judges are more strict in the
methods OF practice before them than
are elective state magistrates, and that
therefore, being but little beholden to
to popular favor for their tenure of
Office, would be more exacting in their
administration of the law relative to
citizenship. Such without doubt would
be the practical result, and a great
gain to every considerable city, at
least, in the Union
HOW THEY WON THEIR WIVES.