The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1891-05-01
IMMIGRATION LAWS.

One Of the most important laws
passed by the last Congress was that
bearing upon immigration, but de-
fects have been discovered which rem
ders it difficult of enforcement in at
least two Of the most essential feat
ures. These are as to the certificates
of the medical officer and as TO the
granting Of clearances to vessels not
withstanding the fact that the steam
ship companies owning the vessels
have openly violated the law. The
new immigration act provides that the
certificate Of surgeons in the marine
hospital service shall be Of weight in
determining whether or not the immi-
grants are diseased and come within
the provisions Of the law requiring
that they shall be returned by the
steamship company which brought
them. But, according to the ruling
which has recently been made by a
Judge Of one Of the New York courts.
an assistant marine hospital surgeon
can not give that certificate: and for
that reason the cases which have
been presented by the Commits
Sioners Of Immigration have been in
several instances overruled. The
Washington correspondence OF the Chi
cage Ilter-Oceal has given the law a
careful analysis and believes that the
decision Of the Judge is entirely tech
nical. 1t is contrary TO the spirit Of
Congress, and in direct violation Of
the intention Of the trainers Of the
act. The object of those who framed
the law was to confer upon the medi-
cal officers Of the marine hospital
service the right and power TO deter
mine whether or not immigrants had
certain diseases. His certificate was
to be conclusive upon the Commits
sioners Of Immigration and was TO be
legal evidence which would authorize
their return. 1t never occurred TO
Congress TO provide whether the eX-
amining medical officer should have
one star upon his shoulder or two
stars: whether there should be two
braids Of gold about the cuff Of his
coat or three braids, whatever the in
sigma Of the rank of the medical Of
tlcers Of the marine hospital service
may be. But upon case brought by
a steamship company the court in
NoxU VorI- E,oc y7an;g7ad IN tho 4iru+ in
stance that an assistant surgeon Of
the marine hospital service can not
! perform the functions prescribed by
the immigration act and that his GER
tificate therefore is invalid. If that
/ decision is maintained in the upper
! courts it will be necessary for the ma
rine hospital service TO station full
/ surgeons at all the stations where i'm
migrants are TO be examined in order
TO have their certificates Of any eff
feet.
The other legal point as to which
the courts have ruled in sustaining
the arguments Of the steamship COM
panies, to the effect that the Commits
sioner of Immigration himself had not
under the act the power TO perform
the function of ordering immigrants
returned because his chief had not
yet been appointed Commissioner Of
Immigration. has been remedied by
Secretary Foster, who has made Mr..
! Weber, one Of the immigration Com
missiOners. an inspector under the
general provisions Of the customs law.
That Secretary Foster had authority
TO do under an existing statute, apart
from the immigration act itself.
There is one other important defect
in the law TO which the attention of
Congressman has been directed. That
is that the steamship companies have
a very great advantage in that they
now obtain a clearance Of the vessel
in which they have brought improper
immigrants to this country with full
knowledge Of the owners and Of the
master Of the vessel. That has hap
pened III several instances. In fact,
the Collector Of Customs has felt it TO
be his duty TO grant clearances to YES
sells which have brought detained inn
migrants here Notwithstanding the
absolute proof Of the improper char
acter of the immigrants. 1t is sug-
gested that the immigration auth0ri-
ties ought TO have the power TO forbid
the issuance of clearances until the
law shall have been complied with by
the steamship companies, just as the
quarantine officers can refuse TO per-
nit vessel to proceed from quaran-
tine until it shall have been thor
0ughly disinfected.