The great West. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1889-18??, 1893-04-28
THE NEW IMMIcRATloN BILL.
/ what 1t Provides-The Bill Ii an Inn
| provement on the Existing Law.


ident Harrison was the senate bill to
facilitate the enforcement OF the i'm
migration and contract labor laws OF
the United States. This was the bill
introduced by Mr.. Chandler and
passed by the senate nearly one
month before. 1t did not meet fully
Mr.. Chandler's views on the subject.
but he pushed the bill as much as
possible in order to get it to the
house at once, with q view of secur-
ing action in conference committee
But Mr.. Stump, the chairman of the
house committee, acted in peculiar
way and prevented the bill from be-
ing changed in any shape as it passed
the senate: Amendments were re-
ported by the house committee and
the bill was placed on the house cal
endar. Without asking any vote on
these amendments, Mr.. Stump had
the bill recommitted and struck the
amendments out. He then called the
bill up at a late hour one night and
attempted to pass it under suspen-
sion OF the rules. He failed, as there
did not happen to be quorum pres
ent, but he was able to get the bill
up again the following night, and it
passed the house and was signed
next day by the president There
was no opportunity to amend it, aud
Mr.. Dingley and other friends of
proper immigration laws complained
that there had been what seemed
like sharp practice.
The new law provides for the list
ing of each immigrant by the master
of the vessel. That is, each vessel
coming into port must deliver to the
proper inspector of immigration a
list of the immigrants on board the
vessel, giving name, age and sex,
calling and reputation, whether able
to read Or write, the last residence,
final destination, whether having any
ticket through to such destination
and various other particulars, all of
which have to be filled in the port of
embarkation. Then there are vari-
Gus arrangements for dividing the
immigrants into groups and a require
ment to be certified before United
States consul at the port of depar-
ture that the surgeon of the vessel has
made personal physical examine
ton OF each of said passengers and a
certificate from said surgeon that no
one of the passengers is an idiot or
insane person, or a pauper, or likely
to become public charge, or suffer-
ing from a loathsome Or contagious
disease, or has been convicted of an
infamous crime, Or is polygamist,
and SO on. The surgeon who does
all this has to be a qualified man,
and has to swear before the United
States consul that he has made the
examination himself and to the best
of his knowledge and belief the re-
port is full and correct in all partic-
ulars. There is penalty of $40 for
each Immigrant who is not certified
in this way by the officers of the ship.
Another section provides that it
shall be the duty of every inspector
of arriving alien immigrants to de-
tain for special inquiry every per-
son who may not appear to him to
be clearly and beyond doubt entitled
to admission. Such immigrants can
not then be admitted except after a
favorable decision made by at least
three out of four inspectors assigned
for that purpose, and any decision to
admit shall be subject to appeal
by any dissenting Inspector to the
superintendent of immigration, whose
action shall be subject to review by
the secretary Of the treasury. This
action will put an end to the one-man
power under which the superinten-
dent of immigration at New York has
overruled all of his subordinates and
decided all questions of this kind to
suit himself.
Another section of the bill provides
that no bond or guarantee, written or
oral, that an alien immigrant shall
not become public charge shall be
received from any person, company,
corporation or association, unless
authority to receive the same shall
in leach special case'' be given by
the superintendent of immigration,
with the written approval of the Sec
rotary Of the treasury. This will put
an end to wholesale admission of i'm
migrants by bonds or guarantees
given by societies or associations in
this country. Another provision re-
quires the steamship companies to
keep prominently displayed in the
Office of each of their agents in for
eign countries authorized to sell i'm
migration tickets all of the immigra-
ton laws of the United States.
One provision requires the exclu-
sive privileges at the Ellis Island
immigrant station to be sold at auc-
ton to the highest bidder, says the
Journal Of the Knights of Labor.
These are allsCf the important pro-
visions of the bill. The amendments
which the house committee reported
and afterwards got struck out pro-
vided for the exclusion Of persons
over Is years of age who could not
read and write their own language,
and of persons blind or crippled Or
otherwise physically imperfect, and
of persons belonging to any society
or organization which sanctions or
justifies the unlawful destruction of
life or property If these amend
ments had been retained in the bill
it would have been much more
perfect measure.
The New Nation: What is the