The morning call., 1893-12-23
WELBURN'S FIX
Ready to Enforce the McCreary
=. Law, but Cannot.
BUT ONE SET OF BLANKS.
Nearly All the Clerks Allowed for the
- Whole District VIII Be Needed
Right Here.

If there is a puzzled man In San Fran.
cisco Just now it is Internal Revenue Col
lector WelDurn. He has been allowed
twenty-seven men and a little over
S13O00 TO successfully accomplish a work
which properly requires at least fifty men
and $4,000. namely the registration OF
p Chine9e under the McCresry act.
In Collector Welburn's district there are
at the least calculation So 600 Chinese and
GfThis number fully $1,000 should register
Under the law. The northern district
comprises the counties containing the
largest settlements of Chinese In Califor-
MIA and this State contains almost one
half of all the Chinese in the United
States. To properly register the Chinese
in San Francisco alone fully fifteen Of the
.:twenty-seven clerks will be required to
: say nothing of the clerical work neces-
sAry to be done after the Registrations
have been made. Then there is Oakland,
Alameda. San Jose, Los Angeles and a
score and more of towns where the
Chinese settlements are very large.
b 1t is safe 10 say that with the force and
money allowed, Collector Welburn cannot
ia the four months time before the expi-
ration of the law register the Chinese
who will apply. The outlying sections in
the districts where deputies will have to
travel many miles to reach a central
point where the Chinese labOrers in mines
and on ranches can cOngregate and avail
themselves Of the new law are numerous,
and 1t IS going to cost considerable money
to reach them. The appropriation allows
but S1200 all told for expenses, about one
fourth the sum required if there were a
sufficient number OF clerks, and with only
twenty-seven men to do all the work. the
expenses are bound 10 be much heavier
than they would be if the requisite force
was employed.
Again, with two months OF the given
time in which the Chinese may register
already expired, the department at WASH
lngton seems inclined TO daily along with
the prellminaries until it Will be impOs-
slble with the small force of men allo " Ell
10 register al the applicants or even re-
ceive all the applications. The registra-
tion blanks, books, etc, should have been
here several weeks ago. but so far nothing
but the application blanks have been re-
ceived
Already a score of labcrers who want to
20 TO China on next Tuesday have applied
TO register, but have been refused beeause
the proper blanks were not on hand. All
that Collector Welburn has been able 10
DO in the premises has been to receive
tnelr Applications and promise to save
their registration certificates for the men
so that they can get them on their return
from tAlna. This plan is bound to cause
= more or less confusion aud trouble, but
the dllatory tactics of Commissioner Miller
allows OF no easier measure being put IN TO
force. II is openly charged around the
Federal building that the Democratic ad-
ministratiop in Washington is trying to
find a way in which to nuIlify the Nc
Creery act by so delaying the opening of
registration bureaus and when opened by
having so few clerks that hundreds of
Chinese who want to register will not
have the opportunity to do SO within the
given time.
What Collector Welburn intends to do
is not known, but he frankly admits that
be cannot carry out the provisions of be
law with the men and money given him
with which to do the work.
According TO the registration in this dis
trict under the McCreary act not more
than four persons an hour can be regis
tered and a that rate there will not BE-,
time enough even with twice twenty-seven
clerks to enroll the Chinese in this district
whn should register.
It is probable that Collector Welburn
will cali the attention of Commissioner
Miller to the fact that this district contains
more Chinese laborers than any other in
3 the United States and ask that his clerical
force and appropriation be increased.
The Chinese seem anxious to impress
upon the Federal authorities tiat not on "
have their mum bers greatly decreased since
the passage of the Geary act, but that
many Of the labOrers will refuse to register
In order to secure free passage back to
China. The latter assertion is probably true
as from authentic Chinese sources comes
the information that, as was planned under
the Geary act, the lame, the halt and the
blind. as well as all the paupers. will be
sent home al Uncle Sans expense in stead
OF that Of the Six Companies. The en-
forcement Of the McCreary law, much as
1t is desired, seems destined under the
present ismanagement in Washington to
be delayed beyond a reasonable limit, and
then the officers whose duty it will be to
carry out It's provisions when they do
receive the necessary blanks are to be
hampered by being given one clerk where
three are needed and one dollar where five
should be spent. The Geary law was
killed, but had the advantage of some
what sudden death, while the Indications
are that the McCreary act will go out of
existence by reason of official inaction
which will render it practically inopera-
tive.