The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1900-02-19
BLAIR ROUSED.
The Would-Be Citizens Ex-
amined for Naturaliza-
ton Today.
The LAW HIS AUTHORITY
The Judge Says No Special
Time Is Mentioned -Hud-
speth's Way.


day to the outrageous manner in which
candidates for citizenship are treated IN
the Common Pleas Court apparently had
a good effect The Court started IN al
eleven o'clock this morning to examine
candidates and continued the good WORK
until all the applicants had been disposed
of. The examination was conducted pe-
hind closed doors.
Judge Blair said to News" reporter
this morning that the law authorizes the
Court to naturalize citizens, but fixes no
specific time for such naturalization. He
has been governed in the matter by a de-
Sire to suit the convenience of the Court
and the applicants. There Is no law re-
quiring him to fix any particular day for
the transaction of that business. He liked
Thursdays because that seemed to him to
be the most convenient day
Thursdays are set apart or sentences
and for trials in the Special Sessions, and
usually the business of the criminal
courts is finished early. After that he de-
votes the remainder of the day to natural
ization business.
Speaking of last Thursday, when thirty
two candidates and their witnesses were
kept waiting ali day and then told to
come again today, Judge Blair said that
he realized in the morning that the ap-
peals cases would occupy his attention all
day and he caused announcement to be
made that there would be no naturaliza-
tion business. subsequently Deputy Coun-
ty Clerk Grlstsn came upstairs and sug-
gested that It might be better for the can
didates to wait as there might be an OPP
portunity to hear them. Judge Blair said
he had no objection if they desired to
wait, and the candidates remained.
1t was a quarter past five when the
appeals cases were finished and Judge
Blair felt that he had put in a full days
work Besides, he had to prepare for the
Bar Association dinner. It was a matter
of Judgment with the court Judge. Blair
considered the trial of appeals cases more
important than naturalization. The law
yers and their clients and witnesses were
in court and it was only proper to dispose
of the cases.
Other people differ with Judge Blair in
his judgment of the relative Importance
OF appeals cases and naturalization. The
appeals cases were from the Justices
Courts and were picayune affairs, involv-
ing very small amounts. One case in
which there was q. dispute oyer $40 oc-
cupied the attention of the Court for over
two hours. On the other hand, there
were .firty-two stafwart, able-5odied
mer anxious 20 declare their allegi1 -ce
ana hecone American citizens, one of the
no;9es. ambitions possible to man.
Judge Blair says he has no personal
feeling in the matter. He naturaDzes ap-
plicants when he thinks that they are
fitted to become citizens, and Ee is will
ing to confer citizenship on 1ny worthy
candidates. He suggested that the Coun-
ty Clerks office was probably anxious
about the fees.
County Clerk Fisher SAid that he is not
particularly anxious about the fees, but
he is entitled to then under the law, and
what a man is lAwfully entitled to he
should have. He has now on hand big
stack of applications awaiting the Courts
disposition and when the applicants are
put off from day to day and forced to
lose their time and wages they are in
clinee. to lay the blame on the County
Clerks office, but no blame whatever can
bs attached to that office.
Former Judge Hudspeth,s views as to
the relative Importance of naturalization
and wasting valuable time on petty ap-
peals cases, differed very materially
from Judge Blair's. Judge Hudspeth,
when he was on the bench, considered
naturalization of the most vital import
ance. He put it ahead of criminal and all
other business. He heard and examined
applicants for citizenship not only one day
in the week but every day the Court was
in session and put it ahead of all other
business.
The order of business in Judge Hud
speth's court for every day was first ar
raignment of prisoners. That was for the
purpose of getting the prisoners out of the
court room and either back to the jail or
released ON bail After arraignments came
naturalization, and the Court devoted its
entire attention to that until every ap-
plicant had been either passed or rn-
jected Criminal and all other business,
no matter how important, was forced to
wait.
In that way applications for citizenship
never accumulated during Judge Hud-
speths term nor during the terms of any
of his predecessors. AS the business is
conducted now, the applications accumu-
late and when the time limit in which
papers can be issued, which is thirty days
prior to any election, is reached, a large
number remain undisposed of and the APP
plicants are obliged to wait until after
election.
rsrttrn erns~r,o cnnorccor