The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1902-11-26
Exclusion Of the Cuban Children.

Several extremely interesting and inn
portant questions are presented in the
case Of the eleven Cuban children who
have been detained NJ this port by the
action OF the immigration authorities
of the United States, and prevented from
proceeding on their way To "A school in
California tn which their parents desired
to send them to be educated
The place To which il was intended TO
send these children when they came
from Cuba is an educational institution
al Point Iona in San Diego county.
Cal, where a Mrs. KATHERINE TINGLEy
maintains a school under the sanction
Of a religious body of thinkers known as
Theosophists. Although outsiders in
California do not appear 10 know much
about the internal management of this
institution. the San Francisco Chronicle
saws there IL no evidence that children
intrusted to the school are ill-treated in
any way, and that too many respectable
persons send their own children there
TO admit of the supposton that the in
struction is such as 10 in urc their morals.
or that the physical welfare of the chill
dren is neglected Thcosophy may be
a foolish and fantastic system of belief.
if, indeed, it is worthy of being called
system at all but it seems hardly probable
that there is any authority. either in the
State of California or in any other State
of the Union. which could lawfully inter-
pose a barrier against any resident par
ent who desired To send his child 10 be
instructed in a theosophical school
IL this view be correct, il is somewhat
difficult to perceive on what ground the
Superintendent Of immigration or the
Secretary Of the Treasury contemplates
interfering with the attemp, Of these
Cuban children TO make their way 10 tho
san Diego school They come here
under the charge of GERTRUDE Van
PELr, a graduate of Cornell University.
who is superintendent of the school in
question, and who asserts that she Dos
sesses an ample income for her own sup
port. She declares that the children
whom she brought from Santiago were
placed in her custody and under her con-
troll by their legal guardians in Cuba. in
order that they might be taken to Cali
fornia to be educated; and, so far as we
have been able to discover there is no
reason TO fear that any OF these minors
will become public charge Under
these circumstances. it would be inter-
esting to know on what theory hey have
thus far been detained, and what are the
grounds upon which il is proposed to
order their deportation to Cuba
The Federal statute relative To immi-
grafton provides that the following
classes of aliens shall be excluded from
admission into the United States:
ID All idiots and insane persons;
~ Paupers or persons likely to become
public charge;
- Persons suffering from Loaf hsomc
or a dangerous contagious disease;
~ Persons who have been convicted
Of felony or other infamous crime
or misdemcanor involving moral turpi-
tude: and
~ Polygamists
The law also excludes from admission
any person whose ticket or passage is
paid for with the money Of another or
who is assisted by others to come" nm
less il be shown that such person docs no,
belong 10 one Of the foregoing excluded
classes, or i n contract labOrcr.
In an opinion written by Attorney
General GARLANr, IN 1856, II WAS held
that child of tender years. coming hcrc
under the care and protection Of another.
was not within tho purview OF the acts
of Congress designed to forbid the in
PRODUCTION of undesirable immigrants
Otherwise, all children would noccssarilv
be excluded whenever their tickets or
paN-ag" wer" paid for hv parent or
guardian
'hr prnpretS 81 careful inquiry INTO
g." condi,lon, circumstances and desti-
ion oi immigrant children who come
- ",tiout their parents. under tho