Los Angeles herald., 1909-11-25
ALLEGES HARSH
TREATMENT OF
WOMEN ALIENS
IMMIGRATION OFFICIALS SAID
TO BE DESPOTIC
cZARLIKE METHODS CHARGED
BY ATTORNEY C. r. SPARKS
Mrs. c. T. Hendryks, Accused of Being
Subject to Deportation, Held Un-
der Arrest Since Middle
of August

ployed by the local immigration
officials in dealing with aliens,
according to the statement of G. Ran
dali Sparks of the law firm of Sparks,
| Finkenstein & Moore, with offices in
the Merchants Trust building Mr.
Sparks bases his charges on the treat
ment accorded Mrs. c. r. Hendryks,
known as Alice de Bellda, charged
with being an undesirable alien and
| subject to deportation.
"A. G. Ridgway, inspector in charge
| or the local immigration offices, siren
uously denies the charges made by
Mr.. Sparks and declares that the de-
lays in the De Bellda case are more
the fault of Mr. Sparks than of the
department Inspector Ridgway also
denies the alleged mstreatment of
Miss Simonne Chauvin, now held in the
county Jail on a charge of being an
undesirable alien. Hearing of the
Chauvin case will be held December 3
behind closed doors. Hearing of the
De Bellda case, as IL is officially
known, has not been set, although the
woman has been under arrest since
August.
Under the name of Alice De Bellda
woman was arrested here charged
with being in this country for immoral
purposes. Her entry was made, ac-
cording to the immigration officials,
who refuse to give any save the
meagerest information upon the sub
ject. from Canada. Following Is a
brief resume of the case given by At
torney Sparks:
Held lncommunicado
alice De Bellda was arrested in
Los Angeles about August Is, 1909, on
warrant which had been in the
hands of the officials for three months
or more. She was placed in the county
jail and held there incommunicado for
nearly three weeks. L was apprised
of the case. and when / was refused
permission to see the woman l insti-
tuted a habeas corpus proceedings to
secure her release. The proceedings
were begun before Judge Wellborn of
the United States district court, but
before the writ was granted, and in
fact almost as soon as the papers were
filed, an order was issued by the de-
partment of commerce and labor to
the local immigration officials to turn
the woman loose.
my client was dragged from her bed
at midnight She was not arrested in
a house of i'll fame. but in her own
private hotel, where she had been liv
ing for some time with her husband.
from the county Jail / naturally
thought the case was ended. But 1
was wrong. No sooner had she been
released than she was arrested again
by the city police on a charge of pub
lie misconduct. This arrest was made
about September 10. When the case
came to trial in the police court 1t was
dismissed on motion of the district at
torney, for lack of evidence.
Arrested Third Time
within a few hours of her release
by the city officials my client was ar
rested again by the immigration Off
cials on the same charge as the orig
inal arrest was made and which charge
had been voided by the action of the
Washington officials. The second ar
rest by the local immigration officials
was made on the grounds that new
evidence had been secured from Paris
and other foreign places-places where
my client has never been in her life.
Immediately L set to work to fight
the case. Bail was fixed finally at
$4,000 cash. Subsequently, on my rep
resentations to Washington, the bail
was reduced to $4,000 cash. This was
furnished by my clients husband. 1t
still is in the hands of the immigra
tion officials.
II asked that an immediate hearing
be had. 1t was denied me- / then
appealed to Washington, and an order
was sent by telegraph to the local
office to hear the case at once. On
representations made to Washington
by Inspector Nardini, who declared he
was in a delicate position and would
be held up TO ridicuie If the case went
to trial at once, a delay was granted.
The matter dragged along until Oc-
tober %, when l was assured by the
Washington officials the hearing would
be held at once and that orders to that
effect had been issued. Nothing has
been done since that time. Nardini
and Ridgway each have told me they
will hold the hearing any time they
see fit.
Marriage License Shown
81 have furnished the officials with
a certified copy of the marriage license
records of New York city. showing
that Alice De Bellda was married to
Charles Joseph Hendryks in New York
in 1905. That disproves absolutely the
alien charge against my client The
law says that an undesirable alien is
one who has been in the country for
less than three years and who is inn
moral. The immortality charge was
disproved in the police court when the
case against my client was dismissed
for lack of evidence.
when 1 furnished the immigration
officers with information as to my
clients marriage they said they would
not inquire into such vague statements. |
I then asked my friend, Martin T. Lit
tleton, the man who defended Harry |
Thaw. to investigate for me. He did |
with the result that 1 have a copy of |
the records and have given the immi-
grafton officials a copy of them, both |
certified to. Even with this informa- |
tion before them the officials have de-
clared repeatedly that they did not
accept such material as evidence.
'It seems to me the power of the |
officials is entirely too |
great. They have a right to arrest |
any person, hold that person in Jail |
as long as suits the convenience of the |
officers unless somebody interferes, |
and then release the person on bail, |
holding the bail and the charge as long |
as is wanted, perhaps for years. In |
other words, the immigration officials |
have the right to keep a person in GUS
tody If not in Jail, for a lifetime. The
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