The Vinita daily chieftain. [volume] (Vinita, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1902-1913, 1910-02-17


is the object Of proposed immigra
ton law recommended by Daniel J
Keefe. the Commissioner General d
Immigration in his annual report fo
the fiscal year 1909 It is proposed {,
accomplish this by codifying, arrang
ing in logical sequence and strength
ening at their weak points all existing
laws on the general subject OF immi
grafton and Chinese exclusion.
Some Of the principal suggestions
are:
SO defining the term allen as tc
leave no doubt that It includes all per
sons not citizens; extending the con
tract labor provisions to forbid and
penalize the inducement Of immigra-
ton by false as well as genuine pro
misses Of employment, penaIizing an
attempt to import foreign laborers,
and permitting the importation OF
alien skilled laborers If labor Of like
kind unemployed can not be found
here only II the consent Of the Secre-
tary Of Commerce and Labor is obtain
ed in advance; increasing the fine
against steamship companies for TAX
ing on board dangerously diseased
aliens from 500 to 5000.
Mr. Keefe believes the time is ripe
for the adoption Of even stricter
measures and suggests that a propo-
sal worthy of careful thought is that
all male aliens between is and so be
required to pass physical examina-
ton equal to that observed for army
recruits.
Touching the white slave" traffic
the report sets out that a special in
Yestigation conducted throughout the
country and the general experience OF
the year, make 1t apparent that an
enormous business is done in import
ing and distributing foreign women
for immoral purposes. including the
seduction and distribution of alien wo-
men and girls who enter regularly,
and also to some extent of American
women and girls. The Federal Off
GERS have not discovered positive evil
dence Of the existance of a syndicate
for these nefarious purposes, but
there is among those who conduct
the business a certain esprit de corps,
and there are in several cities clubs
gregate.r .
In some cities, it is declared, the
traffic is connected with local politi-
cal conditions and some of the munich
pal authorities are implicated or other
wise helpless to assist in eradicating
the evil The Federal Governments
powers, it is stated, are so limited as
to make it essential If any marked
progress is to be expected that the
States and cities shall awake to the
seriousness of the situation and exer.
else their undoubted authority to put
down the evil.
During the year there was a marked
increase in deportations as result of
the campaign against the traffic. The
provisions on this subject in the bill
submitted by Mr.. Keefe to carry out
his recommendations are in principle
the same as In the bill which already
has passed the House except that they
do not go so far in the features af-
fecting interstate regulation of the
practice.
Gratifice tion is expressed as a re-
suit of the experiment in immigration
control" as affecting the Japanese.
constituted by law; proclamations and
regulations following the anti-Japan-
ese agitation in California several
years ago
There has been a material reduct-
ion IN both the number of Japanese
admitted and deported. In 1908, g.
544 Japanese were admitted to conti-
mental United Stetes and S,694 to
Hawaii, while for 1909 the correspond
ing figures are 2,432 and 1893. The
number admitted to the mainland and
Hawaii was only % per cent and II
per cent respectively, of the numbers
for 1908.
Contrary to the general impression
Chinese admitted to the United States
have increased during the past four
years and Mr. Keefe is pessiInistic re-
garding the operation of the law. He
concludes that the system Of exclu-
sion and expulsion afforded by it is
but lily adopted for either purpose.
He says:
Despite all that is said and all that
is done. the Bureau is always conf
dent at the close of any year that
many Chinese of the excluded classes
have evaded the border officers, how
ever vigilant they may have been.
have smuggled themselves or been
smuggled ashore in seaports as saiI-
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