New-York tribune., 1910-06-10
UP TO WASHINGTON NOW.
Mayor Tells Attorney General of
Naturalization Graft!
WICKERSHAM WILL ACT
Alleged Payment by City De-
tectives to Get Place in Line
Will Be Investigated.

! The whole criminal bureau of the United
States Attorneys Office has been en-
! listed in an effort to run down alleged
naturalization graft in the Federal Build
! ing brought to the attention of George
w Wickersham, United States Attorney
| General by Mayor Gaynor. The Mayor
had rece we'd many complaints from per-
sons applying for naturalization papers
that they had been subjected to extortion,
and he wrote long letter to the At
torney General, to which the latter sent
the following reply:
II beg to acknowledge receipt Of your
favor of June calling my attention to
conditions in regard to persons applying
for naturalization in the Federal Building
in New York. and beg to assure you that
will take the matter up at once and take
steps to bring such proceedings to an
end. I will advise you of the progress
made as soon as anything definite has
been accomplished"
A little over a week ago man was ar
rested on a charge of taking s14 from
a city detective who posed as wanting TO
get his second papers. He was held under
S. 500 bail for further examination. The
arraignment was made quietly before
United States Commissioner Shields. The
er on June for examination, accom-
panied by Mr. Walton, the assistant
United States Attorney who had been
signed to the case The latter said that
he was not prepared to proceed and the
man was discharged and the bail bond can
ceIled
Mayor Gaynor laid the trap that led to
the mans arrest. The men who complained
said that they had been told that for GER
tain sums of money ranging from s. to
s25 they would be able to have their cases
attended to at once, but that without
payment they would have to wait in line
indefinitely.
Police Inspector Russell placed a man
in the line that almost daily on the fourth
floor of the Federal Building extends far
down the corridor from the Naturalization
Bureau. This man saw the same person
accost the applicants for citizenship pa
pers. but he never came near the detec-
tive Joseph Bedner, another detective,
was more successful. He was accosted.
met the man in a barber shop, and says
he gave him a4 to hasten his chance
of reaching the bureau window. There
were other detectives in the barber shop
and they saw the money change hands.
The complaint and arrest followed, sue
ceeded later by the discharge.
The Mayor received the report of the
transaction and wrote the following letter
to the Attorney General:
Immediately after l became Mayor I be-
gan TO receive complaints Of persons ap-
pIying for naturaliza ton in the Federal
Building here that they had to stand IN
line day after day and m md 7 thepaseN@S 4bag o5
the previous day by reason of persons low
er down the line being. placed ahead of
them by favortism and and by payment ob1ied 9i f
give up trying to get their papers, they
could not stand the loss of time.
I wrote to Judge Hough, inclos1ng to
him one of these complaints and calling
his attention to the condition which have
described, and inclose to you copy OF
his answer He throws the blame on Con-
gress for not supplying funds for staff
large enough TO do the work.
Complaints continued to come in to me
in great number. especially of the favorit-
ism practised by taking people out OF the
line and putting them at the head for
money consideration, ranging from 30 10
S25. In some cases / took the affdavits OF
men who called at my office. showing the
collection of such money, and that the per
clerks office. and were doing their scan
dalous traffic openly. I inclose the same.
Finally, the complaints continuing,
called in the Police Commissioner of this
city and had him station detectives in the
line. and 1 inclose a copy of his report.
You will see that his men had no trouble
in detecting the crime. They were freely
approached for money. and arrested the
man to whom they paid Il. I finally feel
it my duty to cali Your attention to this
long standing scandal I cannot effectively
deal with 1t, for the reason that it is out
side Of my jurisdiction. When men cannot
get naturalized without paying corruption
money for it they cannot be expected 10
feel otherwise than that government is
corrupt throughout.
The Mayor had no further remarks TO
make on the correspondence. saying that
the letters spoke for themselves.
At the offices of the United States At
torney it was said yesterday that the grand
jury would probably be asked to investi-
gate in a drastic manner the matters re-
ferred to in the Mayors letter. There was
no explanation forthcoming regarding the
cause of the discharge of the man against
whom the city detectives had gathered evi-
dence.
r. A