Los Angeles herald., 1910-02-09
COMMISSIONERS
OF IMMIGRATION
AGAIN SCATHED
MACON REVIEWS BITTER At
TACK IN CONGRESS
HALF-MILLIoN-DoLLAR JUNKET
TRIP DENOUNCED
Southern Lawmaker Exposes Waste of
Public Money and Insists on In-
vestigation of Latest WASH
ngton Scandal
ASSOCIATED Press1

w ing an investigation of the i'm
migration commission, provided
for in his resolution, Representative
Macon of Arkansas renewed his attack
upon the commission in the house to-
day.
He vigorously defended his inform
ant j. IL. Patten, secretary of the
Immigration Restriction league, who
was severely arraigned by Representa-
tive Bennett of New York, a member
of the commission, in a recent speech
in the house.
1T is characteristic of the man to
proceed III the cowardly way in which
the gentleman from New York has
proceeded" thundered Mr.. Macon, re-
ferring to the New Workers. attack on
Mr.. Patten.
Mr.. Bennett was quickly on his feet.
L object he said, and the mem
| bers were all attention in anticipation
of a lively scene.
Il withdraw the remark" quickly
responded Mr.. Macon, and the. tension
| was dissipated.
! Mr.. Macon's speech was made in re-
sponse to Mr.. Benefits defense of the
commission, and he renewed his
charges that the committee had been
| eXtraVagant. He declared Official re-
| ports and expense accounts corrobo-
| rated his assertions that it's trip abroad
in 1907 was a 'junket" and that the
government had had no adequate re-
turn from the expenditure by the COM
mission of $657993.
Inquiry Is Urged
Unless my resolution to create a
commission of three to investigate the
extravaganza of the immigration COM
mission is adopted, so the country will
know that the extravaganza I COM
planned of is scandalous, the people will
rise and smite the party that attempts
to shield the commission" said Mr..
| Macon.
Six members of the commission and
seven employees made the trip to
| Europe" he said. They drew 500 900
on which to make the trip, while in
their report they account for only
| $2O675.
THE expense accounts are made up
of steamship and railroad charges, car
| ltage charges. fees and tips, hotel bills,
telegraph, wines, whisky, cognacs,
mineral waters, lemonades, glaces,
| siphons, citrons, cigars, cleaning and
pressing clothes, shaves, shines, hair
cuts, shampoos and rubs.
Such luxuries as wines and whisky,
| by the auditor but he disallowed when
/
| cigars"
| Mr.. Macon characterized the stopping
| at high class hotels and partaking of
| their menus and beverages as "feast-
ing at public expense"
He asked Mr.. Bennett to explain why
he could take up time to engage in
| gorgeous festivities in Turkey, where
| his wife was decorated with the in
| sigma of the "Order of Kindness" an
ancient Turkish society. by the sultan,
| If he could not find time to draw
| long breath in Paris or cast his eyes
on st. Peters in Rome. This was in
| reply to Mr.. Benefits statement that
| his trip to Paris was record breaking
| for breVity.
Another Expose
Basing his remarks on inspection of
| the official records, Mr.. Macon charged
| that in the Holy Land the commission
made a carriage trip from Jerusalem
! to Bethany, and from Jaffa to Jerusa-
| lem; that in London they had a car
| riage to the ambassadors and return
a carriage to the house of lords, to
! Westminster Abbey, to the Tower of
! London, to Regent square and the
| British Museum; than IN Syracuse they
| had a carriage to the catacombs; that
in Messina they had a ride IN a landau;
! that in Scotland they had a pleasure
/
in Ireland to the famous Lakes of Kill
! larney.
THE commission wanted to find out
! the kind of immigrants came to this
country from all those places, includ-
! ing the Catacombs, where sleep and
decay the bones of the departed said
! Mr.. Macon. sarcastically.
! He suggested that to have gone to
Mr. Bennett for his information, as
! Mr.. Bennett suggested, would have
! been as practicable as to hunt devils
in heaven, or saints in hell"
Election to congress- he continued,
was not conclusive evidence of in
tegrity. nor did it make Mr.. Bennett
! immune from attack.
"A much larger percentage of con-
| gressmen, whether members of the
house or of the senate have been
| charged with crime and made to stand
| trial for felonies and incarcerated in
! felon's cells" he declared, than of
| the secretaries of immigration restric-
/ tiOn leagues.
THE very suggestion that one ought
not to charge a congressman with haV-
ing done wrong until the letter Of
every word of every fact charged
against him can be proved to mathe-
| maticaI certainty, is so contrary TO
what | believe to be right, that 1t is
actually disgusting.
! 1.-THE commission de1ends lISelI
against the charge of extravaganza,
and so did the capitol commissioners
of the state of Pennsylvania defend
themselves against extravagant eXpen-
| ditures in the construction of that
! building. Morse Of New York and
Walsh of Chicago, both high up in
life, defended their extravagant ex-
! nenditures of trust funds. One of them
/ is now serving time in the peniten-
tiary at Atlanta and the other at Fort
! 7 aavenwOrth" aa i"