The Daily Missoulian. [volume] (Missoula, Mont.) 1904-1961, 1910-01-25
REPRESENTATIVE FROM ARkAN.
sAs MAKES vloTRIoLIc AT.
TACK ON COMMISSION.
APPROPRIATION CUT Off
Lower House Of Congress Refuses to
Include Sum for Work Of Special Or.
cheney 6il-Members Accused Of
Fritterins Away Time and Money.

Washington, Jan. a4.-By cutting off
a deficiency appropriation of sl25,00o
for the national immigration commis-
sion. the house today lent its support
to several members. led by Represen.
tative Macon of Arkansas. who de-
nounced the commission and its work
and threatened il with immediate ex-
tinction. Unless friends of the COM
mission succeed in having the item
restored to the urgent deficiency bill
in the senate it will be compelled to
suspend for lack of funds The com
mission was created by an act of con-
gress February 20. 1907. II has brought
out "A number of interesting reports
dealing with conditions in immigrant
ships and lives of aliens after their
arrival in this country. Several other
reports are in course of preparation.
Senator Dillingham; of Vermont, is
chairman of the committee. other
members being Senator Lodge. Repre-
sentatives Howell of New Jersey. Ben
nett of New York and Burnett of Al
ALBANIA and Professor j. w. jerks Of
Cornell university and William r.
Wheeler of San Francisco. Mr.. Macon
made point of order against the ap-
preparation on the ground that II was
not a deficiency Then came a gen
eral assault against the commission by
several members. Mr.. Macon making
scathing attack on the body. He
charged that the commission had been
on a junketing expedition abroad, had
spent s657,993 and had accomplished
practically nothing.
Political Sineeure.
Il am advised" said Mr.. Macoi.
that this commission went abroad in
the summer of 1907 IL sailed May Is
and returned September II, and that
no report of the trip has ever been
published and. in my judgment will
not. for it seems the trip was a pleasure
junket for most of the members. rather
than an information gathering trip.
The commission made no progress un-
til forced to do so by the late Senator
Latimer of South Calorina. who
threatened to return home on the next
steamer and inform the government on
the floor of the senate that the COM
mission intended merely to delay i'm
migration. Messrs. Latimer. Burnett
and Howell were allowed to go to work,
TO come with him an enjoy himself,
that the immigration problem had been.
thoroughly Investigated by the individ-
ual commissioners and that only he
and another knew the real purpose OF
the commission.
Reliable Source.
Il cannot swear to these facts be-
cause | was not present, but my in
formation has been received from
reliable citizen. The members who
went abroad were Dillingham;. Latimer,
Burnett, Howell and Wheeler. and they
were accompanied by their families
and two of the secretaries of the COM
mission. one of them MIR. Crane.
whom | am advised, is a nephew of
Senator Crane of Massachusetts. and
the other, Mr.. Husband, Senator Dill
linghams secretary.
Il have heard that the auditor of the
state department has entered a protest
against a certain member of the com
mission for charging up as part of his
expense account the amounts paid out
by him for laundry, haircuts, sham
pnos. shines and automobile rides foi
pleasure on the Appian way. l under
stand that Mr. Bennett and his secre-
tary have been abroad several times at
the expense of the commission. He is
one of the three members of the steer
ing committee"
Mr. Macon referred to Professor
jerks work as influencing students
in the political way the party in
power would have them walk" He de-
clared the commissions report CON
tanned mass of material that could
be culled al any time from the pro-
cess court.
Frowns on Practice.
Chairman Tawney of the apprupria
tions committee. frOwned on the prac
tiee of creating commissions with per
manent appropriations" Instead of in
curing expenses and then asking CON
gress for the necessary money to meet
them as the immigration commission
had done. He said such work should
be provided for by annual appropria
tions-
Declaring that he believed the fail
ure of the commission to make its
final report was to prevent legislation
restricting immigration because an
election MAS approaching. Representa-
tive Burnett tAla) a member Of the
commission. said he believed il should
have concluded its work before now.