The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1919-11-28
ACCUSATION
HALTS HEARING
Former Commissioner F. C.
Howe Accuses Byron
H. Uhl
NOT TELLING TRUTH
IN INVESTIGATION
Order Stopping Circulating
of Anarchist Literature
Long Delayed

New ! OFk, NOV Z0--l ne bcaLlLnoilN
of Byron II. Uhl, acting commander of
immigration, before the House COM
mittee on immigration investigating
conditions at Ellis Island, was inter
rupted to-day by Frederick G. Howe,
former commissioner, who accused Mr.
Uhl of not telling the truth. The in
terruption came after Mr.. Uhl had
identified an order, dated April "a,
stopping the circulation Of anarchistic
literature at the island
The order was signed with Mr..
Howe's name, but Mr.. Uhl testified that
he dictated the letter and that nota
tion in the corner showed that it was
not received by the immigration in
spector until June 4.
''Do you mean to say" interrupted
Mr. Howe, "that / held up this let
ter"
"The chief OF the division concerned
did not receive it until the time indi
Gated, replied Mr.. Uhl
Mr. Howe then asked whether Mr.
Uhl ever remembered his holding up
letters more than "a hours, whereupon
Mr.. Uhl answered:
you held up that one, commission
er."
"That isn't the truth, declared Mr..
Howe.
The colloquy was ended by Represen-
tatiye Raker of California, who in
formed Mr.. Howe that he would not be
permitted Ito do that sort of thing be-
fore the committee"
Replying to a question of Represen-
tatiye Raker, Mr. Uhl declared that it
was the opinion of all the employees at
the island that the conduct of Mr..
Howe's administration was improper"
John J. Mckee, chief deporting off
GER, had protested in writing, he testi-
fed, against the circulation of anar-
chistic literature on the island. Mr..
Uhl asserted that radicals held at the
island were accorded privileges beyond
the regular practices.
The committee then began an inves-
tigation of the cases of u radicals who
were brought here from Seattle last
February and released in March with
out bond
An order written to MFR Mckee by
Mr.. Howe then was introduced in eyi-
dence. 1t said:
please supply the men held as po-
litical deportees with medicine balls,
and also see that their bathrooms are
not subjected to drafts"
A letter written by Mr.. Howe to An
thony Caminetti, commissioner. general
of immigration, concerning one Adres
Ciafola, also was introduced. 1t said
that Ciafola had been released on pa
role and that he admitted that instead
of believing in organized government
he believed in organized spontaneous
combustion"
Howe Defends Himself
The committee then took recess.
Mr. Howe addressed the members in
formally and said that he would like to
have an immediate hearing to answer
some of the charges made against him.
The committee informed Mr.. Howe
that they could not hear him now, but
would hear him later, whereupon Mr.
Howe gave out a statement to newspa-
permen, in which he said:
"ln the five years | was here lat
Ellis islandl | never released man,
woman or child without authority from
Washington. The background of this
whole situation is the war. When it
broke out, deportation was impossible,
and Ellis island became the catch basin
of America.
Now, in regard to allegations that
there had been gambling and immoral
| ity on the island. I'll say that there
were stories to that effect, but they
were all disproved.'
Mr.. Howe denied a rumor that he
had played tennis with Elizabeth Cur
ley Flynn, radical leader. He said that
she might have visited him at the is
land, but that his door was open to
everyone
When informed by newspapermen
that a number of people had interpret
ed> the testimony before the inquiry as
indicating that he himself held radical
views, Mr.. Howe said that he was not
an l. w. w, but Single taxer and
free trader" He said he believed in
government ownership and also that
the United States should keep out OF
Russia and Mexico.