Greenwood daily commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1919-1926, 1919-12-16
SOME DEFECTS
ELLIS ISLAND
And Seven Recommendations Com
mittee Will Make For Immigra-
tion Regulations.
Associated Press


defects of Ellis Island and seven rec
concentrations which the Congression-
Al committee will make to the House
for Tightening up of immigration
regulations throughout the United
States, particularly as they apply to
anarchists, bolshevists and other nj
ira radicals, were indicated here to-
day by officials Of the United States
immigration Station and by Repre-
sentative Issac Siegel, member of
the committee which has been inves-
tigating this pert of entry.
These recommendations, according
to Mr.. Siegel, will include (1) Nat
uralization Courts in large cities; (2)
= method of requiring all young Am
orleans to take the oath of allegiance
upon reaching 81 years; (3) abolition
of the office of Commissioner Gener-
al of Immigration; az appointment
of an Assistant Secretary of the De-
partment of Labor to supervise all
Immigration; (4) appointment of an
Assistant Secretary of the Depart
ment of Labor to supervise all immi-
grafton affairs, (5) mandatory legis-
lation providing for more rigid in
spection at Ellis Island where 80 per
cent of incoming aliens arrive; (6)
a military immigration patrol on the
Canadian and Mexican borders ;(7)
more drastic penalty for ship own
ers who permit alien members of
crews to desert.
"Yon can't tell q. Red by looking at
him." declared one of the Ellis Is
land officials. "You can't catch a
Red by cross-examining him. They
are far too willy and shrewd. It is
only after they have been in the coun-
try for sufficient length of time that
you discover their pernicious beliefs
and when you do no time should be
lost in deporting them. No examina-
tion, prior to entry, can give the pro-
lection intended by he law. It is nec-
essarily perfunctory and ineligible
aliens are bound to slip through be-
cause of our wrong methods
New York has the biggest immi-
grafton station in the country, he
said, the others being at Boston, Bal
timore, Philadelphia, New Orleans,
San Francisco and Seattle, Wash,
Norfolk, Va, and Galveston; Tex, are
ports of entry with inspection officers
but are not classed as stations" like
Ellis Island 'and the rest. 1t is COM
paratively easy to shut out the men
tally and physically defective when
they come in at these big ports, said
Congressman Siegel, but the big pro-
blem is to prevent the entrance of
undesirable aliens over our Northern
and Southern borders.
Inadequate as our immigration
machinery may be in New York and
other large ports," said the Congress
men, Ait is much more effective than
the machinery we have along the in
ternational boundary lines of Canada
and Mexico. We have no means of
knowing how many men and women,
democratic government, have surrep-
titiously entered the United States
Still another means of illegal ingress
has been for Reds to ship as sailors
and desert upon reaching this coun-
try. Under our present law the ship
owners can be penalized by SO fine
onlv. We purpose making the penalty
more stringent
The House committee, Mn. Siege
said, will recommend the establish
ment of the Naturalization Court 81
that Federal and other judges, whose
time is taken up with hearing hun
dreds of civil and criminal cases, ma,
relieved of q task of immense import
ance to tn ecountry's welfare bu
which. by the very nature of thing:
at present, is generally sighted from
sheer judicial necessity.
Last year, Mr.. Siegel said, the gov
ernment realized net profit from
naturalization fees of $45O,O00 ant
the profit to date since the beginning
Of the immigration service has beel
$4,000, 900. Such court it was SAT-
could expedite hearings and "undesir
ables" instead of being released o.
their own recognizance or paroled il
the custody Of their lawyers could b
ordered deported within thirty days.
One judge, said the Congressman
his mind preoccupied with other care