Evening star., 1921-12-19
CUNARD STEAMSHIP
LINE FINED TO LIMIT
Secretary Davis Also Asks
Diplomatic Action Over
Immigrant Question.

The maximum fine under the i'm
migration laws has been ordered
assessed against the British Cunard
steamship line by Secretary of Labor
Davis, who has also asked the State
Department to make diplomatic rep
resentations to the English govern
nlent against what he classes "as a
bold and. I believe. knowing at
tempt on the part of the company to
violate the immigration laws, either
because of the paltry profits to be
gained thereby or to discredit our
Immigration policy"
Secretary Davis will recommend
imposition of fines on steamship COM
ranies totaling s1.O5G,0OO. he said to-
Gay. The fines will be imposed. if the
Secretary's wish is carried out. for
alleged violation of the immigration
laws, in which the steamship COM
lanies have brought to this country
immigrants in excess of the quotas
CT the countries from which the i'm
migrants came.
1t is the crime of the age" Mr..
Davis said. following a conference
this morning with Assistant Secre-
tary Henning. Theodore Risley, solic-
itor for the Department of Labor, and
w. w. Husband, commissioner gen.
eral of immigration. Mr.. Davis point
Cd out that in thousands of cases
immigrants sell their homes and
spend all the money on passage to
this country. When they are turned
lack. he said. they are frequently
Landed at ports many hundreds of
miles from their former homes and
have no funds to reach their former
Place of. residence. Thousands of i'm
migrants have had their lives ruined
and their life savings wiped out by
the avarice of the steamship COM
panies, he added.
The circumstance complained of
arises out of the arrival on Decem-
Der 10 at New York of the liner Auui-
1ania with 300 Hungarian immi-
grants. Notwithstanding that on De-
cember l the immigration bureau had
announced to all steamship lines that
the quota of immigrants from Hun
gary legally entitled to enter the
nited States up to July, 1922. was
exhausted. Mr.. Davis likewise ad-
dressed a letter to Attorney General
Daugherty, asking for legal opinion
as to what action can be taken in IAN
appalling situation which has arisen
by the reckless disregard of the law
by steamship companies"
Constant Controversy With Lines.
Since the enforcement of the new
Immigration act, which limits the
number of aliens entitled to enter the
United States in any one year to a
definite percentage of the number of
that nationality already resident in
the United States, the immigration
authorities have been in practically
constant controversy with steamship
lines, which they have charged with
deliberate intent to make the law
futile. The situation has been en-
1ivened by midnight races to the port
of entry between vessels carrying i'm
migrant cargoeS from countries whose
dWindling quotas made it probable
that arrivals ON the las: vessels would
be excluded and deported.
THE chief offender in this instance
is the Cunard liner Aquitania" Mr.
Davis said. in his letter of protest to
Secretary of State Hughes. (which
arrived at New York on or about De-
cember 10 with somewhat more than
800 of this nationality (Hungarian)
on board
This vessel is said to have sailed
from Cherbourg on or about Decent Der
a. it being understood that the Hun
Sarians were embarked at this port
Some Of these aliens were admissible
under exemptions found in the law
hut at the last count 204 of them had
been found to be mandatorily ex-
cluded from admission.
Fines rs Prevention.
Writing to the Attorney General.
Mr.. Davis said that, in his opinion.
the awful wrong being perpetrated
on these poor aliens cannot be pre-
vented except by the imposition of
these fines. The heart of Americans is