Search America's historic newspaper pages from 1756-1963 or use the U.S. Newspaper Directory to find information about American newspapers published between 1690-present. Chronicling America is sponsored jointly by the National Endowment for the Humanities external link and the Library of Congress. Learn more
Image provided by: Library of Congress, Washington, DC
Newspaper Page Text
Why Uncle Sam Says "No" to 25,000 Eager Would-be Citizens Each Year ? -_ ** ?*___? S er v i-v_r) II Hol___>_*nd <^_ypsy Dutob rid T^ypes TbbwC Arrive ia the Kew Vv>orlc?. M*y ^ V s There Are Themes for Endless Dramas, Tragic and Comic, in the Story of the Rejection of One Person in Forty of the Aliens Who Apply for Admittance at the Portals of America. THAT lt la a privllege to dwell in the a thought which rar, to the citizen. Of course, we hare th. reflrda l?-rs of states roen and Fourth of July oratora ar.d tha i?fant . itrtotlaaa broaght home from th< i ibllc acheela, Bat we discount rheti r daya ol .nd if i-ny one ?ihould ? value cf our prl**. ilege to dwell shores we wavM either laugh .>i Indigaaatly .iccuse him of ? ward our great and noblc Inatit * ;s?ual reminder of Um \. wAa the deten tion of prln telM at Ellis Island ln ord.* mlne hls eligibllity to - country. tha prtateo was tra-retllng Brot <-iass with a ralet yet he was "beld up" just Uko ? WBOT age pa Th.- Ina" t.ike n aa a matter of course. ? nigbty anxious to get ln, WlLUag to p.iy high !t is hard for the 111 ai_er to roailaa tho atroagth ol the out ?i<Ier'.- :.<: 00 our shores and ItOOOl impossible to lm agine the sorely injured feeilntia of those who ar- nol permltted to join us. QbcIo - al tho Amerlcan door, rooao apply cv.ry >ear fer ad:: '??'?'?'J ?\d gentle man looka them over with a awift yet crltlcal | up their physlques, moral ? haracter and financial OOadlttlMI He axtenda a hand of welcome to the peat i lajorlty. He teiis these he is glad they they -will make themsel es r.ght at home. But every so eften the hoe-ottabto smlle fades from visage and he stoojs down to tour1. some one on tht- shoulder ar.d ?&)*. "Very sorry. frlend, 1 don't thlnk I can l<rt yr. i in." 25,000 A YEAR ARE BARRED. M to about two persons out ?felgh'*-. or, say, t wet.t.v ?fU- thousiind out of m ? entiie number. ?\\, . t i como la?" lodlgnantly tsks the debarred person. "Aln't l ju.t m good ?s the reatV Uncl-; Bam oo-oetlmei makes an indul l?nt answer, taking account of special elrcumstances or hardahlps. He may de cide to thlnk lt over and eventually ad mlt the oiottsting indlvidual. At another tlme be geta his dander up and talka thusly. "No, sir, you're not as good aa the rest. Tou'p elow par, physlcally, mentally tutd Morally. 1* you carne into thls coun? try it ao .id be doubtful if you CCOld sup Port youraelf, at least ln nny honest way. Vou huw. |10 caah and no railroad tlcket. You hav. been in Jail a couple of times. Vou i,. ... ,n tbe deteotablo doctriie ot POlygamy Vou are alao an anarchlst. I ?-?ave r.ci use for a fellow llke you. Now to, and it you ever come around agaln you'li be let ln?lnto a jall." lt is aald there waa one nenry shutout of thls class who tried to argue tho ttmt* tig that a citizen of the United States could believe in polygamy and an archism all he pleased, ao why should a **oaji*ctlve cltlaen be forbldden the same Uberty? I nele Sam'a answer was to grab ^t allen by the scruff of the neck and ?hoot hlm lnto the hold of the flrst out **ard bound steamship. There nn- endleaa dramaa ln the story ?f the twenty-flve thousand who are shut 0!". A new "I_?h Mlaorahloo" could be ?rltten on the subject Not long ago hsp r*bad a modern verslon of Klng Lear, *lth seven daughters Instead of thre-t--* *?-*?"- not a 4'oniella among the seven. *Wa are sublime tragedles and abaurd ""medles. Hlnts of themea for Mlchael ?*a?elo and for J. M. Barrle come out ln lhe prtiw. a recent caae wlth "heart ln tsrast'* was that of an Irish maid, unwed W a mother. who had left a child at aorae, and was ordered deported as likely J* becomii a public charge. It waa al **?a*l by , ertaln -critlca that the ground * excludlng the young woman waa a ?"?"?al" one. When such a case la ro Atttd, the batteries of newspaper an. ?**Ucel attack are unllmbered. and Un* i ei.- Sam's offlcials sigh for a peaceful Job on some sangulnary battlefield. lt is qulte easy to get the facts about tbfl admitted and tbfl excluded. A hatr.-l of predigested stailstics and laws is avall able. also a few bales of colond maps i and diagrams. Having obtain.d a scien? tlfic and lntelllgent understanding af tHo arhOtfl rii.it t? i. you go down to Ellls Isl? and?where nlne-tenths of American lm? migratlon passes ln?to study the living specimens. lmmediately and _orthwltli ; every *"_*?? tt statistics, dlagram and \ map fades away Facts ln the abatract I retire 00 the double quick. gde_0C mt Its i Into alr. T?U faat see a lot of folks. in?-n, ? women and little children, quaint. plctur o.id ? yet Most ama.in' like you! i and it seems IllipOOOlhla to lump them or considt- them except as lndividuuls The J* ' 3 c_,v***.ri ***._*> "Will-__.-_? Wi1li**-_rna [ Oo ry* rn ia. ione r ?s Trr> rr* igr _?t ior_ *X ->OSS6-C/-. _?__ Here Are Explained the Details of the Sifting Process Designed to Exclude Idiots, Crim inals, Beggars, Diseased Persons and Contract Laborers from Entry Into This Land. downward from the Iofty celling. There should be here. Bfl there is l lsewhere, a portrait of Oeorge Washington, to which that Hlndu who prayed before the Statue of Llberty could offer another suppllca tion. Thls Ib a crltlcal place. and If prayers avail anywhere they should be ( said rlght here. Prayers are ind. ? I bt in many langung< s. A erlilfl has sald that Kllis Island is hell. If he meant to dcscribe thereby the emotlons of some of those excluded trom our shores he was probably right. Bat so far. in sanltatlon, treatment and examination, we have seen nothing to justifv tbfl eplthet. There Is plenty of alr ;*nd light. cleaaliaeea aad *?_?*?"-" ,md Kind treatment. Th.- rOWfl of bflflM>h? terminate half a doaea feet short Of the inspectors' desks. ?r;,.,.. |? a reaaon for this. if it were oot for that nttie Bpa ? aa appllcaat for - At Atroei-iotJs DoorW6y it*. tbe Tivst Si/ti-og ? _/*?? Irnrni&u&.Tit Cciaests. story of a single famlly, or one solltary person. looms blgger than the whole theory of restrWtive Immigration and all sorts of scleutitte r alculatlon. Let us be as sclentiflc as posslble and follow the slfting process from -start to flnlsh, or from mesh to mesh, whereby the myrlad appllcants for admiKsion are sort ed and sleved. Commlssloner WilliatuH haa given us a special pass, so we can see the detalls and riooks where vls? ltors are not usually allowed. Here ls an Immigrant laden barge Juat arrlved from a Medlterranean llner and tied at th- Ellls Island do. k. The hoar frostcd Llberty of bronze towers behind them. A turbaned Oriental prostrates himself on the deck nnd prays to the statue, thinking lt ls the Amerlcan god deas. Men. women and children troop across the gangplank and walk a dls? tance of aovesty-dhro teei to the portai of a great brlck buildlng. Many of them BTO qualntly and rlchly costumed In the Medl? terranean fashion. yet a large number wear Amerlcan clothes or a varied comM natlon of foreign and Yankec attlre. We learn that in the last few years much of the plcturesque natlve dress has dlsap peared. Oar clothes have been dlsseml njtted abroad by Immlgrants returntng to thelr natlve land. and the new Imml? grants. rdatlves of the others, come here with the Identical garmenta, or parts of them. Aa these folk walk the short dlstance from barge to buildlng they are unknow ingly Iteing slfted through the flrst sleve. Aa they lurch and stagger wlth bafca, blanket rolls and absurd llttle hand trtinkn don't trv to help them. Thla is the ftrst test and examinatlon. A keen eyed med ico ls watchlng thelr gait, and by thls means he often dlacovers a vital dlseaae or defect. Inside the buildlng the line passea alow A lv -tscv Te>.n.i\y of Wo-uld-_-?- Atrae-fic/^-ios ? Trot. _terfl--*-_y" U-t.c.-e> i?___.-m. LooKa Ovfer Alrnost &* ir> Ttoi5 H_x.ll. Hillior) rdKi* _*-"V__^*i_? Iy through a curved and railed runway, whlle other medlcos swiftly fllp up the ryellda of each person to dlscover trn ( homa. A quick survey ts made of the general physlqi;.-. When the expert e? nmlner has any suspiclon that a subject ta phyalcally Ineliglble he chalks a hlero glyphlc on hla coat. The ltne movea on ateadlly, but the man wlth the chalk mark is swltched to a alde room for a special examination. There are bome odj and obvloua symbols on those grouped to? gether for special .-crutlny. Here la a man with a chalked heart on bi- -~~! der, meanlng heart dlsease. Another Is rnarked "P." whlch stands for pthlsls, or lung trouble. The special physlcal examinatlon ls thorough and la based on the army ays tem, but a few notchea below that stand? ard. Wlthln recent years the standard ! has been raised. The chlef medical causes I for excluslon are the varlous klnda of ! m.-ntal dlsease. loathsome or dangeroua I contagloui dlsease and defects whlch may , affect ablllty to earn a Ilvlng. Under the last categorv come the stunted. an;emic ' ?_?_ crinul-d gtmtteaem Anv one wba ltt barred for a medlcal cause haa llttle chance of gettlng Into the country. In rome cases he may be admitted on bond by the Secretary of Commerce and Labor ln aplte of the flndlng of the medlcal men under Chief Surgeon Stoner. Those who successfully paaa the phyBl Ical examination have only run half the gantlet. They then trudge upetalrB to a great domed hall, wlth rows of benches runnlng lengthwlse toward the deake of the Inspectora. A hlgh metal ecreen In closea the maln floor; above Ib a vlaltora* ___Urv. Th- S?*_- -*-** S_-t-_ admlssion, after showing that he had enough money to make hlm an eliglble dw.ll.r in the United States. mlght slip the eaah to hls next neighbor. and so the same bank roll would serve for an lndeflnite number of persons. He .ant do that on account of the open space. The npplleant comes singly to the desk, shows hls money anfi v.rllies the state? ments regardlng himself in the ship'a manitVst. The money ls dug out of shoes. Ktockin-s. neck bugs and walst belt*; It ls all kinds and colors. No fixed amount ls re.iulred, but owing to a mts taken report of Comnilsslon<*r Willams's statement on the subject nuuiy of the immigrants come across with exaetly $26. The average ls about M& There is also usually a rallroad tlcket. In the absence of a deflnite law on financial quallflcatlons, such as Canada enjoys, it is left to the judgment of our offlcials whether an ablebodied man with %2t) and a rallroad ticket to a cousin In South Da? kota ls cqually desirable with the head of a family who has |S7 and part trans portatlon to a hrother-in-law ln Mem? phls The men at the desks have big Jobs. They decide the fate of three thousand human beinga ln a day?that ls, they have power to admlt forthwith lnto thls country all whom they thlnk are clearly entitled to admlssion. They cannot flnal? ly exclude, but they start the process of excluslon by referrlng doubtful cases to a board of special lnqulry. "How do you plck out the crlmtnala. anarchiats and polygamlsta?" The keen-eyed young Inspector in charge, V. T. Jankovskl, smiled at the lnevltable question. He explalned that lt was a matter principally of eyeslght and wlt. The government haa no record of these undesirables and does not co ooerahs with our own police or foreign governments ln keeping track of them. except on rare occaslons. Commlssioner Williams has recommended such OO'Og erition wlth police authoritles ln regard to crimlnals. It is chance and the alert ness of the Inspectors which nab the crook and those other enemies of soclety. Not long ago Mr. Jankovs-kl __*** an evil fa< ? Ifl __?? and when hls turn came In qairad caeoallp* "When were you ln Jail?" "I never ln Jail," exclaimed the star tled applicant. "Why, it says so on the record here." 'Where? Let me see him." anxiously. The inspector gravely polnted tor the southeast corner of the manifest The appllcant, who could not read, gazed at tbfl indicated writlng and then admitted he had been ln jail. On further quee tlonlng he confcssed he had been in Jail twice. So he could not qualify. When a party of bearded and booted dealeeafl of the Caueasus came along the Inspector chaffed them on the wlfe QUeet'OB. They sall that of course they would be glad to have several wivea aplece and did have a ttw -xtra ones at home, whlch convlcted the outflt aa be? lng polygamists and not admlssible to this country The disadvantage of the method la tbat it catehflf Chleflp fhe small fry. A cunning and dangerous crimlnal ls not aaeUp trapped by questions. The slmpla minded Mahometan poly.amlst ls ex poeed, but not the oleeer "white slaver" against whom there ls only a susplcion. It is probahlfl that a capable anarchlxt would not be detected unless he were examlned bjr the sulitle mlnds who wrote thfl Btatutfl exeluding hlm from our falr land T'nder a strict readlng of tha atatate O. k ghaw, Ma?hh Oorky. Prlnce Kropotkln and rhristabel Pankhurst could not enter "our mldst." Nor would there be any welcome for political exiles. Hanplly, tlils flflCtloa of the law Ul executed wlth dlscretlon and there are faa eaaefl la whleb it is utvehad. There were !iv.? eXCtodod "anarchists" In I'A'), .nd none last yatt. A San Dtflgfl free apeech figliter named I'rashner wae brought bare ta be deported last May, but Secretary Nagel ordered hi6 release. The board of special inquiry which ex amlnes doubtful cases ia composed of three long experieneed men. There la a stenographer to take down testlmony and an Interpreter lf requlred. The flrst thlng in a doubtful case ls to send off a telegram to a near relatlve or friend. These telegrarns are ready prlnted to cover all* cases and need only a few words of fllling in. Take this sample: "Detained at Ellis iBland. New York. . . Doctors have certifle.l me aa physdcally defective. havlng heart dia aad likely to become a public charge. State what you can and wlll do j for me lf permitted to land." Another reads: ?Send affldavit showing relatlonshlp, abilltv nnd wlliingness to support, your intention to send me to achool untU I am sixteen." . . . And thls one: "Send affldavit showing buslness, **___. dfl] ablllty, arhfltbflf you will marry me ImimdlatflT. flPOfll arrlval." - The latter form som.-tlmes Indicates ro mance. Again. lt may mean a charltable Interpretatlon of the law to make good the mlscalculatlon of youth. j Subject to appeal to the Commlssioner 'and the Secretary of Commerce and La? bor. the board of special Inquiry, after taklng aecount of physical and other con? dltlons, has power to exclude an allen. The declsiona of the board may be and iare at tlmea reveraed. Thia la qulte I proper and does not reflect on the board, remarks Commlssioner Wllllarns, for; the power of the board ls llmlted and the ex erclae of special leniency ls the functloa of the higheat authority. Among the caeee of deportatlon most attacked by hosttte critlca are those classed aa "separation of familles." These casea generally refer to familles of whlch some membera have landed here, and the other members. often applylng for entry aeveral yeara later. are Co-U-ue. *~ _>v__th pace.