HOW IMMIGRANTS ARE INSPECTED. 357 



HOW IMMIGRANTS ARE INSPECTED. 



BY Dr. ALLAN MCLAUGHLIN, 

 U. S. PUBLIC HEALTH AND MARINE HOSPITAL SERVICE. 



Inspection of our immigrants may be said to begin in Europe. 

 The immigrant usually buys his steamship ticket in his native town 

 from an agent or subagent of the steamship company. The agents 

 of the best steamship lines are held responsible by the company, for 

 the passengers they book for America, and if they ship one of the ex- 

 cluded classes they are likely to lose their agency. This makes the 

 agent examine the applicants for tickets, and probably quite a large 

 number of defectives are refused passage by agents of the first-class 

 lines. These defectives then usually try some less particular and 

 smaller lines and take chances of escaping inspection at the Canadian 

 or Mexican borders. 



The next scrutiny to which the immigrant is subjected is that of 

 the steamship authorities at the port of embarkation. This was for- 

 merly a perfunctory examination, and is so still, as far as some lines 

 are concerned, but first-class lines, notably the English and German, 

 examine the immigrants carefully and with due regard for our laws. 

 The strict enforcement of our laws, and especially the imposition of 

 one hundred dollars fine for bringing to our ports any case of a con- 

 tagious character, have occasioned some improvement in the inspection 

 made by ships' doctors at European ports. At the port of embarka- 

 tion the immigrants' names are recorded upon lists or manifests, each 

 list containing about thirty names. After each name the steamship 

 officials are required by law to record answers to a certain number of 

 queries relating to the immigrant. 



Section 12 of the act of 1903 provides that the manifests shall 

 state, in answer to the questions at the top of the manifest sheet: 



The full name, age and sex; whether married or single; the calling or 

 occupation; whether able to read or write; the nationality; the race; the last 

 residence; the seaport of landing in the United States; the final destination, if 

 any, beyond the port of landing; whether having a ticket through to such final 

 destination; whether the alien has paid his own passage, or whether it has 

 been paid by any other person or by any corporation, society, municipality, 

 or government, and if so, by whom; whether in possession of thirty dollars, 

 and if less, how much; whether going to join a relative or friend and if so, 

 what relative or friend, and his name and complete address; whether ever 

 before in the United States, and if so, when and where; whether ever in prison 

 or almshouse or an institution or hospital for the care and treatment of the 



