IMMIGRATION BUREAU. 



373 



so that it was not pronounced completed until 

 a few days before its total destruction. The last 

 work was that of laying the cables to New York 

 for telegraph and telephone communication by 

 way of Governor's island, and the disinfection 

 plant for the washing of immigrants and fumiga- 

 tion of their clothing. Immigrants were trans- 

 ferred from the Barge Office, where they first ar- 

 rived, to Ellis island by means of a ferryboat, that 

 no other persons were allowed to use except by 

 special permit from the authorities in charge. 

 For the protection of ignorant foreigners from 

 the wiles of land sharks all visits to the station 

 were forbidden except those made upon legitimate 

 business known to the commissioner. Every 

 courtesy was extended to the representatives of 

 charitable societies and to the friends and rela- 

 tives who came to meet immigrants. In 1893 

 Dr. Joseph H. Senner succeeded Col. Weber as 

 Commissioner of Immigration for the port of New 

 York. The terrible fire, which was discovered 

 shortly after midnight on June 14, 1897, and 

 which within an hour reduced the Ellis island 

 station to ashes, was not, as it first appeared 

 to be, an unmitigated calamity. .A serious mis- 

 take had been made in constructing all the build- 

 ings of wood, and awful risks were constantly in- 

 curred during the six years of the station's ex- 

 istence. Although the whole force of employees 

 was organized into a fire drill, its guardianship 

 extended only over the hours of daylight; by 

 night the cluster of buildings was unprotected. 

 According to the statement of Dr. Senner, the 

 efforts of the fire brigade, had it been there, would 

 have availed nothing against the rapid confla- 

 gration of the pine structures. How the fire 

 originated remains a mystery. Some nights there 

 have been as many as 2,000 immigrants on the 

 island, but, fortunately, on the date in question 

 only 170 persons were in the detention house and 

 44 patients in the hospital. No life was lost. 

 The loss of Government property amounted to 

 about $570,000, since the electric and steam- 

 heating plants were saved, as well as a small 

 fireproof house where records were kept. Dr. 

 Senner removed his quarters immediately to the 

 Barge Office, and the agents of the various steam- 

 ship lines tendered the use of their piers for in- 

 spection of immigrants. 



As a temporary expedient, the steamboat Nar-. 

 ragansett, of the Providence and Stonington line, 

 was chartered and moored to the wharf, its in- 

 terior being fitted up as a detention house. This 

 steamer can accommodate 800 persons, besides 

 furnishing rooms for a physician, matron, and 

 other attendants; but the work is greatly ham- 

 pered by such cramped quarters, awaiting the 

 completion of the new buildings now under con- 

 struction at Ellis island. 



Immigrants are not legally recognized as landed 

 until they have passed satisfactorily the inspec- 

 tion at the immigrant stations. This consists of 

 a second physical examination before a marine- 

 hospital surgeon and repetition of statements 

 contained on the lists before the registration 

 clerks, when any discrepancy between the answers 

 and the written testimony is carefully noted. In- 

 terpreters are at hand to facilitate the work, 

 and it is accomplished as rapidly as possible. 

 The clerks are experts in dealing with human 

 nature, and readily distinguish between the hesi- 

 tation of nervousness and that of cunning or 

 evasion. Those who are honest and straightfor- 

 ward in their conduct are promptly discharged, 

 while all suspected individuals are removed to 

 detention compartments to await special exam- 

 ination. The investigation of special cases is 



conducted before four officials, and the law re- 

 quires that a favorable decision must be ren- 

 dered by three of these before an immigrant can 

 be admitted. The dissenting inspector has the 

 right to appeal the case to the commissioner gen- 

 eral, who in turn can submit it to the Secretary 

 of the Treasury for consideration. The immi- 

 grant is entitled to a speedy hearing, and is either 

 ordered to be deported or granted admission with- 

 out delay. Representatives of charitable socie- 

 ties are present at his trial, and agents of the 

 steamboat companies are also near by from in- 

 terested motives. Italy sends officials to watch 

 over the interests of her nationality and see that 

 no Italian is unjustly debarred. If the immigrant 

 asks for an appeal from an adverse decision a 

 record of proceedings is transmitted to headquar- 

 ters at Washington, and the expense of his board 

 and lodging is charged to the steamship company 

 that transported him. Such immigrants as are ill 

 at the time of arrival are placed in hospitals 

 until sufficiently recovered to travel, where they 

 are maintained at the expense of the steamship 

 company until their examination can be held and 

 judgment rendered. 



The operation of the immigration laws ex- 

 tends over the period of a year from date of ar- 

 rival, and if during such period it is discovered 

 that an immigrant has entered the United States 

 in violation of its express regulations the offend- 

 ing individual can be arrested and returned to his 

 home, the transportation company being forced 

 to defray the expense of his maintenance from 

 the time that the attention of the bureau was 

 called to his case, as well as the cost of his de- 

 portation. If from accident or disease an immi- 

 grant becomes unable to earn his livelihood with- 

 in a year after date of arrival, he is removed to 

 a hospital until it is clearly proved that his fail- 

 ing health will make him a permanent burden 

 upon charity, when he is deported, all expenses 

 incurred thereby to be charged to the immigra- 

 tion fund. If his illness is the result of heredi- 

 tary causes, the cost of his maintenance and re- 

 turn home is paid by the transportation com- 

 pany. The charge for food, lodging, and hospital 

 care is not in excess of the actual cost of furnish- 

 ing them, since it is desired to make the service 

 self-supporting without profit. 



The duties of inspectors specially assigned to 

 the execution of the alien-contract-labor law re- 

 quire them to investigate all complaints of al- 

 leged violation and, if necessary, report the of- 

 fenders to the Immigration Bureau for prosecu- 

 tion. They are even sent to places where labor 

 strikes growing out of the employment of foreign 

 workmen are pending, and they are instructed 

 to keep in touch with the labor organizations 

 throughout the country as a means of securing 

 information concerning infractions of the law. 



Recent experience has shown that the best 

 means of discovering those individuals violating 

 the alien-contract-labor laws is to conduct the in- 

 quiry at their place of ultimate destination. Dur- 

 ing the past year several suspected aliens were 

 followed to Iowa, Illinois, and Pennsylvania, 

 where industrial disputes were in progress be- 

 tween employers and laborers, and \yere there 

 arrested for violation of law and deported. Strong 

 presumptive evidence also exists of the success- 

 ful importation of foreign labor under contract 

 into other States, native workmen being dis- 

 placed. The Immigration Bureau acknowledges 

 its incapacity to deal with these fraudulent en- 

 terprises, the qualifications for such work not 

 being those of an ordinary inspector at our im- 

 migrant stations, but belonging to a trained po- 



