Speech #460087129

Mr. Chairman. as I take up this bill here tonight I happen to open it at section 4. which if I understand itif I do not understand it of course it will be explainedbut whic. if I understand it. opens the broadest kind of a door for scandals and extravagant expenditure of all kinds. In view of the largeness of the question and in view of the very large number of the immigrants now coming and to come to our country it beconles us to consider the meuning of this. I will take. it up in the middle of the bill. as my speech has begun in the middle and may perhaps end there: SEc. 4. That it shall be the duty of the Secretary of the Treaury. quarter. yearly. commencing the first quarter after the approvl of this act. to request the governor of each State of the United States to transmit to him within thirty days a statement of the amont which his State oranylocal officers or board thereof may have incurred. paid out. or expended. according to law. for the care of the ergrants on their arrival. and for the support and maintenance of any such of the immigrante as designated above within one year from arrival. Now. if I understand those words. if the words in that section which I have quoted are plain English according to the dictionary. then I say it is the largest bid for the largest grab upon the United States Treasury that I have ever seen here save one. Thirtyeight governors with quarteryearly bills at the doors of the Treasury compared with the system of making the commander of immigrant ships give bonds. and to commute those bondsby the payment of $1.50 and $2.50 a headit is the difference between safety and insecurity 1 In view of the four thousand immigrants who arrived in the city of New York today. the two thousand who arrived yesterday. the two thousand who arrived the day before. and the twentyfive hundred a day who will arrive during the next thirty or sixty days. I cannot for my life see why the governor of New York should be intrusted under legal authority with so large a business. and empowered to bring to the Secretary of the Treasury quarteryearly his bills to be reimbursed for the amount of money expended. It were much better to give Now York even $1 per capita.