The Government has made Ellis Island. distant only a few hundred feet from Bedloes Island. a naval magazine. where tons of powder are continually stored. The request of the Boards of Trade and Chambers of Commerce is that the Government shall provide a powder magazine other than on Ellis Island. and a bill. as I say. is now pending before the Committee on Naval Affairs. awaiting some action by the Secretary of the Navy. providing that it shall be discontinued as a naval magazine. Ellis Island will make a most excellent place for an immigrant station. It is much larger in area than the present grounds occupied at Castle Garden. in New York. for immigrant purposes. It can be made just as large as is necessary. because of the fact that the waters are very shallow about the island. and it may be increased to any extent by putting up walls of masonry on the outer side. although there is sufficient space already for the immigrant business. It seems to me as though the proper course to adopt would be not to occupy Bedloes Island. or what is now popularly called Liberty Island. with any of these unsightly structures. I hardly think the Senator from New York . who had so much to do with the obtaining of the site and its preparation and also in the erection of the monument there. would consent to have the island defaced or used for any purpose other than the purpose for which it is now used.
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immigrant