Speech #510158954

Mr. PresidentI can understandthat itis quiteproper to hold the master of a vessel responsible for all cases of dynamite or other explosives or dangerous materials. because everything brought to him as freight is examined by the agents of the vessel or of the company. and it is all put upon the manifest with great care. so many cases of this. that. and the other. But here 1.200 or 1.500 immigrants come upon a vessel at Bremen or Liverpool or Queenstown. and whatever the boards of health of those places require probably has been furDished them. But how under the sun is the captain to be held responsible for an oral agreement that one or ten of those passengers may have made with some American traveler or some American correspondent. an agreement that when these persons get over here they shall have work with such a firm. or shall be employed as coachmen or anything of that sort? You maysay it is rihtand proper and just to hold the captain responsible for that class of persons. as it is to hold him responsible for dangerous freight. but it is not true. It is cruel. in my judement. to impose that responsibility upon the owners or captains of vessels. unless we supplement it by an examination of all proposed immigrants by our consuls or by some authority appointed for that purpose. It would be humane. simply humaneI do not speak of the business aspect of itbut it would be just and humane if this bill contained a section providing that none should be received except coming from certain ports and that at each of those ports there should be a representative of the United States appointed to give an examination to these people and to give them a sort of passport for immigration. because that would free the masters of vessels and we should be responsible for the character of the immigration ourselves rather. I am sure there is not a common carrier who would not be glad to have that done. and I am sure it would be a fair thing. But. as it is now. there is liable to be very great injustice under this section in asking the masters of vessels to perform that which is almost impossible.