Speech #520113666

Sic. 4. That section 1 of the passenger act. 1882." approvedAugust2. 188. entitled "An act to regulate the carriage of passengers by sea. shall be. and is hereby. amended as to the dimensions of the compartments or spaces for passengers carried in a steamship by requiring for each compartment or space on the main deck. or on the first deck next below the main deck. 200 cubic feet for each passenger carried instead of 100 cubic feet as now required. and by requiring for each passenger carried on the second deck below the main deck 250 cubic feet instead of 120 cubic feet as now required. and it shall not be lawful to carry or bring any passengers upon any deck which is s0tuatd more than 5 feet below the water line. Section2 of "the passenger act. 1882." aforesaid shall he. and is hereby. amended so as to require that each berth of an emigrant passenger shall be located fore and aft and notacross the vessel. and section 3of said act shall be. and is hereby. amended so as to require that there shall not be less for male passengers than three closets for the first 1 . such passengers. nor less than four closets for the first 200 such passengers. aod an additional closet for every additional 100 such passengers. and so as to require that each ventilating tube or pipe of exit shall be of sufficient capacity to allow a crosssection area of at least 3 inches for each passenger occupying a portion of a compartment as mentioned in said section. and the following clause in said section 5 is hereby repealed. namely. "in any steamship the ventilating apparatus provided. or any method of ventilation adopted thereon. which has been approved by the proper immigration officers at the port or place from which said vessel was cleared. shall be deemed a compliance with the foregoing provisions." Said section is hereby further amended by adding thereto the following provision: "All ventilation shall be from and to the air above the uppermost deck. where the pipes must be properly protected and secured from the action o the sea. andno dependence shall be placed on ventilation by air ports through the vessels sides. In every steamship the ventilating apparatus provided and the method of ventilation adopted thereon shall be subject to the approval of the sanitary or medical inspector appointed by the authorities of the United States. and in caseswhere such inspector mayfind theventilating apparatus of any steamer defective. inadequate. or incomplete. it shall be his duty to notify the master and the collector of the port of his disapproval of the same. and it shall be unlawful for such steamer to land another load of passengers at any port in the United States until the apparatus has been made perfect. adequate. and complete. "In case ventilating apparatuts has been required embracing fans and blowers. they must be kept in motion whenever necessary for proper ventilation. and any failure to so keep them in motion shall subject the master of the vessel for each offense to the penalty provided in said section 3." SEC. 5. That every petition for naturalization as a citizen of the United States shall be filed at least sixty days before the same shall be heard and tried by the court. and notice thereof shall be givenin writing to the district attorney. solicitor. or public prosecutor. whose duty it is to represent the United States. or the State. district. or Territory in such court. and upon the hearing. if in a United States court. the United States shall be repre sented by the district attorney or his assistant. and If in a State court the State may be represented by the United States district attorney or his assistant. orby the States attorney. solicitor. or public prosecutor.and it shall be the duty of such officers to appear against such petition and to require that the allegations thereof shall be fully proven. Upon the hearing there shall be produced. if practicable. the original or a copy of any consular certificate which may have been is sued to the applicant. and of any declaration which may have been made by him upon entry into the United States. One of the most important provisions of this bill is a condensation of another bill that is now pending. requiring better accommodations for passengers coming from Europe in the steerages of the greatsteamship lines. more cubic feet of space. better ventilation. and improved accommodations in various ways. I believe there is no subject to which this Congress can give attention of more importance than the requirement that our immigrants. such as we admit. shall have better accommodations on their passage. We do not want any $10 immigrants. The price of steerage passages has at times been reduced as low as $11. I have been told that the steamship companies bringing immigrants from the Mediterranean have discovered that they can feed an immigrant for 17 cents a day. that to bring an immigrant in ten days from the Mediterranean will cost for subsistence a dollar and seventy cents. that they can make money by bringing them at $11. and that they can make $10 each for bringing immigrant passengers when they charge nineteen or twenty dollars. Mr. President. we do not want such immigrants. We do not want any man or woman or any family. whether they come as tourists or whether they come for settlement. so poor as to come with such steerage accommodations as the transatlantic lines have been in the habit of furnishing.