And yet we are proposing here. under the provisions of the bill we are considering. to send a consular agent into every foreign port and have him inspect the citizens of other countries to determine the question of the right of admission to our shores. How could we possibly adjust our consular service so as to work in harmony with the provisions of this bill? Last year. for example. we only had 250.000 emigrants to this country. while during previous years we have had as high as 800.000. Some years the immigration has been very light from some foreign countries. and probably the very next year exceedingly heavy from that same country. It seems to me that unless we had the power to foretell future events we would not know how to meet the demands which might be made upon us for examiners. In some ports our consuls would have to be supplemented with hundreds of assistants. while in others a very few would suffice. The trouble would be that we could never tell where the extra force would be needed until the rush came. and then it would be too late. The fact of the business is that all this bill does is to force upon the people thousands of extra officials at high salaries to perform labors in foreign countries. and probably over the protests of foreign governments. that will havb to be performed again by home officials. and that. too. when this double performance can only serve to promulgate a conflict of opinions between two sets of United States officials. It has been contended during this entire discussion by gentlemen advocating the passage of the bill that the United States Government has power to confer extra territorial jurisdiction by empowering her consuls to administer oaths to the subjects of foreign countries who might contemplate emigrating to the United States. No man who has license to practice law should indulge in such wild assertions upon this floor. A good lawyer can not entertain such an opinion.
Keywords matched
emigrating immigration emigrants