Speech #540129855

Mr. President. in a few words. I have here an official communication from the Commissioner of Immigration in the port of New York. bdr. Senner. who is best able to advise the Senate and the country of the details incident to the carrying out of this legislation to restrict immigration. He says: The available space at ElIs Island is divided into eight aisles. an arrangomet by which we are enabled to examine eight immigrants at a time. devoting an average of three minutes to each immigrant. thus disposing of 160 per hour. In order to furnish shelves for writing purposes we would be obliged to reduce the number of aisles to four. and the additional time for the writing test is estimated at seven minutes. making ten minutes for the examination of each immigrant. aking the calculati on upon the basis of four aisles and ten minutes per immigrant. we have only examined 120 in the first five hours. according to this canculation. Where will that lead us. Mr. President? In the carrying out of the provisions of this section of the bill. if it takes. as it will. five hours and thirty minutes for 120 immigrants. it Will take eighteen hours for 500 immigrants. If we have 5.000 immigrants at Ellis Island at a timeand we have had them there frequently. and I noticed in a speech the other day of a gentleman . a member of Congress from New York. whom I have the pleasure of seeing in the Chamber at this time. that as many as 10.000 immigrants have arrived at Ellis Island or the port of New York in one daybut putting these figures as I have estimated them. if it takes eighteen hours for 500 immigrants to be examied. 5.000 at Ellis Island at one time will require one hundred and eighty hours to examine. allowing ten hours for a working day. which is two hours a day longer than they work there now. It will require eighteen days to examine 5.000 immigrants at Ellis Island. Eighteen days make three weeks. If you double that. according to the statement of gentlemen who are familiar with this feature of the subject. it will take six weeks to examine 10.000. What is to become of the 10.000 or the 5.000 immigrants who land at Ellis Island? Where are they to be accommodated? The accommodations now are scarcely sufficient to meet the ordinary demands of inspection.