Congress no longer has any control whatever over the fees that are paid to clerks or the salaries paid their assistants employed in the offices of the clerks. This legislation is entirely unnecessary. for the law at the present time authorizes the service. It authorizes the clerks of state courts. as far as it can. to naturalize. and it places upon the clerks of the United States courts the duty of naturalizing. aliens under that law. for which service they are allowed to charge a certain fee. These fees should be paid into the Treasury to the credit of the general fund and direct appropriations made for the salaries of the clerks and their assistants. Some years ago. when we had the fee system. they were allowed to charge certain fees for services or the filing of papers and the conduct of the business of their office. but that system was abused to such an extent that Congress abolished the fee system in all courts. and now it Is proposed to begin again and reestablish this system of appropriating fees for the payment of public services. Under section 13 of the naturalization act we find this language: And in case the clerk. of any court collects fees In excess of the sum of $6.000 in any one year. the Secretary of Commerce and Labor may allow to such clerk from the money which the United States shall receive additional compensation for the employment of additional clerical assistance and for no other purpose. In the sundry civil bill passed at the last session of the Congress. Congress added this proviso: That the total compensation for the additional clerical assistinc authorized by that portion of -the said section quoted above. to be employed by the clerks of courts. shall in no case exceed onehalf the gross amount of fees collected by such clerks in naturalization cases during the fiscal year. and that the expenditures from this appropriation shall be in the manner and under such regulations as the Secretary of Commerce and Labor may prescribe. For this purpose we appropriated $25.000. and It will be noticed that the -language of the proviso is as follows: Shall In no cnse exceed onehalf the gross amount of fees collected by such clerks in naturalization cases during the fiscal year. O1910. Now.
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naturalization naturalize naturalizing