Speech #640183445

I would much prefer if these abuses had been corrected by the department.itself upon their attention being called to them. It is true that there are energetic. diligent. and honest officials in the service. and through these the exposures which have recently been made of wholesale violations of the law. together with attempts to prosecute. the criminals engaged therein. have been initiated. But. notwithstanding the fact that months ago urgent representations were made to the department of the complete demoralization of the immigration service in the State of Washington. complaints so varied. so well established by the testimony of prominent and responsible witnesses that they demanded attention and action. no apparent effort has been made to correct these flagrant abuses in so far as the actual prevention of the violation of the law is concerned. The people are entitled to an efficient and rigorous enforcement of the provisions of our exclusion acts. but the field force has continually been cut down where it should have been increased. while expensive establishments have been maintained where they were not essential. and instead of improving the service it has become completely demoralized. I ask leave here to print as a part of my remarks a letter dated March 31. 1916. from E. P. Marsh. chairman of the Washington State Federation of Labor. dealing with the conditions of the administration of the immigration laws on the WashingtonBritish Columbia border.