Speech #690200208

Mr. Chairman. this carries out the provision contained on page 8. which limits the clerk hire there to be paid only to American citizens. Under the immigration act of 1924 the American consuls have a great deal to do with the issuing of visas to intended immigrants. They never had this work before. they (lid not have it during my time in the Consular Service. It is these clerks provided for In this section who come in contact with literally hundreds of people every day. There has been some abuse in the various consulates where there Is a great deal of immigration work. and in every instance. I believe. the abuse has been on the part of a native of the foreign country and not on the part of an American citizen. This work of receiving applications for visas and receiving information for application blanks is very important. and if you stop to consider the conditions where there are hundreds of applications for every quota place. whether under the preferential quota or under the regular quota. you will see the necessity o1: having trustworthy employees at our consulates so that the applications may be taken in the order as they are piesented. There is a great opportunity for favoritism and for a man to indulge in practices which we do not countenance. so that this very Important work should not be left to natives of a foreign country but we should insist upon having American citizens at these consulates doing all this work.