Speech #700011872

There are many roads passing every port of entry connecting up with the main arteries of travel by crossroads through sparsely settled communities. Take the situation at North Troy as an illustration. The customs office and immigration station is located on the main highway from the north. But within a distance of 2 miles six other roads also enter the States. At Derby Line there are six roads within a distance of a little over 2 miles. The same condition exists at nearly every station in my district. Automobile travel has made the problem of preventing the entrance of the alien more difficult. At North Troy. a small border town. 3.593 persons arriving by train and 193.944 by auto were examined by the regular force consisting of an immigration inspector and four customs men in the winter and seven in the summer. At Derby Line. another small town. 10.663 persons arriving by train and 218.352 by auto were examined. Over 400.000 persons going into and coming out of Canada passed that station last year. In all. 997.137 entered by railway and highway last year at the stations of Richford and east to New Hampshire. The work of examination was handled by a force of 18 inspectors and 14 border patrol. Our border patrol in 1926 covered 82.859 miles (62.916 by motor. 2 by boat. 1.823 on foot. 18.116 by rail). Eight hundred and fiftythree freight trains. 4.916 passenger trains. 14.431 automobiles. 61 busses. and 165 other conveyances were examined. Thirtynine thousand and eighteen people were questioned. 52 independent investigations made. 18 smugglers and 125 smuggled aliens were captured. 188. persons were turned over to immigrant inspectors for further action. 30 automobiles valued at $14.350. and contraband goods valued at $4.513.45 were captured. That was a good years work for that faithful band of men. In order to cover the work required by the immigration laws. the 18 inspectors had to work many hours of overtime. At none of the ports was a 24hour service maintained. For that reason there was nothing to prevent aliens from entering during the hours of the day or night when inspectors were obliged to be off duty for rest.