The ease with which the law may be evaded is demonstrated by the cases of eleven Dalmatians who were on the articles of the AustroAmerican steamship Giulia, which arrived at New York on March 8, 1907. These men immediately deserted, and on or about the 14th of the same month seven of them were accidentally found at an employment agency in search of work, which was offered them at some point in West Virginia. They were arrested on a warrant and brought to Ellis Island, where two of them were found to have syphilis, a dangerous and loathsome disease. They all stated under oath that they had shipped as members of the crew with the intention of gaining admission to this country by smuggling themselves ashore. Another case is that of Ferdinand Kocsa, aged 18, a native of Hungary, employed as steward on the Cunard ship Ultonia, which arrived March 5, 1907. He was arrested as a deserter on April 9, 1907, and taken to Ellis Island, where he declared under oath that the chief steward of the Ultonia said to him and others that "anyone who wanted to leave the ship and not come back may do so after supper, when through with work." Kocsa was even permitted to take his baggage with him when he left the ship.

Joseph Reinisch, another Hungarian, signed as a steward on the same trip. He stated under oath that the third steward put him ashore at night, and that about 25 others left the ship in the same

manner.

Beric Iva, aged 24, deserted from the Cunarder Carpathia on her arrival at New York, September 25, 1906. He was afterwards found in the insane ward of the Wards Island Hospital, and was deported on May 2, 1907.

Csengeri Marton, aged 35, native of Hungary, signed articles to ship as steward on the Cunarder Ultonia to New York only. Upon the ship's arrival he deserted, but subsequently appeared at Ellis Island in a destitute condition, and was found to be suffering from chancre, a venereal disease, which he had contracted before sailing. Morris Rosenblatt, who signed at Liverpool on the articles of the American Line steamship Merion, deserted upon the arrival of the Merion at Philadelphia. He was subsequently apprehended at Waterloo, Iowa, brought back to Philadelphia, and found to be suffering from a bad case of trachoma. His deportation followed.

The foregoing are cases of deserting seamen whom the immigration authorities were able to locate and place under arrest. With respect to the great majority of deserters, however, the immigration officials have little or no information, and the detection and apprehension of such deserters is seldom accomplished. In fact, thè number of deserters apprehended as compared with the total number of desertions is so small as to be insignificant. Of 573 deserters reported to the immigration authorities at southern ports during the period July 1, 1907, to September 30, 1907, only 36 were apprehended.

DISCHARGED ALIEN SEAMEN.

The number of alien seamen who enter this country in evasion of the immigration law is not made up entirely from the ranks of those who desert. Ineligible aliens who sign as members of the crew may secure an easy entrance into the country by the simple method of appearing at the consulate and receiving a regular discharge as

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bona fide seamen who intend to reship. All that is necessary in securing a discharge is for the alien to declare his intention to reship on some other vessel. There being no system of supervision to ascertain whether or not he afterwards carries out his declaration to reship, his entrance into the country by this method is accomplished without difficulty and with practically no risk of future detection.

At some of the ports of the country it is the practice of consuls and masters of vessels to require that, before being discharged or paid off, alien seamen shall report to the immigration authorities for examination. This arrangement, however, is one between the consuls or masters of vessels and the immigration authorities. It can not avail to prevent the entry into this country of seamen who announce that they intend to continue their calling as sailors. A simple declaration to reship at once establishes the alien's status as a bona fide seaman and secures his release without medical examination. This is the fact regardless of the alien's physical condition, or of the fact that under the immigration law he would be a person coming within one of the excluded classes.

Of course, where alien seamen announce that they intend to become residents of this country and to give up their calling as sailors, they are liable to inspection at the hands of the immigration officials, to manifesting by the ship's officers, and to the payment of head tax, just as are other incoming immigrants.

The following table shows the number of alien seamen discharged by consuls, the number discharged by immigration officials, and the number admitted as immigrants at the ports of New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Boston, during the period July 1, 1907, to September 30, 1907.

TABLE 4.-Number of alien seamen discharged to reship and number admitted as immigrants at the ports of New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Boston, July 1, 1907, to September 30, 1907.

It is undoubtedly true that a majority of discharged seamen are bona fide sailors who reship at once on other vessels. Probably the percentage of discharged seamen who reship is greater than that of deserting seamen who reship; but there is the best of reasons for believing that, as in the case of deserting seamen, a considerable proportion of discharged seamen never leave the country. Moreover, there is good reason for the belief that of those who remain here a large proportion are undesirable and ineligible aliens who have adopted this means of evading the immigration law.

Five thousand four hundred and eighty alien seamen deserted and 5,405 alien seamen were discharged at the ports of New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Boston during the three months' period July 1, 1907, to September 30, 1907. The length of stay in this country of each one of these seamen was, in effect, a matter entirely within the control of the individual alien. In such a situation the opportunities for an evasion of the immigration laws are too great not to be taken advantage of by that class of aliens who, except for the opportunities thus offered, would be unable to gain an entrance into the country. Unless the situation is remedied, large numbers of criminals, persons afflicted with tuberculosis or with a loathsome or dangerous contagious disease, aliens rejected at foreign ports, and those who for any other reason are ineligible to land, will continue to find in this rôle of bona fide seaman an easy and effective way of evading the immigration law and securing admission to the country.

An interesting test was made in the course of the investigation to discover what proportion of aliens applying at certain employment agencies were aliens who had regularly entered the country as immigrants. The names of 85 applicants for work, who stated that they had just arrived at New York and who gave the names of the vessels upon which they had come, were selected from the records of a certain number of employment agencies. Out of this number only 8 were found, upon a search of the records at Ellis Island, to have entered the country as regular immigrant passengers.

STOWAWAYS.

Stowaways furnish another class of aliens not a few of whom gain admission to this country in violation of law. Despite the vigilance of ships' officers to prevent the concealment of stowaways on board vessels at foreign ports, a considerable number of aliens each year are able to employ this method of securing free passage to the United States. They succeed in boarding the vessel usually with the connivance of some member of the crew, although sometimes they are assisted by outside parties who, for a consideration, smuggle them on board. As a rule they are persons coming within one of the two following classes: Those who have been rejected at the foreign port as ineligible under the immigration law to land in this country; those who are without sufficient funds to pay their passage and are unable to secure employment as members of the crew.

Unless protected by the employees who assisted them to embark, they are usually discovered during the voyage and on arrival in port are reported to the immigration authorities. It not infrequently happens, however, that through the collusion of members of the crew stowaways remain undiscovered during the voyage, and upon the arrival of the vessel in port are smuggled ashore without inspection by the immigration officials and in violation, in many instances, of the provisions of the immigration law which forbid their landing. As illustrative of this practice, the following instances are cited: On July 5, 1907, the steamship Estonia arrived at New York from the port of Libau, Russia. According to the statements made by Wilhelm Kisling, Heinrich Seibert, Heinrich Rudolf, and Johannes Helwig, they were among 40 or 50 aliens who had been rejected by

the authorities at the port of embarkation and who were subsequently smuggled aboard ship by a woman named Libowitz and a shoemaker named Brandman, in collusion with members of the crew. Kisling paid Brandman 50 rubles ($25) to place him and his 16-year-old nephew, Heinrich Funken, aboard the vessel, and he then had to pay a fireman named Philip 60 rubles ($30) to take them as far as Rotterdam. At the latter port he had to pay the fireman a like sum for bringing them to New York.

During the voyage they mingled with the other steerage passengers and were supplied with meals in the regular way. On their arrival here, Kisling, his nephew, and two girls in male attire, after paying 5 rubles ($2.50) each, were brought ashore at about 9 o'clock at night on one pass made out for all.

The others, Seibert, Rudolf, and Helwig, declared that they each paid 110 rubles ($55) to the Libowitz woman at Libau for assistance in smuggling them aboard the vessel. On arrival here they were brought ashore on separate passes, along with 6 members of the crew, after payment of 5 rubles ($2.50) each.

These three, with Kisling, were accidentally found at the Grand Central Station in New York, ready to purchase their tickets for the West. They were arrested on a telegraphic warrant and taken to Ellis Island. A medical examination disclosed that all were afflicted with trachoma, a dangerous contagious disease, and their deportation was ordered.

The nephew, Funken, had already succeeded in making his escape, as had also the girls in male attire. All the others who had likewise been rejected at Libau because of being afflicted with trachoma, had been smuggled ashore here through the assistance of the crew.

Another case was that of Jan Gedmin (?) and Paulina Flachs, who arrived at New York-the latter in male attire on the Russian volunteer fleet steamer Saratov on July 14, 1907, as stowaways. They were caught on the dock while trying to escape. When brought to Ellis Island both were found to have trachoma and were deported. The number of stowaways reported to the immigration authorities and the number excluded from landing at the ports of New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Boston during the period July 1, 1907, to September 30, 1907, are shown in the following table:

TABLE 5.-Number of stowaways reported to the immigration authorities and number excluded from landing at the ports of New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Boston, July 1, 1907, to September 30, 1907.

It is seen from the foregoing table that about 50 per cent of the stowaways reported were persons coming within one or another of the excluded classes of aliens. It should be remembered, however, that not all stowaways were reported, and since those who were not re

ported are more likely, as indicated by the instances cited, to have been persons coming within one of the excluded classes, it is probable that the total number of ineligible aliens entering this country as stowaways was much greater, during the period mentioned, than the number of alien stowaways who were properly allowed to land. Those aliens who were eligible to land here, who became stowaways for the purpose merely of securing a free passage to the United States, were not so likely to remain undiscovered and unreported as were those who had been rejected at the foreign port and had smuggled themselves aboard ship for the purpose of securing an entrance into this country in violation of law.

Under the regulations in force during the period covered by the present investigation, stowaways were treated by the immigration authorities in the same manner as were regular immigrant passengers. They were subject to the same rules regarding manifesting, certification of head tax, and medical inspection. Upon examination, those who were found to be qualified under the immigration law to enter the United States were allowed to do so, while those who were found to be ineligible to land were excluded from the country and ordered deported. The rule of the Bureau of Immigration in effect at that time was as follows:

[Immigration Laws and Regulations of July 1, 1907, second edition.]

RULE 23. Stowaways.-The immigration act contains no provision expressly relating to stowaways. Such persons must be dealt with, therefore, if they seek admission to the United States, precisely as other aliens are dealt with. Alien stowaways must be reported and manifested by the masters of vessels, immediately upon arrival at a port of the United States, in the same manner as other aliens: Provided, however, That the name of every such person shall be followed by the word "stowaway." Head tax shall be certified on their account, and they shall be examined under the immigration act touching their right to enter the United States.

Within a year the practice of the immigration authorities with respect to stowaways had entirely changed. Stowaways were no longer regarded as incoming immigrants to whom the provisions of the immigration law were applicable, but were held upon the vessels which brought them and returned, without examination or medical inspection, to the ports from which they had come. The reasons for this change of policy are given in the new rule which was then adopted, and which is as follows:

[Immigration Laws and Regulations of July 1, 1907, fifth edition.]

RULE 23. Alien Stowaways.-The immigration act contains no provision relating in terms to stowaways, and the sections thereof prescribing inspection of applicants for admission do not, as a general rule, cover their cases. There are two good and sufficient reasons for refusing to examine stowaways: (1) By stealing passage they not only evade on their own account, but make it impossible for vessel officials to observe the mandatory terms of sections 9 and 12 to 15, requiring medical inspection and detailed manifesting at the foreign port of embarkation, so that they occupy the status of persons who have failed to comply with plain provisions of law, an observance of which is necessary to a proper inauguration of their inspection under section 16; and (2) even aside from the fact that stowaways thus come before the immigration officials as violators of the law, they are persons obviously falling within the, excluded classes named in section 2 in every instance, at least to the extent that they are persons who are "assisted by others to come," and with respect to whom it would be practically impossible to show "affirmatively and satisfactorily " that they do not belong to the excluded classes.