conform exactly to section 18 of the said immigration act, assessing a penalty against vessels for violation of similar provisions regarding aliens brought to our ports as immigrants-which section has been found to work satisfactorily. Section 16 reenacts part of section 33 of the said immigration act, the substance of the remainder of said section being preserved in section 21 of the bill, hereinafter discussed. In addition it provides specifically, instead of leaving such matters to be inferred, that the immigration officials shall board incoming vessels and inspect the alien seamen found thereon, and that such officials shall be notified by the owners, masters, agents, or consignees of such vessels where the vessels will be anchored or moored. Section 17 reenacts section 34 of the said immigration act, amending it so as to permit the examination of aliens who are apprehended after entering unlawfully or irregularly as seamen to be conducted by an immigrant inspector instead of by a board of special inquiry, thus bringing the procedure into exact conformity with that followed under the immigration law in the cases of aliens who enter unlawfully or irregularly otherwise than as seamen. The two provisos added to this section merely incorporate into the law practices which it has been found advisable to follow in enforcing sections 31 to 36 of the immigration act, in order to avoid interference with the operation of the seamen's act or the visiting of any undue hardship upon seamen. Section 18 reenacts section 35 of the said immigration act, with two important and much-needed changes, to wit: (a) The section is made to apply to freight as well as passenger carrying vessels; (b) the amount of the fine is changed from $50 to $100. It is almost, if not quite, as great a menace to the public health for diseased seamen to be carried on freight as on passenger vessels, and it is just as unwise or inhumane to use the mentally unsound on one as on the other character of vessels; the fine for bringing diseased or mentally deficient passengers is $200 (sec. 9, immigration act), and there does not seem to be any good reason why it should not be made as large as now recommended in the case of seamen. Section 19 reenacts section 36 of the said immigration act, with some unimportant changes in the text, and one important amendment, to wit: The provisions of the section requiring the furnishing of crew lists is made to apply to "seamen," not simply to "alien seamen"both of which terms are defined in section 1 of the bill. This change is made for two special reasons: (a) It is often very difficult for officers of vessels surely to determine whether a seaman is an alien or a citizen, and such officers usually prefer to list the entire crew, giving nationality to the best of their ability, and leaving the question of nationality for final and authoritative decision by the immigration officials; and (b) it is important, from the point of view of enforcing the immigration law, that the list shall be absolutely inclusive of all aliens, which can not be insured otherwise than by listing the entire crew. Section 20 is new legislation, but merely gives legislative sanction to the established practice of removing diseased seamen from vessels and treating them in hospitals at United States ports and makes it clear by whom the expense of treatment shall be borne. It also contains a provision conferring discretion upon immigration officials to deport promptly those who are shown to be so badly afflicted that a cure can not be effected within a reasonable time. Section 21 contains, in substance, so much of section 33 of the immigration act as is not embodied in section 16 of the bill. Most of it, however, is new legislation, the purpose of which is to give absolute legislative sanction to the substance of a rule (rule 10 of the Immigration Regulations) which it has been necessary to enforce under the immigration act, with a view to prevent the entry of inadmissible aliens, and at the same time not interfere with the operation of the seamen's act. It has been found to be important from every point of view (including that of the bona fide seaman) to furnish seamen with certificates of identity, thereby affording a ready means by which the real seaman may be able to establish his status, and (through the duplicates of the certificates kept by the immigration officials) creating an absolute record that may be used in following up and eventually deporting those aliens who do succeed in getting by the inspectors as seamen when not actually such. Section 22 embodies in the law provisions which have been enforced as regulations. Under said section, if seamen shall become immigrants, i. e., abandon their calling and attempt to remain in the United States, they must pass all the requirements and tests prescribed by the existing immigration law in the cases of immigrants, and must also comply with the provisions of the bill affecting immigrants generally. Section 23 relates to the coastwise and Great Lakes trade and prevents alien seamen who are not admissible to the United States under the immigration law from entering such trades. This has heretofore been covered by regulations, but the hands of the department would be materially strengthened if the provisions should be made statutory. Section 24 requires that shipping commissioners shall furnish immigration officials with detailed reports concerning alien seamen who ship out of the United States. With reports of this kind in their possession, in addition to the outgoing manifests required by section 19 of the bill, it would be possible for immigration officials to keep complete records of alien seamen, to "strike a balance" periodically to determine which, if any, of such seamen have violated the law and remained permanently in the country, and then to take appropriate steps to follow up the cases and prevent actual violation of the immigration laws. The present system is seriously defective in this regard. Section 25 provides a means for overcoming the existing difficulty of keeping in complete touch with alien seamen, arising from the privilege given owners, agents, consignees, or masters of vessels by section. 4504 of the Revised Statutes to ship their own crews when their vessels are engaged in the coastwise trade or plying between the United States and the British North American possessions, the West Indies, or Mexico. By requiring the vessels in these cases to obtain the consent of immigration officials before taking aliens into their crews, it will be possible so to supervise the matter as to prevent the violations of law that now occur. Section 26 includes in and makes fully a part of the bill certain provisions of sections 16, 17, 18, and 20 of the immigration act of February 5, 1917, defining offenses and specifying penalties or punishments therefor. The object is to insure that full force and effect shall be given to each and every provision of the bill by providing means of enforcing respect therefor. Section 27 is a carefully worked out penal provision, the purpose of which is to prevent the forging or the fraudulent use of certificates issued for aliens in pursuance of the bill. The necessity for such a provision is obvious. Section 28 confers upon the Commissioner General of Immigration and the Secretary of Labor authority to issue rules and regulations to put the law into operation, including special rules to cover cases of aliens entering from or through contiguous foreign territory and those constantly crossing back and forth on the land boundaries, and also special rules for the enforcement of the various immigration laws in their relation to alien seamen without impeding the operation of the seamen's act. Section 29 specifies that the law shall take effect on January 1, 1920. |