MOY J. HING, 18 West First St., Duluth, Minn., 27/12. Mr. COWELL: Dear friend excuse delay in answering yours of the 5th but Mrs Hing has been very ill near the point of deth, but is some better now we have had two doctors they advise our return to China at once as the climate is to cold here for her. In regards to the boys leaving you-I am very sure they will return to Cushing Academy a little later and Mr. Cowell Mrs Hing turned over every cent she received for tution from those boys as Mr. Burghoultz knows also the International Branch at Canton do not believe to much what boys say for in fact those boys do not know what was paid for them as the money was paid by their Guardians and they still owe my wife fore their fair so as I say do not believe to much, well as I am so buisy I will close, write more next time and hope to here from you soon I am ever yours most sincerely Moy J. HING. TESTIMONY OF MR. GEORGE B. BILLINGS. Mr. BUSIEK. State your name in full, Mr. Billings. Mr. BUSIEK. What is your position? Mr. BILLINGS. Commissioner of immigration for the port of Boston. Mr. BILLINGS. Seventeen years. Mr. BUSIEK. Been here in Boston all that time? Mr. BILLINGS. Yes, sir. Mr. BUSIEK. How long have you been with the service, Mr. Billings? Mr. BILLINGS. Seventeen years. Mr. BUSIEK. You have been commissioner for 17 years? Mr. BILLINGS. Yes, sir. Mr. BUSIEK. What is the Boston district? Mr. BILLINGS. Well, the Boston district comprises all of New England except the border. We have nothing to do with the Canadian border. Mr. BUSIEK. Who has that in charge? Mr. BILLINGS. The commissioner of immigration at Montreal, John II. Clark. Mr. BUSIEK. Is Buffalo under your office? Mr. BILLINGS. No; I think that is under Mr. Clark. Mr. BUSIEK. Have you any men at New York-any interest there? Mr. BILLINGS. No, sir. Mr. BUSIEK. How many men have you got working on Chinese matters exclusively? Mr. BILLINGS. Three. Mr. BUSIEK. Who are they? Mr. BILLINGS. John A. McCabe, John G. Sullivan, and Walter-I can't think of his middle initial-Perry. He is the stenographer. Mr. BUSIEK. He is the man who signs "W. M. P. ̈? Mr. BILLINGS. Oh, that is it-Walter M. Perry. Mr. BUSIEK. You say he works on Chinese matters? Mr. BILLINGS. Practically or almost entirely. Mr. BUSIEK. As a stenographer? Mr. BILLINGS. Yes, sir. Mr. BUSIEK. What is his official designation? Mr. BILLINGS. I think it is clerk. I think all stenographers are run as clerks. I may be wrong in that; it may be stenographer and clerk. Commissioner DELANO. Is he a civil-service appointee? Mr. BILLINGS. Oh, yes; they are, every one, down at our office, civil-service appointees. Mr. BUSIEK. How long has Inspector McCabe been in your department? Mr. BILLINGS. Well, I can't say. Sullivan and Perry came into the service, as I remember it, about the same time. Perry came to Boston and Sullivan went to Richford. I think that has been about 10 years. And Sullivan stayed at Richford, Vt. That was originally under Mr. Shell. Mr. BUSIEK. What station did Mr. Shell have at that time? Mr. BILLINGS. Originally he was in Boston, and then he had charge of Richford also. Mr. BUSIEK. Was Richford under the Boston office? Mr. BILLINGS. Not originally. I had nothing to do with the Chinese until Secretary Cortelyou came in. I can't tell you the date. Mr. BUSIEK. About what year was that? Mr. BILLINGS. It was at the time the Department of Commerce and Labor was created. Mr. BUSIEK. That was under the McKinley administration? Mr. BILLINGS. Yes. As I should say, I think it was about a dozen years ago, as far as my memory goes. Mr. BUSIEK. I have a list here that shows that Mr. Sullivan entered the service in about 1903. That is substantially correct? Mr. BILLINGS. Well, I said 10 or 12 years ago; yes. Mr. BUSIEK. He has been stationed here in the Boston district during that entire time, has he? Mr. BILLINGS. No; he was originally sent to Richford. Mr. BUSIEK. Where is Richford? Mr. BILLINGS. Richford, Vt. Mr. BUSIEK. Yes, Mr. BILLINGS. It is up about-I can not tell you exactly, It used to be a port of entry. There used to be Malone, N. Y., and Richford, Vt., as ports of entry. Mr. BUSIEK. Is Newport, Vt., a port of entry? Mr. BILLINGS. No; Newport never was a port of entry, but it was near Richford, which came under the Boston office, and Malone under the New York office. Mr. BUSIEK. What ports are there on the Atlantic coast for the entry of Chinese? Mr. BILL.NGs. Well, there is Boston and New York and-I can't remember. Mr. BUSIEK. And Atlanta? Mr. BILLIINGS. I don't remember the southern ports. Mr. BUSIEK. Any place on the Canadian border where Chinese are allowed to come in? Mr. BILLINGS. Yes; by all the ports they come in now on the Canadian border. Mr. BUSIEK. They are permitted to enter there under your jurisdiction? Mr. BILLINGS. There are no ports under my jurisdiction except Boston. We used to have Richford, and then they abolished that, and then afterwards they came by way of Halifax to Boston, and the department stopped that some years ago. Mr. BUSIEK. Now back in 1903, or thereabouts, there was considerable smuggling of Chinese into this country, was there not? That is, organized smuggling at the time of the Bonita and the Frolic—— Mr. BILLINGS (interrupting). I was trying to think what year that was. 1903? I have forgotten whether that was before we had the station or not. I think it was after 1903 that the Frolic came in. Mr. BUSIEK. It was when Inspector Shell was here? Mr. BILLINGS. Yes; he had charge of the Chinese. That is, he had it under my jurisdiction. I think that was in 1905 or 1906; I am not sure. Mr. BUSIEK. At that time there was considerable organized smuggling, was there not? Mr. BILLINGS. Why, there was supposed to be; yes. Mr. BUSIEK. Well, didn't it subsequently transpire that there was? Mr. BILLINGS. Well, it looks so the way the thing turned out. There was no question but it was organized on this Frolic. We were five or six weeks looking after them, trying to capture them, and had every revenue cutter and lighthouse keeper along the coast looking out for them, and they finally came in after the officer had been previously kept away from his vacation for a week or two looking out for them; and after he left they came in. Mr. BUSIEK. They were caught by the police eventually? Mr. BILLINGS. The police originally got hold of them. Mr. BUSIEK. And was anyone ever sent up for that? Mr. BILLINGS. I have forgotten just how far they did go. The captain escaped, as I remember it, and whether Phillips-there was a man named Phillips Mr. BUSIEK (interrupting). Well, for your information I will say to you that Goodman Phillips was convicted. Mr. BILLINGS. Oh! He was! I had forgotten. He was in so many of those scrapes. Then I think that was the only one he was ever convicted for. Mr. BUSIEK. Goodman Phillips is quite a character amongst the smugglers, or is reputed to be a smuggler? Mr. BILLINGS. He has been supposed to be mixed up in a good many things. Mr. BUSIER. Did your department keep a watch on Phillips? Mr. BILLINGS. We did for a time until I think he moved out of our jurisdiction. So far as I know lately I don't think he has been here, though there has been some correspondence in regard to him. I have forgotten just what it was. Mr. McCabe can tell you. Commissioner DELANO. Mr. Busiek, did you mean that this man was a general smuggler, or just a smuggler of Chinese? Mr. BUSIEK. Just a smuggler of Chinese. Are there any other characters here in Boston who are noted smugglers? Mr. BILLINGS. Well, in this Frolic case there was a man by the name of Linehan; then there was another man, I think, who was convicted who kept a flower stand in the alleyway here outside of the city hall. Mr. BUSIEK. As a result of the Bonita and the Frolic expeditions Inspector Shell was reduced, was he not? Mr. BILLINGS. He was sent to New York. Mr. BUSIEK. And reduced? Mr. BILLINGS. Yes; I think his salary was reduced. not Mr. BUSIEK. It came to your department, did it not. It is a fact, is it Mr. BILLINGS. He was transferred from here from in charge to another position in New York which at that time was not considered as good. Mr. BUSIEK. Now, what was your method of detecting smuggling? Mr. BILLINGS. You mean in that Frolic case or in others? Mr. BUSIEK. Take the Frolic case, for instance. Mr. BILLINGS. Well, we had, through the department, notified all the lighthouse keepers, the life-saving people, the revenue cutters, and the customs officers. Of course, we had no men of our own on the lookout-could not have except casually as we could do it. We did not have enough men. Then there was a boat before that got in at Marblehead without question and landed passengers, and the customhouse boat had been at Gloucester on the lookout. You see, this boat was five or six weeks coming down what ought to have taken her only a week or two. Mr. BUSIER. Well, didn't you have men up in Nova Scotia or Newfoundland, where the expedition was organized? Mr. BILLINGS. I think Mr. McCabe-this is quite awhile ago and my memory is not the best on this. This is 10 years ago. I think Mr. McCabe went up there, and then Inspector Turner, of Yarmouth, investigated also. Mr. BUSIEK. Where does your information ordinarily come from in smuggling cases? Mr. BILLINGS. Well, if my memory serves me right, it came from a reporter on the Transcript. Mr. BUSIEK. Well, that was in that particular case? Mr. BILLINGS. Yes. Mr. BUSIEK. But the cases of Chinese smuggling generally, how do you get your information? Mr. BILLINGs. It usually has to come from outside sources. We can't mingle in with them, of course, They would be suspicious if our inspectors came in with them and we wouldn't get anything out of them. We ferreted out that case down in Mexico where they were arrested. We had an inspector down in Eastport-one of those men down there, I think, for a long while-I say a long while-two or three weeks-watching; and they had-I can't think of the name of it now-a boat and it was afterwards caught down in Mexico somewhere. Mr. BUSIEK. Do the Chinese themselves ever give up any information as to supposed smuggling? Mr. BILLINGS. Not very often, unless it is spite; and then you can't depend on them when it is spite. Mr. BUSIEK. What do your inspectors do? That is, how is their time occupied-the Chinese inspectors? Mr. BILLINGS. Well, to-day they are mostly occupied in investigating the outgoing Chinese or the cases that land on the border or at Vancouver-mostly in Vancouver. As to the outgoing Chinese, it is to look up and make an investigation and recommendation to the commissioner in charge as to whether to give them a certificate or not. Mr. BUSIEK. Explain to me what you have to do with the Chinese at Vancouver-landing there? Mr. BILLINGS. Well, if a Chinaman lands at Vancouver and they are not satisfied with his right to land, and he has come into this district, of course they send the papers on here and we investigate as to whether we think he has a right to land, and then we make a report there making our recommendation. Mr. BUSIER. Well, the Chinaman who leaves this country arranges for his reentry, doesn't he? Mr. BILLINGS. Not always. Mr. BUSIEK. Not always? r. BILLINGS. No, sir. Mr. BUSIEK. If he fails to do so, he can still enter by making a proper showing? Mr. BILLINGS. Proof; yes, sir. Mr. BUSIEK. How many cases do you say you have a month of Chinese making application to leave and return? Mr. BILLINGS. I couldn't tell you that-the detailed part of it. I have so much in the other end I do not pay much attention to the details. Mr. McCabe or Mr. Sullivan will give you that. Mr. BUSIEK. You have a Chinese interpreter? Mr. BILLINGS. Yes, sir. Mr. BUSIEK. How long has he been with you? Mr. BILLINGS. I don't remember. years, I think. I couldn't tell. Mr. BUSIEK. What is his name? I would not want to say. Four or five Mr. BILLINGS. Moy-you got me there. It is Moy something. Mr. BUSIEK. Moy Shere? Mr. BILLINGS. Moy Shere, I think it is. Mr. BUSIEK. Been here since March, 1911? Mr. BILLINGS. Well, then, it is only three years. Mr. BUSIEK. Who was your interpreter before him? Mr. BILLINGS. Why, we had two. One was transferred to San Francisco and the other one disappeared; I don't know where he ever did go; he left the service suddenly. Then we had Chin Wilie before him. Mr. BUSIEK. What became of Chin Wilie? Mr. BILLINGS. Afterwards got transferred-got out of the service. Mr. BILLINGS. Interpreters used to be paid $5 a day, and then they were cut down to $4. Mr. BUSIEK. The present man gets $1,200 a year, doesn't he? Mr. BILLINGS. Then they cut it down still further, Mr. BUSIEK. Chin Wilie lost his position because of irregularities? Mr. BILLINGS. Well, I always thought well of Chin Wilie. Mr. BUSIEK. But it is a fact Mr. BILLINGS (interrupting). Yes; I think he did. I think he was discharged from the service. Mr. BUSIEK. The one that was transferred to Frisco was under yourself here, too, was he not? Mr. BILLINGS. No; he was-I can't think of his name--he was supposed to be a Christianized Chinaman.. Mr. BUSIEK. Isn't it a fact that the preachers here in this town rose up in arms against him and preferred charges of immorality against him? Mr. BILLINGS. Oh, no; not this one. I mean they were very much in favor of him; but-what is the name?-there was one very notorious one that afterwards went away from here. I can't think of his name. He afterwards-—————— Mr. BUSIEK (interrupting). Have charges ever been filed against your present interpreter? Mr. BILLINGS. No; I think not. Not with us anyway. Mr. BUSIEK. Has he ever been investigated by the department that you know of? Mr. BILLINGS. Not while he has been here. Mr. BUSIEK. Now, in the event that a Chinaman wants to leave for China, to return, you make an examination of his papers? Mr. BILLINGS. Yes, sir. Mr. BUSIEK. His identification papers? Mr. BILLINGS. Yes, sir. Mr. BUSIEK. And if they are all O. K. you issue him a permit to go to China and return. Mr. BILLINGS. Well, we used to show-if he went out of Boston we would issue a permit, but we only make our recommendation to the port where he goes from and they give him the permit. When they used to go from here to Halifax we used to issue a permit with a picture and signature and everything of that kind; but now we don't have anything to do with that. We just make our report to the port of departure. Mr. BUSIEK. Now, describe what kind of a certificate a Chinaman has which entitles him to residence here. Mr. BILLINGS. They have got to show that he is a native or a merchant; or, if he is a laborer, there are certain ways he can go across and come back. He has got to have property at least of $1,000 or an American wife or children—I can't just remember just the details of what it is. Of course, I don't investigate any cases myself, you understand. Mr. BUSIEK. You never have? Mr. BILLINGS. I never have. Mr. BUSIEK. You never have done any Chinese work yourself? Mr. BILLINGS. No. Mr. BUSIEK. They do have certificates with the photographs on, do they not? Mr. BILLINGS. Yes, sir. Mr. BUSICK. Isn't there a general charge that there are many, many forged certificates in circulation? Mr. BILLINGS. Yes. Mr. BUSIEK. You have encountered some of those here in Boston possibly, have you not? Mr. BILLINGS. Yes, sir. Mr. BUSIEK. Have you ever run to the ground any of these forged certificates? Or have you ever found who was issuing them or how they were gotten? Mr. BILLINGS. Well, there is a certificate called the McGettrick certificate, supposed to be a fraudulent certificate, issued in Vermont. Mr. BUSIEK. Explain to us about the McGettrick certificate. Mr. BILLINGS. I would rather have Mr. McCabe explain that. He can do it better than I can. I would be glad to do it, though, but Mr. BUSIEK (interrupting). Do that just as well as you can just in a general way? Mr. BILLINGS. I don't know that I could. Mr. BUSIEK. Who was Mr. McGettrick? Mr. BILLINGS. He was a United States commissioner. Mr. BUSIEK. Of the district court up there in Vermont? Mr. BILLINGS. Yes, sir; in Vermont. Mr. BUSIEK. And the charge was-am I right?-that he would issue certificates to Chinese? Mr. BILLINGS (interrupting). He kept no record of his certificates at all; that is, as I understand it. He did not keep any record, and you could take with a glass-I have seen cases where you could see that they were not proper certificates. In fact, I have seen this with those very certificates. Mr. BUSIEK. Well, a certificate has a seal punched on it? Mr. BILLINGS. Well, sometimes they do not agree with what they should be. I can't explain it very well, but the mark won't be the same as the original certificate should have. We don't get many of those now; that is, practically haven't had any for some time. That is, I don't think we have; I don't remember of hearing. Mr. BUSIEK. Well, each certificate also has a Chinaman's picture on it? Mr. BILLINGS. Yes, sir; the certificate, you know-that is a picture and the seal is supposed to be over the picture. Mr. BUSIEK. Stamped over the picture? Mr. BILLINGS. Yes, sir. Mr. BUSIEK. Is it not true that the Chinese acquire considerable art or skill in forging these-in soaking the pictures off and putting on a new picture and then by steaming or some other process make these indentures in the paper? Mr. BILLINGS. I do not know how much of that is done; but we have seen some of it, we were satisfied was done. Mr. BUSIEK. Now, when you run across such a Chinaman he is arrested and held for deportation, is he not? Mr. BILLINGS. He is. |