STATEMENT OF MR. J. C. F. GORDON, CHIEF NATURALIZATION EXAMINER FOR THE THIRD DISTRICT, PHILADELPHIA, PA. The CHAIRMAN. Mr. Gordon, you have heard the statements of the witnesses yesterday and to-day? Mr. GORDON. Yes, sir. The CHAIRMAN. We will be glad to hear you. Mr. GORDON. I think it will be very hard to amplify anything on the subject after Mr. Bevington has talked to you. I think he has covered everything in the field that most of the chief examiners have come in contact with, including all the questions that have been involved in the procedure touching cancellation and other questions. He has covered the ground fully, and I think that for the sake of expedition I might say that I do not have anything to add to what he has said along the lines under discussion. We have had practically the same experience in every district. We are all working without sufficient help, and are not able to make our investigations as thorough as we desire and as thorough as they should be. The CHAIRMAN. So the candidates answer in blocks of 50. That settles it, and they are citizens. From my experience in the naturalization service and information gained from the work of other divisions, investigations made in each division for naturalization does not differ materially in the several divisions. It has been the object of the Philadelphia station to conduct its investigation of all petitioners for naturalization and their witnesses prior to the hearings on the petitions as completely as possible, but with the limited personnel and the large number of filings throughout the district it is often impossible to give that thoroughness which should be given in order to insure the very best results with a view of keeping from citizenship those not entitled to it. In view of the fact that there has been mentioned before the committee to-day the apparent lax method of conducting naturalization hearings in the United States district court at Philadelphia, it would appear to be appropriate that I give the committee a history of the situation as it now exists. We have two judges in this court, both of them of the highest type of Americans, able lawyers and jurists, and while I believe that both of them would be glad to make the ceremonies at naturalization hearings more in conformity with the general idea of the solemnity of such a proceeding, it has been impossible for them to so conduct these hearings for the reason that the criminal, civil, and admiralty work under their jurisdiction occupies so large a per cent of their time that petitioners for naturalization would wait many months longer than they do for hearing if a less number of applicants was heard and a greater amount of time consumed in determining their fitness for citizenship by the court. Both of the judges of this court stated to me that the matter of conducting naturalization hearings in their courts consumed too much of their time under the method of having the petitioners and witnesses examined in open court, due to the fact of the increased work imposed upon them by the Volstead Act and the increase of all phases of litigation and criminal work. They suggested that arrangements be effected whereby a larger number of petitions for naturalization could be disposed of expeditiously and in very much less time than had previously been required. Upon thei. suggestion the following plan was devised: On the regular days fixed for hearings none but petitions shown by the records of this office to be without objection, both as to statutory requirements and knowledge of the Constitution, are to be called for hearing. The petitioners and witnesses appear at my office before going to the court room to have their cards checked after the witnesses have been identified or substitution approved, and no petitioner or witness is allowed in the court room unless his card bears the O. K. of my office. Fifty petitioners and their witnesses are admitted to the court room at a time. After the oath to "true answers make" has been administer the witnesses are required to verify the statutory requirements, and the examiner informs the court that the preliminary examination conducted by this service has been satisfactory and that there is no objection to the petitioner's admission. The oath of allegience is then administered to the petitioners, after which the witnesses are directed to leave the building and the admitted petitioners are sent to the clerk's office to sign the certificates. Fifty more petitioners and their witnesses are then admitted to the court room and the same process continued until the hearing is completed. Mr. GORDON. Under an order of the court signed by both judges, no petitioner will be called for final hearing who was deficient in knowledge of the Government on the date of filing his petition, until he has satisfied my office that he has acquired such knowledge of the Constitution as will warrant his petition being calendared for hearing. If an adverse report is made by my office to the court after the examination or reexamination of the petitioner as to his knowledge of the Constitution, the same shall be good grounds for the further continuance of the petition. The court has agreed to give such additional time for the disposition of petitions having objectionable features as may be necessary to enable this office to keep the condition of the work in this court as current as possible. The CHAIRMAN. The questions are asked the candidates for naturalization en bloc? Mr. GORDON. The witnesses are asked the questions en bloc. The CHAIRMAN. They all say yes? Mr. GORDON. Yes, sir. The CHAIRMAN. There has never been any exception? Mr. GORDON. Not since July 1, 1921, except at the hearing of petitions having objectionable features. I am frank to say that ever since I have been in the Philadelphia district, which has been practically 10 years, I have always thought that the judges of this court should make their requirements stricter, but this appears to have been impossible, due to the large number of petitions filed and to be heard. I have one court at Wilmington, Del., that will take six or seven hours to hear 75 petitions. They make every Hebrew swear on the Five Books of Moses with his hat on, believing that that is the only oath that he can take. He is asked every question required to be established in his petition. He is given a thorough questioning on the Government and the Constitution and his knowledge of them. The school authorities sit at a desk in the court room and if an applicant has not sufficient knowledge, the judge says, You walk over to that desk and register with Miss Burnett, and when you have her certificate that you have passed the required course in the Americanization class come back and we will naturalize you." Every man who becomes a citizen in that court becomes a citizen in a solemn and proper way. He knows that he has gone through the proceedings with some sanctity and solemnity when he is made a citizen. At Wilmington those admitted to citizenship come back in the evening and there is a spread prepared by the ladies connected with the Delaware Americanization Committee. The new citizens hear a talk on Americanism and citizenship by the court and perhaps by other gentlemen. That is done at every hearing. Mr. RAKER. What is that judge's name? I want his name to go into the record. Mr. GORDON. Judge Hugh M. Morris. The CHAIRMAN. This work by the school authorities and the ladies' committee is volunteer work? Mr. GORDON. No, sir; in Delaware the State appropriates $50,000 for two years for the education of aliens, or $25,000 for each year, the sessions of the legislature being two years apart. The city of Wilmington, having the entire alien population gets that appropriation. The State has obtained expert teachers who are in charge of this work, and Miss Burnett is the supervisor. A trouble department, with an office in the heart of the city, has been established where every alien can go and talk over his troubles and the situation of his family back in the old country. This department does his correspondence and looks after the passports for the family if they are coming to the United States. There is such cooperation between that committee and the court that Delaware is going to have the best citizenship of any State in the United States as a result. The classes contain from 1,200 to 1.500 members. When the State' legislature almost failed to make an appropriation this year the aliens themselves invited 30 members of the legislature to Wilmington, where they gave them a banquet at the Du Pont Hotel and an entertainment, with all the nationalities represented, numbering from 1,200 to 1,500. The exercises consisted of speeches by the aliens in English, demonstrating what had been accomplished. These people said to the legislators, "You have done this for us in the past, and we do not want these advantages taken away from our brothers who desire to become Americans." As a result the legislators went back and increased the appropriation by $20,000. 76405-21-SER 10-5 The CHAIRMAN. Is naturalization on the increase in Delaware? Mr. GORDON. Yes, sir. Mr. CABLE. You had something like that in Philadelphia about five years ago, did you not? Mr. GORDON. We have never had anything in Philadelphia that approached it. Mr. CABLE. I mean when you had the President there. Mr. GORDON. Mr. Crist was responsible for that meeting. Due to the large number aliens desiring to file petitions for naturalization in the United States district court at Philadelphia, and to the inability of the clerk to file all of these applications as presented, a waiting list was permitted to accumulate amounting to about 6,500 applications to file petitions for naturalization. Mr. Crist brought a force of five or six persons from the bureau at Washington to Philadelphia and they did the clerical work incident to preparing the petitions of the aliens on this waiting list and in completing their naturalization. About 4,000 were admitted to citizenship upon the completion of this work. After the court hearings had been completed and these people had been naturalized the Americanization meeting to which Mr. Cable refers was held, at which President Wilson was present. There has never been any activity in the city of Philadelphia along the lines of proper Americanization work for some reason, and while there is a great deal of interest on the part of the school authorities and persons connected with civic organizations no great good has as yet been accomplished. The CHAIRMAN. I thought that Philadelphia prided itself on being the cradle of American liberty and as being the leader in Americanism. Mr. GORDON. Yes, sir; that is true. Mr. WHITE. It is the City of Brotherly Love. Mr. GORDON. Yes; it is so called. Schools for the aliens have been established, but the attendance is comparatively small. In a city of 2,000,000 people the distances are too great for the al ́ens to go after working hours. We have practically no Americanization work there. Mr. RAKER. From your experience, what is the difference between the alien who is admitted in the manner described by you in Delaware, with all due solemn ty, and the alien who is admitted to citizenship in Philadelphia and other places where they have a different procedure? Mr. GORDON. There is no question but that the Wilmington method is the better one, because the man goes away with the feeling that he has gotten something of value. He has not only asked for it but he has deserved it. Mr. RAKER. It shows in his conduct afterwards? Mr. GORDON. That is the point. He goes through with a full knowledge of our institutions, and he is an English-speaking citizen from the day that he is admitted. He has not been run through with the grist, and there is no question about the advantage of it. Mr. RAKER. The talk before this committee for many years has been upon the question of the expense, but I do not believe that the expense ought to be considered when the result obtained is the making of citizens. Mr. GORDON. As I said in a little address recently at Wilmington, Del., the appropriation by the legislature and the work accomplished is like bread cast upon the water; it will be returned a hundred fold to the State in the form of the best citizenship in the country. Mr. RAKER. In other words, this committee should assist in every way possible in the making of good citizens, and should not figure upon the mere question of expense? Mr. GORDON. That is true. Mr. SABATH. The Government should not try to make a profit out of naturalization, but the money that is being collected should be expended for the service. Mr. GORDON. When we think that the bureau has been a self-supporting institution since it was organized, there is no reason why the surplus should not be used for the benefit of the people who gave it. The CHAIRMAN. You would have them instructed in the knowledge of the English language required in naturalization? Mr. GORDON. Yes, sir. There is another question involved, and that is where the examiners are the arm of the court, and there is no question in my district but that every judge depends upon the examiner present and his report of the investigation made in each case in order to determine whether all statutory requirements have been complied with and whether the alien is in every respect qualified for citizenship. With the requirement in the law that every petitioner for naturalization must have a knowledge of the English lan guage and be able to read and write it and those qualifications must be determined in advance of the hearings by the examiners of the naturalization service it will require additional time to determine their fitness at the preliminary examinations and a larger force of examiners to properly conduct the investigations. There is no question in my mind but that both of these requirements should be included in the law in order that the standard of citizenship may be elevated and some courts prevented from admitting to citizenship aliens who are not ready for it, due to their inability to speak and read English and consequently to properly exercise the right of suffrage. It might interest you to know that in the Philadelphia district there are handled in the course of a year as many men as there are in our standing army, and I have but six examiners. The anthracite region and all of the large industrial centers in Pennsylvania and New Jersey are under my jurisdiction. For the information of the committee I set forth below the statistical data furnished in the annual report showing the work performed in 'the Philadelphia district for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1921: Attended court hearings, in person (not petitions heard, but sittings of courts). 11, 562 13, 026 21,364 41, 016 369 Admissions: Without objections Over objections_ Total Soldiers in service and honorably discharged, not included in above figures, admitted___ Total visits to offices of clerks of courts_ Total number of declarations filed in the district_ 1 Mr. Box. How many men did that work? 18, 255 17 18, 272 2, 160 1, 190 32, 829 19, 206 2, 944 Mr. GORDON. Six. In addition to the figures indicated in the annual report and of which no record is made, there are an average of 125 daily callers at the Philadelphia office for information regarding naturalization and their citizenship status. For a number of years, under the approval of the judges of the United States district court at Philadelphia, all petitions for naturalization for this court have been written up by clerks in my office after the examination of each petitioner and his witnesses has been completed. All petitioners for this court, the quarter sessions court at Philadelphia, and the common pleas court at Camden, N. J., are called into the Philadelphia office to be examined prior to filing their petitions for naturalization. This method of procedure has been thought best, as it minimizes the number of denials due to technicalities that are not discovered until after the petitions for naturalization have been filed, as happens in the smaller courts throughout the district. If for any reason the examiner discovers that a petitioner or his witnesses in any one of the three courts indicated are unable to comply with the requirements of the statute, they are advised that it would be to their interest not to file a petition until all requirements can be fully met, but in no case do we prohibit the filing of the petition if the alien so desires, and the petition is heard upon its merits and then judicially determined. If the petition is filed against the advice of the examiner and a denial results, the petitioner loses the amount of the fee, together with his own time and that of his witnesses. If he accepts the advice of the examiner and defers filing, the loss is obviated. There are filed in the three courts in Philadelphia and Camden approximately 700 petitions monthly. The method used in handling this work in the office of the chief examiner has 1 Includes applications for certified copies of declarations, certificates of naturalization. and interviews for the purpose of obtaining additional information from aliens regarding their entry into the United States. resulted in the elimination of the coterie of persons known as "naturalization runners." Mr. Box. What do you mean by runners? Mr. GORDON. These are persons who go among aliens of their own nationality and obtain a fee of from $5 to $10 for their services in assisting the aliens to become naturalized, and they give out the impression that due to their standing they can have the hearing of the petitions for naturalization expedited. The situation was so bad that at one time these runners had access to the records in the clerk's office, and being able to obtain the names and addresses of declarants who were eligible to file petitions and persons whose certificates of arrival were on file awaiting the filing of petitions, they would go among such declarants and certificate-of-arrival applicants and earn a very good living by attempting to assist in their naturalization. In addition to the proffered assistance they would give each alien a list of questions which it was presumed would be asked him in court regarding his knowledge of the Constitution and the correct answers thereto, and these quest'ons and answers would be learned "parrot-like" by the applicants. These questions which were prepared by these runners told the alien to answer the question "Have you read the Constitution?" affirmatively, and the question “Are you an anarchist or polygamist?" in the negative. By handling the naturalization situation at Philadelphia in my office we have eliminated these runners, so that they have not profited greatly out of naturalization in the last four or five years. We give the alien all the assistance possible, filling out his papers for him and properly advising him so that he will know just what is required in order to pass any test required of him by the court. The CHAIRMAN. You prepare the petitions in your office and file them? Mr. GORDON. Yes, sir; we file the petitions. After the alien who desires to file a petition for naturalization is examined with his witnesses by one of the naturalization examiners his petition is written up in duplicate by a clerk in my office, and after it has been signed by the petitioner and his witnesses the duplicate, which is detachable, is taken with the petitioner and his witnesses to the office of the clerk of the court, where he is duly sworn to the facts set forth in his petition and the jurat thereto completed. The jurat to the original petition in the bound petition volume is later signed by the clerk of court. My office does all of the work required of the clerk of court regarding petitions for naturalization, the posted notice being prepared by my clerks and the duplicate petitions prepared for transmittal to the Bureau of Naturalization at the end of the month, as required by law. In the handling of petitions for naturalization and callers for information regarding naturalization and their citizenship status the force under my control is not permitted to accept a gratuity of any kind in connection with naturalization matters. We have made the alien feel that the Government is kindly disposed toward him; that we are compensated for the work we do, and that it is not necessary for him to give anything other than the legal fees in order to receive proper treatment while in the office or to acquire the citizenship he desires. We have an inflexible rule that no person is attended to out of the regular order in which he appears at this office, and although we have many requests to grant special privileges on the part of politicians and persons of influence, we never deviate from the established rule. Mr. RAKER. It would appear from your statement-and that has been the constant talk before the committee-that these runners are the people who are getting out all of this propaganda about the people not being able to be naturalized. Mr. GORDON. Yes, sir. I think the runner and politician are responsible. Mr. SABATH. Is it not also due to the fact that because of the anxiety of the people to be naturalized they permit themselves to be fleeced, not only to the extent of $5 or $10 but frequently to the extent of $25 or $50? Mr. GORDON. It was due to their desire to be naturalized; but they certainly fell into the hands of the Philistines. There is another matter upon which the committee may be enlightened at this point. The anthracite region, which includes the counties of Lackawanna, Luzerne, Schuylkill, and Northumberland, in Pennsylvania, are under the jurisdiction of the Philadelphia office. There are many attorneys of alien birth and also native Americans who do not have much legitimate practice but exploit the aliens and obtain comparatively large sums of money from them at the time they apply for citizenship. At Sunbury, the county seat of Northumberland County, there were filed within a few days 400 petitions for naturalization, which the politicians and attorneys desired be eligible for final disposition prior to the November election of this year. Two |