Hundreds of families in Europe seeking immigration visas to the United States, the largest proportion of them Jewish, will shortly be reunited as a result of an investigation into the work of the consulate and medical officers conducted by him, Congressman Samuel Dickstein, chairman of the Immigration Committee of the House of Representatives declared yesterday in a statement issued to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
Congressman Dickstein who has just returned from Europe where he investigated immigration conditions, stated that he will introduce legislation at the next session of the House of Representatives which will provide proper control for the Public Health Service to Prevent it from acting arbitrarily.
Congressman Dickstein stated that the mental tests given by the public health service to prospective immigrants have in the past made it very difficult for an alien to pass them with the result that visas have been refused.
“Particularly in the case of mental tests for aliens, the examinations given are unusually severe and I dare say that a good many of our ‘best citizens’ would be unable to pass the strict tests,” Congressman Dickstein said.
These tests, he asserted, require a thorough revision.
The American consulate was exonerated from responsibility by the Congressman who lauded in particular the work of Consul General Huddle stationed in Warsaw. On the whole, he stated, the manner and method pursued by United States Consuls in various land is satisfactory.
Congressman Dickstein stated that there seems to be no adequate organization in Europe to advise prospective Jewish immigrants as to possibilities in the United States.
“Conditions of the Jews in East Europe are frightful” and for this reason many Jews are seeking to migrate to this country, he said.
Discussing the situation of the Jews in Poland, Congressman Dickstein said: “One of the difficulties with which the Jews in Poland have to contend is the exorbitant taxation imposed by the government on occupations primarily Jewish. I had occasion, however, to speak to some of the most influential leaders of the Polish government and was assured that at the proper time the government will seek to alleviate cases of extreme hardship whenever possible.”
Dr. David Wolin, head of the pediatrics staff of the Highland Hospital of Rochester, N. Y., has sailed for Europe for an extended trip during which he will make a study of child health and feeding clinics in England, Scotland, Germany and France.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
