Rabbi Jacob Silberstein of Praga, suburb of Warsaw, was released by the police today following his arrest two days ago charged with officiating at a number of weddings wherein Maurice B. Baskin, said to be a United States citizen, figured as bridegroom, in fictitious marriages arranged to circumvent the United States immigration quota law.
The Rabbi denied the charges that he officiated at these weddings and he was released on the promise to appear whenever called for by the investigating judge. He was given a rousing reception by the population of Praga when he returned home.
Stefan Gawrulek, secretary of the Marriage License Bureau, was also under arrest, charged with complicity in arranging 62 alleged marriages of Jewish girls to Baskin.
Despatches from Washington state that the United States State Department has ordered a strict investigation into the affair to ascertain whether any immigrants entered the country on the strength of these alleged marriages to an American citizen. It was believed that Baskin acted as proxy for Americans who wanted to import their brides from Poland, but could not proceed to Warsaw as the law requires. Marriage by proxy is not recognized for the purposes of the immigration law, whereby wives of citizens are exempt from the quota.
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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.
