Judges Ask for Change in Naturalization Procedure; Taft Heads Petitioners

(Jewish Daily Bulletin)

Chief Justice William Howard Taft of the United States Supreme Court, with a group of Federal District and Circuit Court Judges from New York, Boston and Los Angeles, appeared before the House Immigration Committee to urge passage of a pending bill to relieve the Federal Courts of much of the detail in connection with the naturalization of aliens.

The measure, sponsored by the Department of Labor, would permit the appointment of naturalization commissioners by Federal district judges in cities of more than 500,000 population, who would hear the petitions of applications for naturalization, examine their character witnesses and administer the oaths of renunciation and allegiance to accepted candidates for citizenship. When the list of accepted candidates prepared by the commissioner had been signed by the district judge, the naturalization would be complete, under the bill, which also provides for the right of appeal to the district court from the commissioner’s denial of naturalization.

In urging enactent of the bill as a means of relieving congestion in the Federal courts in large cities, Chief Justice Taft suggested that the measure be amended to include authorization for the appointment of the proposed commissioners in any city of more than 250,000 population. Twelve cities of more than 500,000 which would be affected by the bill in its present form are New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Detroit, Cleveland, St. Louis, Boston, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Los Angeles, Buffalo and San Francisco.

Justice Taft stated: “Judge Augustus N. Hand, of New York, who is here with me, says that the whole courthouse in New York is swamped with hundreds of persons seeking naturalization. That is not a good atmosphere for the courts and it makes going to court burdensome for the litigants. We have enough work with bootleggers and other criminals. Judge Hand thinks this bill would relieve almost intolerable conditions in his district and his is the worst in the country for delays in trials because of the congestion.”