THE WESTERN AMERICAN
■January, 1923
Iture. This has required a great deal of work which a
lax examiner might have saved himself, but Mr.
Tomlinson is one of the type of American citizens who
can be relied on never to shirk or be remiss at the
post of duty. His examinations are thorough-going,
yet fair. No one will be admitted into citizenship
[with his approval who he is satisfied is disloyal at
[heart, having an un-American attitude of mind, seek
ing American citizenship only to hold down a re-
Iunerative position where only citizens can be em-
oyed. The foreign language press can not justly
:cuse Mr. Tomlinson of being a party to force or
erce aliens into citizenship. On the contrary he is
scouraging citizenship in all cases where aliens are
¡eking naturalization for ulterior motives.
Mr. Tomlinson was born in Iowa in 1883. With his
irents he came to Oregon in 1888. He graduated
•om the University of Oregon in 1905 and after
udying law in the offices of Wallace McCammant
hile at the same time attending the Oregon Uni-
ersity Extension Department of Law, he was ad-
Bnitted to the bar of Oregon in 1906.
I Since he took office he has examined more than
|en thousand applications for naturalization in Oregon
of which approximately four thousand have been ad
mitted into citizenship, the balance having been re
jected for any number of good and sufficient reasons.
| Mr. Tomlinson is an active member of the Port-
Band Americanization Council and a member of the
Council’s Executive Committee. He is actively in
terested in aiding and helping t'he foreign born,
through his office, through the Council and through
direct contact with the public school authorities
throughout the state, for the purpose of obtaining
for the aliens helpful instruction in citizenship so
Biat they may in course of time be able to pass a
Iaturalization examination.
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Naturalization hearings are held in this state in
the United States district court and in the circuit
courts of the state. Due to the congestion of the cir-
cuit courts in Multnomah county the circuit judges
in 1920 signed an order vountarily surrender
fig jurisdiction in naturalization proceedings
For this county to the United States District Court
tor Oregon, thereby automatically transferring
the entire matter of naturalization to the federal
court building at Fifth and Morrison streets.
I In the outlying counties one circuit judge is dele
gated to sit in naturalization proceedings at the
jounty court house once every second, third or fourth
month. The frequency of these hearings being de-
iermined by the number of applicants filing in the
intervening periods.
B The bulk of the hearings in Multnomah county
■since 1920 have been conducted by federal judge
Charles E. Wolverton, one of the most venerable
jurists of the bench and bar in this state.
I Judge Wolverton has gradually added a touch of
significance to the naturalization hearings that has
■hanged the insignificance of such proceedings into
Blatters of vast importance. Judge Wolverton unlike
many other judges conducts the hearings with as
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much attention as he gives to the most important
government cases coming before him. His decisions
whether allowing or denying the applicant admission
into citizenship, are always respected. His rulings
in citizenship matters have been widely discussed
privately, publicly and in the press. ' In comparing
them with the rulings of other courts they have
stood the test and it is a great compliment to the aged
jurist that his citizenship rulings are more and more
being applied by other judges sitting in naturaliza
tion hearings in Oregon and elsewhere.
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On the first of this month, January 1, 1923, Mr.
Raymond F. Crest became Commissioner of Natural
ization, succeeding Richard K. Campbell.
It may be truthfully said that Mr. Crest in taking
charge of the Bureau at Washington is amply quali
fied to supervise this important branch of govern
ment service where the misfits admitted into the
country eventually must be weeded out if they are
not to be legally admitted into the common custodian
ship of America’s sacred institutions.
The bureau is still operating through the original
district system with 24 naturalization zones or dis
tricts. While congress has appropriated plenty of
money for other branches of government service, the
naturalization service is still lacking sufficient ap
preciation to have its appropriations increased mak
ing it possible to extend the work so that every citi
zenship application case can rceive proper attention
and investigation.
In order to safeguard the road to citizenship the
federal government should provide every state with
a complete naturalization machinery and sufficient
money for its operation to have two or more assist
ant examiners and one to two trained office assist
ants, keeping accurate records of investigations and
reports so that no alien could be admitted to citizen
ship without an official investigation conducted by
the examiner’s office.
The cost of administration in the United States
Naturalization Service for the fiscal year ending
June 30th, 1922, was $772,171.31. The total revenue
in Declaration of Intention and Naturalization fees
for the fiscal year amounted to $598,709.95. With this
amount returned to the government and applied
against the administration cost, the actual cost of the
Naturalization Service for the year has been reduced
to $173,461.36.
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The naturalization law has since its* enact
ment, June 29,1906, from time to time been amended.
These amendments are recorded as of March, 1909;
June 25, 1910 ; March 4, 1913 ; May 9, 1918, and of
September 22, 1922, when the following act relating
to the naturalization of citizenship of married women
was approved and went into effect:
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives
of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That
the right of any woman to become a naturalized citizen of the
United States shall not be denied or abridged because of her
sex or because she is a married woman.
Sec. 2. That any woman who marries a citizen of the United
States after the passage of this Act, or any woman whose
husband is naturalized after the passage of this Act, shall not