New Immigration Rules.

New York Times 100 years ago today, October 30, 1912:
Foreign Visitors Complain of Inquisitorial Methods.
To the Editor of The New York Times:
    Inspection of incoming passengers by the immigration officials, which was formerly confined to the steerage, has recently been extended to the first and second cabin passengers, and the inauguration of the "pink ticket" system is the subject of a great deal of adverse criticism on the part of recent arrivals.
    One, an artist of international renown, who has been engaged for the past year in painting some of England's most famous country places, and who has returned to this country for the purpose of exhibiting her paintings at an approaching exhibition, remarked that she had lived in three republics and under one monarchy, but that never in the course of her travels had she been subjected to such an inquisition as she underwent on the occasion of her recent arrival in this country.
    "We were lined up in front of the Inspector very much as I imagine that criminals are lined up in front of a Magistrate," said the lady, "and obliged to answer a great number of the moist personal questions. After having stated my age, nationality, and marital condition, the color of my eyes, hair, and skin, I was obliged to explain that I had arranged for studio accommodations by correspondence, that I had, no intimate friends or relatives living in the building where I expected to make my headquarters while in New York, but that after a number of years' travel in most parts of Europe and America, I considered I was well able to take, care of myself."
    The rules of the Immigration Bureau may be admirable in their way, but it would seem as if a little more tact and courtesy in their enforcement would create a much better impression in the minds of foreigners who come to visit us.
            R. J. SPRAGUE.
            New York, Oct. 29, 1912.