Baron Fava to Mr. Hay. [Translation.] ITALIAN EMBASSY, Washington, D. C., December 21, 1899. MR. SECRETARY: By your note of the 6th you have been kind enough to express to me your regret that the Federal Government was not able to revoke the measures which it had taken for the abolition, on and after the 1st of January next, of the Italian bureau of immigration established at Ellis Island. I also regret to learn, Mr. Secretary, that the reiterated requests of my Government for the maintenance of the said bureau, or at least for the suspension of a measure which was taken suddenly and without any previous notice, contrary to received usages among friendly Governments, have been without effect. As it is not possible, however, to leave our immigrants without the assistance to which they have the right, the Royal Government has already expressed, through the kindness of His Excellency Mr. Draper, its confidence that the Federal Government will be good enough to facilitate the measures which I shall be able to take to attenuate the consequences resulting from the abolition of the bureau in question. It is in this confidence that it has authorized me to install the said bureau in an annex of the consulate-general of Italy at New York, under the direction of which it will be able to continue its beneficent and humane functions. After the 1st of January next the persons delegated by the consulgeneral of Italy at New York will proceed to the Barge Office on the arrival of immigrants to give them what assistance they shall need. I am certain that the Secretary of the Treasury will not object to the admission to the Barge Office of those delegated by the Italian consul-general on the same footing of admission which has been accorded for a long time to the representative of the Austro-Hungarian consulate at New York. It is not necessary to say that the functions of the delegates of the Italian consulate will be exactly the same as those exercised by the delegate of the Austro-Hungarian consulate. Begging you to let me have an answer on this subject, an answer which is urgent on account of the very brief delay which separate us from the 30th of December, I have the honor, etc., Mr. Hill to Baron de Fava. [Telegram.] FAVA. DEPARTMENT OF STATE, Washington, December 22, 1899. Your telegrams received. Have proposed to Treasury admission of Italian agent to Barge Office as you desire, but reply has not yet been received. Will inform you as soon as possible. DAVID J. HILL. No. 545.] Mr. Hay to Baron de Fava. DEPARTMENT OF STATE, Washington, December 26, 1899. EXCELLENCY: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your note of December 21, in which you state that the Italian immigration bureau has been installed in an annex of the consulate-general of Italy at New York, and that after the 1st of January next persons delegated by the consul-general of Italy at New York will proceed to the Barge Office on the arrival of immigrants to give them what assistance they may need. The desire of your excellency that these persons be admitted to the Barge Office on the same footing as that accorded to the AustroHungarian consulate at New York has been expressed to the Secretary of the Treasury and is receiving his consideration. The urgency of a decision has also been represented, and a reply has been promised in time to be acted upon by the 1st of January next. The Secretary of the Treasury has expressed his intention to accord to the representatives of the Italian Government every privilege extended to any other. Accept, etc., JOHN HAY. Baron Fava to Mr. Hay. ITALIAN EMBASSY, Washington, January 7, 1900. MR. SECRETARY OF STATE: You were pleased, in referring to my note of the 21st ultimo, to inform me, under date of the 5th instant, that "it has been decided by the Treasury Department to instruct the commissioner of immigration at the Barge Office at New York to extend the same facilities for meeting and caring for immigrants from Italy as are extended upon the arrival of immigrants from any other countries." I have the honor to thank you for this communication, although I regret the considerable delay with which it has been sent to me, to the detriment of the interests of Italian immigrants, which it is the duty of this royal embassy to protect. Permit me to remark, furthermore, that, by the decision which you have been pleased to communicate to me, the Treasury Department has made no answer to the frank and explicit requests which I took care to formulate, either in my aforesaid note of December 21, or in the letter which I addressed, on the 27th of that month, to the honorable Mr. Hill. In expressing, by those two letters, the conviction that the delegates of the consulate-general of Italy at New York would be admitted to the Barge Office "by the same right as the delegates of the AustroHungarian consulate, and that they would perform the same functions there," I asked, especially, that those functions might be clearly defined, so as not to give rise to any further misunderstandings which would afterwards furnish ground for regret on both sides. As the Treasury Department has made no mention of those powers in the above-named decision, and as it has not specified what the facilities are which are extended upon the arrival of immigrants from any other countries (which phrase can evidently refer to none but the dele gate of the Austro-Hungarian consulate), I am under the necessity of again insisting that those powers and facilities, which have long been enjoyed by the aforesaid delegate of the Austro-Hungarian consulate, shall be clearly and plainly stated to me. This request, which I hereby reiterate, is fully justified by the earnest desire which I feel to avoid the slightest misunderstanding in future, and to issue to the King's consul at New York, as regards the sphere of action of his delegate at the Barge Office, categorical instructions in absolute harmony with the intentions of the Treasury Department, and with the instructions which that Department undoubtedly communicated at the proper time to the consulate of Austria-Hungary at New York. I trust that these frank and unequivocal declarations will be appreciated by the honorable Secretary of the Treasury, and that he will consequently comply with my requests, which, from the beginning of this incident, have been designed solely to enable me to act in full accord with him and with the requirements of the Federal Bureau of Immigration. Be pleased to accept, etc., FAVA. Mr. Hay to Baron de Fava. No. 549.] DEPARTMENT OF STATE, Washington, January 20, 1900. EXCELLENCY: Replying to your note of January 7, in which your excellency requests that the facilities to be offered to delegates sent by the Italian consul-general at New York to the Barge Office for the purpose of meeting and assisting immigrants from Italy be clearly defined, I have the honor to state that the Secretary of the Treasury has expressed his regret that, owing to the change now going on at Ellis Island and the narrow quarters at the Barge Office, the Treasury Department is unable to indicate how and where representatives of foreign countries are to meet immigrants. The Secretary of the Treasury adds that as soon as the buildings at Ellis Island are completed and the immigration station is removed thereto, it is hoped the Treasury Department may be able to make such arrangements for the convenience and comfort of admitted immigrants during the time they remain on the island as will enable their friends to communicate with and care for them. When that time arrives, it may be possible to accommodate all who are philanthropically or benevolently inclined to assist the immigrants in securing employment and in protecting them from the rapacity and greed of those who would exploit their labor or take advantage of them. Accept, etc., JOHN HAY. Baron Fava to Mr. Hay. [Translation.] ITALIAN EMBASSY, Washington, January 21, 1900. MR. SECRETARY OF STATE: In your kind note of the 20th instant, your excellency, in reply to my communication of the 7th instant, was pleased to inform me that your colleague of the Treasury regretted that, for reasons given in the note, he was unable to say how or where the delegates of the foreign consulates at New York could approach the immigrants at the Barge Office. You add, however, that the Sec-retary of the Treasury given reason to hope that when the buildings at Ellis Island are finished such measures may be taken in the interest of the emigrants admitted as will permit their friends to communicate with them and to take care of them. At that time, as I further read in the note to which I am replying, it may also be possible to accommodate all those who are seeking, philanthropically or benevolently, to assist the immigrants, either by finding work for them or by protecting them from the rapacity and fraud of speculators. Thanking your excellency for your communication, which I shall not fail to convey to my Government, I hasten to take note of the intention of the Secretary of the Treasury to provide, after the transfer of the Federal commissioners of immigration to Ellis Island, for the legitimate interests of the immigrants admitted, by enabling them to obtain assistance from the persons whose duty it is to protect them. Accept, etc., FAVA. LYNCHING OF PERSONS OF ITALIAN ORIGIN AT TALLULAH, LA. Count Vinci to Mr. Hay. EMBASSY OF HIS MAJESTY THE KING OF ITALY, Washington, July 22, 1899. MR. SECRETARY OF STATE: The acting royal consul at New Orleans, La., telegraphed to me last night that five Italians had been lynched by a mob at Tallulah, La. I have answered the acting consul and have requested him to furnish more detailed information as speedily as possible. Your excellency will do me a great favor by telegraphing to the governor of Louisiana, requesting him to send information by telegraph concerning the matter, and also to take measures for the detection of the guilty parties and the protection of Italian subjects in the aforesaid locality from mob violence, and finally to send to your excellency, with as little delay as possible, a report concerning the unfortunate occurrence. I thank your excellency in advance for the reply with which you will be pleased to favor me as promptly as may be, and I avail myself of this occasion to reiterate to you, Mr. Secretary of State, the assurance of my highest consideration. G. C. VINCI, Royal Chargé d'Affaires of Italy. Mr. Hay to Governor Foster, of Louisiana. [Telegram.] DEPARTMENT OF STATE, Italian chargé requests report on alleged lynching at Tallulah of five Italians and asks protection of any Italian subjects who may be in danger. Were persons lynched Italian subjects or naturalized Americans? JOHN HAY, Secretary of State. Governor Foster to Mr. Hay. [Telegram.] BATON ROUGE, LA., July 22, 1899. Your telegram will receive my immediate attention and will further advise you. MURPHY J. FOSTER, Governor. Mr. Hay to Count Vinci. No. 496.] WASHINGTON, July 24, 1899. SIR: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your note of the 22d instant, with reference to the reported lynching on the preceding day of five Italians by a mob at Tallulah, La. I at once communicated by telegraph with the governor of Louisiana in the sense requested in your said note and have received from him assurance that the matter will receive his immediate attention and that he will make a report. In order to assure the Government of His Majesty the King of Italy that no proper course of action will be neglected by this Government, I have to-day transmitted a telegram to the embassy at Rome to inform the minister of foreign affairs that the governor of Louisiana is investigating the alleged lynching of persons born in Italy, and that this Government will take all legal steps to secure justice which the facts may warrant. I desire to repeat the expression of the regret, already orally stated, which the President entertains at the unfortunate occurrence. Accept, etc., JOHN HAY. Mr. Hay to Mr. Draper. [Telegram.] DEPARTMENT OF STATE, Washington, July 24, 1899. Inform minister for foreign affairs that the governor of Louisiana is investigating the alleged lynching of persons born in Italy, and that this Government will take all legal steps to secure justice which the facts may warrant. HAY. |