Mr. Draper to Mr. Hay.
Rome, Italy, December 1, 1899.
Sir: I have the honor to report that on Wednesday I made my first visit to the foreign office since my return, and had quite a long conference with the minister for foreign affairs, the Marquis Visconti Venosta. Although we talked on several subjects, it may be proper to refer to them all in this dispatch in order to give a kind of résumé of matters at present under consideration in Rome and affecting the United States.
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The Marquis then stated that he had heard from Baron Fava that the Italian bureau of immigration at Ellis Island was to be abolished the 1st of January, and expressed his hope that this would not be done. He said that, as he understood it, the bureau was established with the consent of both Governments and was for the protection of Italian subjects; that it was intended to operate in no way against our immigration laws or our interests, but in conformity with them; and that if, in any detail, it did not work well, he would be glad to have the methods of the bureau modified so as to produce the beneficial results for which it was instituted; and he added that it would produce a bad impression in Italy if the bureau were abolished without, at least, attempting to reach some amicable understanding regarding it. It would be quite likely, he declared, to be interpreted as an evidence of unfriendly feeling on our part toward Italian immigrants, if not toward Italy as a nation, and he asked that I should report his views to the Department, which I do.
I may add that, as stated in my dispatch No. 158 of April 2, 1898, when it was proposed to abolish this bureau, and referring also to Mr. Iddings’s dispatch No. 494 of September 26 last, this Ellis Island bureau is a matter of especial personal interest to the Marquis Visconti Venosta, and that he has extended, or desires to extend, a similar system to South American countries, where there are large numbers of Italian emigrants. Unless there is the very strongest reason for the abolition of the bureau it would seem to me wise, rather than to abolish it suddenly, to discover some means by which it can be rendered useful, or at least harmless, from our point of view, if it is not so already.
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[Page 431]In closing, I must repeat that the minister lays great stress upon the Ellis Island matter and that he has written me a private note on the subject since this interview, which I will inclose in another dispatch.
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