Statement to the Press.pdf

Media

Part of The American Chamber of Commerce Journal

extracted text: In the August Journal we quoted from a letter from the Philippine American — • - - Chamber of Commerce, Inc., New York, with reference to immigration and alien regis tration fees in the United States. Subsequently, we received another letter on the subject from the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce which read in part: Broken Reciprocity in Alien Registration and Other Fees “. . . I am very happy to secure for you information concerning our own alien and immigration fees and charges. The proposed legis lation in the Philippines certainly looks like another one of these fee charging rackets which are excessive and unnecessary. “There is attached a schedule of charges made by the American Government through the consular offices abroad in connection with applications from aliens for visas, immigration permits, etc. “I have discussed the matter with Mr. Barber, head of our Bureau of Immigration and Naturalization. The charges that are generally assessed here after an alien has entered the country legally and paid the fees normally charged by the American Consul, are very nominal. For example, if an alien loses his registration card, he can secure another one for $1. If an alien has illegally entered the country and then clarifies his status in order that his entry would be legal, his fees totalling $18 would be no different from an alien applying in Manila or any other foreign city for permission to enter. After being here and desiring naturalization, the naturalization fee totals $11, made up as follows: $3 for first papers, $8.00 for petition for final naturalization. Should he lose his naturalization certificate, he can secure another one for $1. “We have no resident taxes or any other special assessments against non-residents and or aliens. I believe our fishing and hunting license is $3; for non-residents of California, I believe it is $5, and $8 or $10 for an alien. There are no other taxes or assessments I can find any record of that especially apply to aliens. I hope these facts will assist you in your representations to the Philippine officials.” The schedule of consular charges referred to in the letter runs as follows: Tra Visa of 9.00 9.00 2.00 The Journal checked with the American Embassy in Manila as to the correctness of the information contained in the letter from the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce and received the following statement from Consul General James E. Henderson: “The enclosure to the letter from the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce is a true and correct excerpt from the current Tariff of United States Foreign Service Fees. The Embassy is not in a position to verify immediately the miscellaneous fees mentioned in the letter itself. How ever, since those related to naturalization were obtained from the U. S. Bureau of Immigration and Nationalization, they ought to be correct. Furthermore, the Department of State has recently confirmed, in con nection with the Embassy’s protest against the fifty-peso fee prescribed by the Philippine Alien Registration Act of 1950, that no fee is charged in the United States for alien registration.” Statement to the Press * By Ambassador Daniel W. Bell Chief, U. S. Economic Survey Mission for the Philippines THE members of the Economic Survey Mission and its staff wish to take this opportunity, now they are completing their work, to express their appreciation for the courtesies and cooperation that have been extended them by the Government and the people of the Philippines. In our two months here, Government officials, busi nessmen, civic groups, and individual citizens have done everything within their power to give us assistance in our work and to make our stay most pleasant. Our Mission will leave the Philippines with the warmest feelings of af fection and admiration for your people. We also wish to express our appreciation to'the editors and reporters of the Philippine press for their many courtesies. , By their willingness to refrain from speculation about the contents of the report at a time when we could not discuss it with them, they have done their country a distinct service. As you know, President Truman sent this Mission to the Philippines at the request of President Quirino to study the economic and financial problems with which you are confronted and to make recommendations regard ing measures which might be undertaken toward their solution. Upon our arrival we started our work by consulting with the officials of your Government. From them we wished to get the factual material to appraise the current financial and economic status of the country. We also met 'September 1, 1950. Ambassador Bell and another member of the Mission, Edward M. Bernstein, left the Philippines for the United States the next day, via Paris, and Gen. Richard J. Marshall, Deputy Chief, and David I. Ferber, Adviser, also left for the United States later on the same day. Other members and advisers were scheduled to leave before the end of the following week. with the Economic Commission appointed by President Quirino, and the members of this Commission made available to us the very extensive analysis that it had made of the economic problems of the country. The next stage of our work was to consult with private business groups and individuals. Many of them spent long hours of arduous work preparing valuable studies and recommendations for our use. As we became familiar with the broad outlines of the current economic situation, members of the Mission began to travel throughout the provinces to obtain first-hand information about agricul ture, mining, commerce, finance, and industry. These trips were particularly valuable to the members of the Mission and its staff. We were able to observe for our selves the natural resources and potentialities of the coun try and, perhaps even more important, come to know the splendid qualities of the Philippine people. In recent weeks we have been assembling the data that we have collected and analyzing it for our report. I believe that with your cooperation we have been able in this short time to obtain a clear and realistic picture of the economic situation in the Philippines. We hope our report contains suggestions and recom mendations that will, if adopted, contribute to the solu tion of your economic and financial problems. I regret that I cannot give you copies of this report before we leave but my instructions are to report directly to the President of the United States. When I return to the United States I shall promptly report to President Truman our recom mendations regarding your problems. 328
Date: 1950
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