Testimony of Albert Wank
9/10/1901
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This testimony was given as part of the Wright-Crater Investigation into allegations of board inspectors taking money from immigrants to lie about their citizenship status. It is part of "Wright and Crater's Investigation" of immigrant arrival procedures on Ellis Island from 1901–1902. In August 1901, Commissioner of Immigration at New York, Thomas Fitchie, detailed Immigrant Inspectors John A. Wright and Robert S. Crater to initiate an investigation into the inspection of arrivals at the dock on Ellis Island, focusing on those claiming citizenship. The investigation was triggered by the arrest of a steward for bribing a boarding officer. In a brief but intense period of study, major discrepancies in the rate of discharge were found among employees, with very divergent levels of adherence to procedures in the Boarding Division. The question arose of whether this insufficient scrutiny of citizenship claims was associated with bribery. This document was digitized by teachers in our Primarily Teaching 2014 Summer Workshop in Washington, D.C.
This primary source comes from the Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service.
National Archives Identifier: 12013851
Full Citation: Testimony of Albert Wank; 9/10/1901; 52727/004; Wright and Crater's Investigation of Immigrant Arrival Procedures on Ellis Island, 1901 - 1902; Subject and Policy Files, 1893 - 1957; Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, Record Group 85; National Archives at Washington, D.C.. [Online Version, https://www.docsteach.org/documents/document/testimony-albert-wank, April 20, 2024]Rights: Public Domain, Free of Known Copyright Restrictions. Learn more on our privacy and legal page.