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Guide to the California. Dept. of Industrial Relations. Division of Immigration and Housing records, 1912-1939
BANC MSS C-A 194
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Collection Title: California. Dept. of Industrial Relations. Division of Immigration and Housing records,
Date (inclusive): 1912-1939
Collection Number: BANC MSS C-A 194
Creator:
California. Dept. of Industrial Relations
Extent:
Number of containers: 93 cartons, 6 oversize boxes, 8 volumes
Linear feet: 130.0
Repository: The
Bancroft Library.
Berkeley, California 94720-6000
Physical Location: For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the Library's online catalog.
Abstract: Includes correspondence, reports, county files, inspection reports (including labor camps) and Americanization applications.
Languages Represented:
English
Collection is open for research.
Copyright has not been assigned to The Bancroft Library. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts
must be submitted in writing to the Head of Public Services. Permission for publication is given on behalf of The Bancroft
Library as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which
must also be obtained by the reader.
[Identification of item], California. Dept. of Industrial Relations. Division of Immigration and Housing records, BANC MSS
C-A 194, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley.
Title: Harry Everett Drobish Papers, 1917-1954,
Identifier/Call Number: BANC MSS C-B 529
Title: Simon Julius Lubin Papers, 1912-1936,
Identifier/Call Number: BANC MSS C-B 1059
Title: John Francis Neylan Papers, 1911-1960,
Identifier/Call Number: BANC MSS C-B 881
Title: Paul Scharrenberg Papers, 1893-1960,
Identifier/Call Number: BANC MSS C-B 906
Title: Paul Schuster Taylor papers, 1895-1984,
Identifier/Call Number: BANC MSS 84/38 c
The Division of Immigration and Housing Papers were given to The Bancroft Library by Carey McWilliams in December 1938 or
January 1939.
Funding for processing provided in part by a Library Services and Construction Act (LSCA), Title III: Networking, Preservation
and Statewide Resource-sharing grant, 1994-1996.
The California State Legislature created the Commission of Immigration and Housing by the enactment of Chapter 318 on June
12, 1913. California was following the lead of New York and other eastern states regarding state and federal involvement in
the domestic immigration policy movement. The second state agency of its kind in the United States, the governor-appointed
commission was responsible for regulating housing conditions and performing immigrant protective functions. The state of New
York had established the Bureau of Industries and Immigration in 1912, but within two years, the California commission would
take the national lead in promoting the philosophy of adult education and focus attention on the special needs of women immigrants.
In 1912, Simon J. Lubin approached Governor Hiram W. Johnson with the idea for an immigrant protective agency. Lubin suggested
that a commission would be important because the opening of the Panama Canal would make California a destination for an increasing
number of immigrants. The governor appointed a temporary commission to draw up a bill outlining the responsibilities of the
future commission. This bill became the Act of 1913, and empowered the governor to appoint a five-person, unsalaried commission
to serve at his discretion. The commissioners and their staff were to research the condition, welfare, and industrial opportunities
of all immigrants arriving and living in the state. The agency was granted the right to gather information on agricultural
productivity in order to help immigrants secure employment. To protect immigrants, the commission was given the authority
to investigate employment agencies, private banking, labor camps, housing, transportation, and the real estate industry. They
were also responsible for the education of adult and school age immigrants, and were required to cooperate with the State
Board of Education to "provide immigrants with the best opportunities for acquiring education and citizenship."
Four departments were at the core of the Commission's activities: Immigrant Aid, Housing, Labor Camp, and Education programs.
Immigrant Aid, originally called the Bureau of Complaints, was responsible for protecting immigrants from exploitation and
providing them with advice. If the state was asked to arbitrate between two parties or help to negotiate a suit, a complaint
was filed. If immigrants were looking for information, the case was classified as an application. The Housing Program was
responsible for inspecting the state's urban housing and reporting violations to local authorities for prosecution. They also
worked with local officials and volunteers to build low-income housing for laborers.
The Labor Camp inspection program had the power to prescribe and enforce sanitary regulations for the living and working conditions
of persons employed in all migrant labor camps of more than five employees. They also helped to educate employers and employees
on public health measures. Most of the agency's work in education involved preparing pamphlets with teaching suggestions,
teacher training, and demonstration programs. The commission pioneered a home teacher program and a foreign language agent
program. Due to legislative decision, the commission gave up their responsibility in this area in 1920, and the program became
part of the California Department of Education.
In addition to these major programs, the Division established the Auto Camp program in 1929 to assist with the growing needs
of a transient population, and expanded to include trailer camps in 1937. The commission was responsible for enforcing the
terms of the Health and Safety Code and inspecting auto and trailer camps, and prosecuted any violations in superior court.
The Commission of Immigration and Housing began as an independent agency, reporting only to the Board of Commissioners and
the governor. This practice continued from the inception of the Commission in 1912 until 1921. From 1921 to 1927, the Commission
was managed by the Division of Housing and Sanitation, and from 1927 to 1945 was renamed the Division of Immigration and Housing,
operating within the Department of Industrial Relations. The headquarters was in San Francisco, with branch offices in Los
Angeles, Sacramento, Stockton, Fresno, and Bakersfield. During the early years of the program, the commission also utilized
volunteer agents located in private offices in San Diego, Riverside, San Bernardino, Ventura, Santa Barbara, and San Luis
Obispo; this volunteer program was discontinued in February 1915.
The United States' participation in World War II changed the focus of the Division and the state mandated the agency to be
responsible for the transport of Japanese Americans to relocation centers. Public interest in immigration and migrant labor
was replaced by the war effort, and as American defense production demands increased, migrant laborers moved out of the fields
and into defense work. Changes in leadership led to a restructuring of the Division, and in 1944 their immigrant protection
powers were abolished. The Division was dissolved in October 1945.
The records of the California Division of Immigration and Housing, 1912-1939, give a detailed account of the programs and
activities of the state agency created to protect the rights of immigrants and establish naturalization policy in California
during the years 1913 to 1945. The collection includes the correspondence of the founding board of commissioners, including
Simon J. Lubin, and provides insight into the creation of the board by Governor Hiram W. Johnson in October 1913. The records
end in 1939, six years before the dissolution of the commission, but a selection of later documents can be found in the California
State Archives in Sacramento.
The collection consists of correspondence and office files that illustrate the management of the agency as a whole, as well
as the working papers of the four programs that formed the core of the Commissions' activities: Immigrant Aid, Housing, Labor
Camp and Education. In addition to these major programs, the Auto and Trailer Camp program, established in 1929, is included.
Each program has its' own correspondence and office files, as well as the supporting materials needed to manage each program.
Filing systems and subject headings created by the division were preserved whenever possible.
The records include a variety of reports for each program, as well as the commission in general. The day to day tasks and
travel schedules of the agents and the commissioners are illustrated by memoranda, employee activity sheets, and expense reports.
Direct dealings with immigrants are documented by the type of service required, whether that be in the form of an application
or a complaint. In the case of a labor camp dispute, an inspection would also be made, with a follow up letter sent in a reasonable
amount of time to insure compliance. Following the series descriptions is a glossary that illustrates the types of information
tabulated in each of the register types.
- Application Register:
- Arranged numerically and chronologically by application number, office of filing, date of application, applicant name/nationality, nature of application, resolved, date.
- Complaint Register:
- Arranged numerically and chronologically by complaint number, office of filing, date, complainant/nationality, defendant/nationality, nature of the complaint, agent, resolved, date.
- Housing Inspection Register:
- Arranged chronologically by date of inspection, city, county, street address, owner, conditions, violations.
- Labor Camp Inspection Register:
- Arranged chronologically by date of inspection, camp type, name, owner/operator, population, number of inspections.
- Inspection Adjustments Register:
- Arranged chronologically by date of inspection, city, living conditions [ventilation/sanitation].
- Inspection Summary:
- Arranged chronologically by date of inspection, city, number of inspections, compliance, number of buildings under construction. No details on specific inspection sites, only the city in general.
- Nationality Register:
- Arranged alphabetically by nationality; documents the total number of various nationalities represented in labor camp populations, but there is no "key" to identify individual camps.