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into the state treasury his half of the receipts; in those states only that half needed to be paid.

ALL RACE RESTRICTIONS REMOVED

Furthermore, the effect of the law was such as to remove the racial restrictions, so far as soldiers were concerned. A number of Japanese and Chinese aliens were admitted to citizenship under the military naturalization law. A dispatch to the Associated Press from Honolulu, dated February 14, 1919, cited Judge Horace Vaughan, of the United States District Court for Hawaii, as having already granted naturalization to 184 Japanese who entered the service," and as holding that they were entitled to citizenship under the law. Indeed, the law does say, repeatedly, "any alien."

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It was provided, too, that any American citizen, native or foreign-born, who, as would have been the case under previously existing law, had lost or might be deemed to have lost his citizenship by enlistment and oath of allegiance to another sovereignty in the military service of "any country at war with a country with which the United States is now at war" might fully and forthwith restore his American citizenship simply by taking before any United States consul, or any court having authority to confer citizenship, the oath of allegiance to the United States.

In a word, the Act of May 9, 1918, overturned everything the Bureau of Naturalization and the courts had been contending for and making into law at great expense of time, money, and devoted labor. The bars were not simply let down; they were obliterated.

ORDINARY NATURALIZATION DISRUPTED

"The soldier naturalization work completely disrupted," says Commissioner Campbell, "the other

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naturalization work that arose in the courts under the general provisions of the naturalization law, almost the entire force of naturalization examiners being necessary for the task," .. even though their removal from their stations resulted in embarrassment to courts, court officials, and thousands of candidates for naturalization under the general provisions of the law."

It is impossible at this time to say, or even to estimate with any degree of confidence, how many of the aliens, thus hurriedly naturalized, actually saw the battle lines in Europe, or even endured the perils by sea involved in transport to the other side. A large number of them never got farther from home than the army camp to which they were first sent. No statistics on this subject have as yet been collated, or perhaps ever will be. It is the impression of the Naturalization Service, doubtless justified by the fact, that the majority of the foreign-born soldiers thus naturalized at the camps actually did get overseas, even though the armistice prevented their ever further imperiling their lives for the country and flag to which they had thus twice sworn allegiance. The main reason for the haste was, as the Commissioner says, to finish the naturalization of the alien members of units in time for embarkation. The courts engaged in this work at the large encampments, and particularly at the points of rendezvous for embarkation, worked overtime. Eight courts were used at Newport News alone. Every effort was bent to catch the men before they went overseas; in many cases aliens thrown into casual units were quickly naturalized for the special purpose of permitting them to catch up with their own organizations.

"Enemy aliens," as a rule, were handled separately. In one "job," 855 Serbs and Rumanians from Transylvania, which was then a part of Austria-Hungary,

were turned in a trice into full-fledged American citizens.

Many got away without being naturalized, but made up for it when they came home again, not a few with wound stripes to reinforce their title to the new privilege. There were naturalizations even in the hospitals, where men in beds raised their right hands to take the oath of allegiance. Little doubt about their knowing what they were doing.

On the other hand, undoubtedly there were many who did not at all understand. At one of the large hearings at one of the far Western camps surreptitiously brought their certificates of naturalization to two women investigators for one of the Government War organizations, and wanted to know what they meant.

"Would you be so good as to tell us what these papers are?" they said. "We got some papers before, and had to go to court as witnesses. We had a great deal of trouble. We would like to know if these papers will get us into more trouble."

STATISTICS OF ALIEN REGISTRATION

The total registration under the operation of the Selective Service Act, during the whole period, June 5, 1917– September 12, 1918, according to the report of the Provost Marshal General,1 was 23,908,576. Of these registrants roughly speaking, one-fifth of the total population of the United States-20,031,493 were citizens; 3,877,083 were aliens. Of the citizens, 1,336,967 (6.67 per cent) were foreign-born and naturalized. Of the aliens, about one in three (1,270,184-32.76 per cent) had declared intention to seek citizenship. More than two and one-half millions (2,606,901-67.24 per 1 Second Report of the Provost Marshal General to the Secretary of War, 1918, p. 89.

cent) were aliens out-and-out, still owing full allegiance to other sovereignties, and of nationality, so far as the war was concerned, divided as follows:

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We have no figures to show how many of those aliens and declarants registered in the registration of September 12, 1918, were below the age of 21 years; therefore it is not possible to say just what proportion were available for naturalization under the special provisions of the law of May 9th. The previous registration had applied altogether to men above the age of 21, and of course all of those in the subsequently registered class 32-45 were naturalizable so far as age was concerned. The classification of registrants under the registra

1 Second Report of the Provost Marshal General to the Secretary of War, on the Selective Service System to December 20, 1918, p. 90, Table 23.

tion of September 12, 1918, never was completed, being stopped by the armistice of November 11th; therefore the availability for service of the citizens and aliens has been reported only for those between the ages of 21 and 31. Of the 1,703,006 aliens and declarants of this age classification, a little less than one in three (538,363— 31.61 per cent) had declared intention. The fitness of these for service is shown by the following analysis:

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1 Second Report of the Provost Marshal General to the Secretary of War, on the Operations of the Selective Service System to December 20, 1918, p. 91, table 25.

ALIENS AND MILITARY SERVICE

As the Provost Marshal General says, in discussing the intricate legal situation which the legislation of May 9, 1918, was calculated in part to meet, "it was realized that, from the point of view of international law, not all aliens stood on the same footing in this country." He analyzed the differences as follows: 1

(a) An alien occupying a diplomatic post enjoys immunity from military service, as well as from many other burdens,

1 Second Report of the Provost Marshal General to the Secretary of War, on the Operations of the Selective Service System to December 20, 1918, p. 88.

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