The record-union., 1892-03-14
THE RIGHT OF THE NEW CHIEF
OF POLICE TO TAKE OFFICE.

A San Francisco paper has interviewed
Attorney General Hart concerning the
right of Chief of Police-elect Rodgers to
take Office. The Attorney-General has
given the reporter an off-hand and out
of-office opinion, and presumably with
out close examination of the law. This
opinion appears to be one of doubt, but
still has the effect of again raising ques-
tions concerning the citizenship of Mr..
Rodgers, and which the opinion of Dep
uty Attorney-General Layson settled in
his favor.
To our mind the reasoning of Mr.. Lay
son is not only sound but invincible, and
1t is much to be regretted that his prin-
cipal has seen fit to differ with him, for
the argument of Mr.. Layson is in line
with reason. AS the matter is again
brought to the front and as misstatements
of the facts have crept into print, let the
case be restated
The parents of Mr.. Rodgers were aliens
and came to the United States when he
was three years old. They were soon
after divorced, and the custody of the
children awarded to the mother, and ac-
tually taken and ever after retained and
exercised by her. In fact the father dis
appeared, and was supposed to be dead,
and his son never knew him to be alive
until long after he had reached man
hoods estate.
So the husband and father being legally
dead to the wife and mother, and while
her children were still infants, she mar
ried citizen of the United States and
thereby became citizen and her citizen
ship Injured to the benefit and naturaliza-
ton of her children.
Section 1894 of the Revised Statutes of
the United States reads: ''Any woman
who is now, or may hereafter be married
to citizen of the United States, and who
might herself be lawfully naturalized,
shall be deemed citizen"
So jealous is the law of rights of citizen
ship gained by marriage that Section 2l6S
of the Revised Statutes distinctly declares
that where an alien declares his intention
but dies before taking out final papers.
his widow and children shall be deemed
citizens
Section 2l72 of the Revised'Statutes also
provides that children of persons duly
naturalized, being under the age of q
at the time of naturalization of the
parents, if dwelling in the United
States, shall be deemed citizens, though
they were born aliens. The mother of
Mr.. Rodgers was a citizen while he was
death, and all the time had the actual and
legal custody and control of her son, un-
der maternal right and by decree of court.
If the father of Mr.. Rodgers had actually
died without becoming a citizen, and
while the son was still an infant, no ques-
ton whatever would now be raised ad-
verse to the claim that Mr.. Rodgers par
took Of all the benefits of the naturaliza-
ton Of his mother by marriage. AS a
matter of fact, by the decree of divorce,
the husband became ciVilly dead to the
wife, and she became femme sole, and as
such legally contracted marriage with a
citizen, and was thus naturaliZed
The precaution taken by Chief of Po-
hce-elect Rodgers to be naturalized in
1892 cuts no figure in this case, and is not
therefore considered. 1t is probable that
his fathers declaration of intention was
made long before the son attained major
ity, and, despite the opinion of the Attor-
ney- General, that fact may cut figure in
Mr.. Rodgers case, but it is unnecessary
to consider it now. His claim that
he is a citizen rests mainly upon the
naturalization of his mother, who had
actual and judicial control of him as an
infant at the time.
The Attorney-General has given his
opinion to the San Francisco paper re-
ferred TO on the ground that "the law has
not provided for case like this" and he
therefore doubts if the argument relative
to the mothers naturalization will hold
good, since the law ''is so explicit as to
the children of aliens being naturalized,
with reference TO their fathers action"
But the law abhors an absurdity as ma
ture does vacuum. The laws of men do
not always provide for every possible
case that may arise; but courts of equity
intervene and prevent hardships that
would otherwise ensue. Hence, as Mr..
Layson has shown in Kelly VS.. Owen,
WALL, 496, Leonard VS.. Grant, 5 Fed.
Rep, u-17, the Judicial branch of the
Government has held that woman alien
separated from her alien husband, so as
to be competent to marry second time,
by such second marriage becomes an
American citizen. That naturalization of
the mother made her infant children citi-
zens, we are cited to the case OF United
States VS.. Kelly, l3 Fed. Rep, s2-S4, in
support.
We believe that common justice, the
intent OF the law. and reason, sustain the
claim of Mr.. Rodgers that he was citizen
by virtue of his mothers naturalization.
The fact that when q few years ago he
discovered that his father was alive, and
had been naturalized. he then registered