The morning call., 1893-09-09
FESTETICS' WIFE.
Is the Countess Citizen
or Subject?
AMERICAN OR HUNGARIAN Z?
Curious Question Raised by Her
Oath as Master of the
Yacht Tolna.

I. Ella II. FestetIcs de Tolna, master Of the
yacht called the Tolna of San Francisco. bur-
den IS tons net, do swear that l am a citizen OF
the United States, having been born Ill the
State of California, so help me sod.
ELLA ii. FESTETICS DE TOLNA.
The foregoing oath taken by the Countess
Festetics opens up a curious question.
There is no doubt about the fact that only
an American citizen can swear to the reg
istry. or own or navigate ship flying the
United States flag, Section 4142 of the Re-
Wsed Statutes of the United States is ex-
plicit on that point. 1t reads:
For the registry OF any vessel an oath shall
be taken, etc., that the person so swearing is q
citizen OF the United States. and that there Is
no subject OF citizen of any foreign prince or
state directly or indirectly by way OF trust, con-
ndence or otherwise interested IN such vessel
or the pronlS thereof, and that the master
thereof is a citizen.
The practice of European nations as to
ths nationality of married women Is well
known. They take that of their husband.
A case in point is furnished by the daugh-
ter of the famous French general, Marshal
Pellissier. Born French she was married
TO Bohemian named Zamoisky. Some
time after the marriage was declared un-
lawful and void. There was no question
OF divorce; the supposed marriage was
simply no marriage from the beginning.
Yet to regain her rights as French citi-
zen she had to obtain The issuance OF
special papers from the President of the
French Republic, and at the French con-
sulate in this city the information was
given that wife's status as a citizen fol-
lows the condition of her husband.
At the German consulate Mr.. A. Rosen-
thai said that citizenship could be lost in
several ways, and one of them IVES "the
case of marriage with citizen of foreign
country"
The Secretary of the Austrian consul
ate gave similar information. The Count
Festetics de Tolna is Hungarian, and &C
c0rding to the laws of Austro- Hungary
when woman maTries a Hungarian she
becomes a citizen Of the Austro-Hunga-
rian empire"
Mr.. f. Stratton, the well-known Federal
lawyer, on being asked whether the COun-
tess had lost her rights as an American
citizen by marriage to a foreigner, re-
ferTed IHE CALL representative to the
case OF Kreitz VS.. Behrensmeyer. Illinois,
decided IN 1888, wherein it is stated that an
allen-born woman married or who shall
be married to citizen of tue United States
shall be deemed and taken to be a citizen"
and the citizenship of a woman thus ac-
qulred is not lost by the subsequent death
OF her husband and her afterward inter-
marrying with an alien"
But, said the learned attorney, "there
Is another opinion even more to the point
which can be found in the decisions of the
Supreme Cuurt nf the United States in
the case of Shanks ct al. VS.. Dupont ct al,
wherein II was decided that Ann Scott, a
native of Charleston. did not, by inter-
marriage with Joseph Sbanks, an English
man, cease to be citizen of South Caro-
INA, but that her Withdrawal with her
husband and her permanent adherence TO
the side OF the enemies of the State, down
10 and at the time of the treaty nf peace
OF 1888, operated as a virtual ds solution of
her allegiance, and that her coverture did
not disable her from making this election,
and that at all events she was a British
subject within the purview of the treaty
of 1884, If then an alien who becomes u
tIZen by marriage does not lose her citi-
ZenShip by a second marriage with an
alien, native daughter of. California GER
talnly stands in no worse condition. Ana
taking the two decisions it seems evident
according TO United States law that, unless
a specific treaty exists with Austria, Coun-
tess Festetics still remains citizen of the
United States"
Another lawyer, whose name would
carry weight. resting his opinion on the
Illinois case, said he did not see how apy
one could be divested of citizenship ex-
cept by forms of law, and the authority
was good foundation for the belief that
the Countess still remained citizen of the
United States.
What then is the nationality of the
Countess? Or does she represent in her
self two different citzenships and become
IN Hungary a Hungarian while in the
United States she remains follower OF
the stars and stripes?