Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1895-04-25
4 RIDICULOUS CLAIM

Set Up By tho swiss Government In the
Madel1ne His Abductiou Case-A Pssi-
tion that Cannot Receive tho Sanction of
tho United States Government, and Must
Not be Permifted to stand.
WAsHINGToN, April 19.-Up to the
close of the period covered by the vol
ume of foreign relatsons for 1894 there
was an open question of considerable
interest pending between the United
States and the Swiss republic. In 1881
Carrie Turner, citizen of the United
States. and Albert His, citizen of
Switzerland, married. At the time
they were both domiciled In New York
city and continued to reside there.
July %, 1887. there was born of this
union a child named Constance Made
line.
In the autumn of 1887 Albert His re-
turned to Switzerland, the wife re-
naming in New York with her child,
whom she supported by her earnings.
In the autumn of 1889 Mrs. His was
served at New York with papers in
suit for divorce begun by her husband
in Switzerland. She went to that
country and succeeded in preventing a
divorce on the grounds asked, and she
herself, in the same court, secured an
absolute divorce The judgment of the
court, on the request of both parties,
awarded to the mother the custody of
the child and her bringing up and edu-
cation.
Returning to America, Mrs. His con-
tinued to support her daughter until
Albert His came to New York, and on
May 4, 1891, abducted the child and
took her to Switzerland, where he has
ever since detained her and has been
sustained in this action by the Swiss
courts.
Mr.. Dewitt Warner has taken
strong interest in the case. The cor
respondence, begun by Mr.. Blaine and
continued by Secretaries Foster and
Gresham, has been quite vigorous on
the part of the United States. The
formal statement of the position of the
United States las far as this CORE
spondence shows was made by Secre-
tary Gresham, October 81 last. as fol-
10 WIS:
1.-THE United States government
claims the child on the ground that
she was a native-born citizen residing
in the territory of the United States,
and subject to it's exclusive jurisdic-
ton and entitled to its projections; was
surreptitiously abducted and taken to
Switzerland in utter regard of our
sovereignty. Even had the child
not been a citizen of the United
States, the means by which the
father obtained custody amount to
the crime of abduction, and it is
therefore significant and remariab Bile
that in Mr.. Lachenafs (the Swiss for
eign minister) last note on the subject
it is said that sin the light of the ju-
dicial ard legal principles in force in
Switzerland, it is impossible to deny
that the acts with which Mr.. His is re-
preached were taken in the exercise
of the paternal power of which he has
never been declared deprived"
This language seems to imply that,
in the opinion of the Swiss govesn-
ment, in abducting the child from the |
United States, the father simply exeu-
cised his paternal right. and that this. |
cannot complain of the /
act. Does that governments take the
position that one of its subjects may
enter the territory of the United States
in defiance of its sovereignty and
authority and by stealth or force |
take from its jurisdiction, . citizen
Or even an alien having a lawful domi- |
Gle. If it does, this government must |
record its dissent from
SO subversive of the funda-
of sovereignty. The caae can
not be permitted to remain as, It now
it might in the future be |
quoted as a precedent against this
and, therefore. yesa will
again bring the matter to the atten-
ton of the Swiss government and de- T
nand such action on its partiss will
.omport with the dignity and SOY.
,reignty of the United States"