The Ketchum keystone. [volume] (Ketchum, Idaho) 1885-1899, 1895-01-05

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11f11ICxu8 BORN ABROAD.
tWly They Arc Hot Iligibls = +
O1loe q Preej1enk.
Kindly inform me whether chill
born ofAmerican parents under tn
following circumstances is recog
mixed as an American citizen or not
Case The child is born upol
high seas. Case 2-The child i
born in foreign country. An argu
mentative decision.
Answer-Our correspondent, w
apprehend, does not ask for all b
wants. We will endeavor to enlight
en- him, however, on points which
seem to have invited dispute, re.
garding eligibility of certain classes
Of citizens to the Office of President
of the United States. The child Of 9
citizen born in foreign country Is
citizen of the United States by Law,
but is not eligible to the presidency.
The argument is in the Constitu-
ton of the United States, which
provides that:
No person, excerpts natural born
citizen, or citizen of the United
States at the time of the adoption
of this Constitution, shall be eligl-
bletothe office of President; neither
shall any person be eligible to that
Office who shall not have attained
to the age of IS years and been
fourteen years resident within
the United States.
The difference of opinion existing
rests upon the meaning ia nat
ural born citizen. On this subject,
Paschal, regarded as one OF the
highest of legal authorities, says,
"A natural born citizen { is one } not
made by law, or otherwise, but
born" Bates, on Citizenship" no
op., 1922, limits the natural" mem
bers of the body polite to 'the peo-
pie born in the country" and he
this, combining the meaning
to "every person born in the coun-
try" Kent says: Nativity furn-
ishes the rule" Story on "The
Constitution" says, Considering
The ages of all such ii. e., those who
are alien born and citizens when
The Constitution was adopted no
person of foreign birth can now
sver be President under the Consti-
,ution." Morse, on citizenship"
p. 1875, section 9O), says, "a natu-
al born citizen is one not made by
aw, or otherwise, but born. The
does not make the
it only recognizes such OF
hem as are natural, home born,
md provides for the naturalization
# such of them as are alien, foreign
'orn, making the latter, as far us
lature will allow, like the former.
The expression natural born citi-
en- recognizes and reaffirms the
universal principle common to all
ations, and is as old as political
ociety-that the people born in a
ountry do constitute the nation,
nd, as individuals, are natural
1enbers of the body polite" Now,
citizen is, first, natural born.
children born within the allegiance
f the United States are natural
orn citizens. Second, made a cit
ZEN by statute. Children born of
.merican parents outside of this
lrisdiction are made citizens by
tatute U. S. Revised Statutes, sec.
on 2l72) and are not citizens nat
raj born. If there was no statute
icy would not be citizens. The
Journal of Commerce." November
), 1889, stated the case as follows
They argue that as a child born
broad of an American citizen is by
It of Congress invested with the
III rights and privileges of citizen.
Zip, therefore he is a citizen by
ght of birth and is natural born
iizen and eligible to the presidency
the United States. But they
the fact that he is not a
tizen by right of birth alone, bu,
made citizen on account of his
nth by act OF Congress. He is not,
'erefore, natural-born citizen, .
1T a citizen made BY the law. I'll
, was natural.born citizen there
ould have been no necessity for
act of Congress investing him
lth citizenship. A person born
1t Of the allegiance of the United
,ates is therefore made citizen by
", is not natural born, and cannot .
legally elected President without
change in the Constitution.
There was an old feudal doctrine
,der which the ambassador of a
untry to another carried with him
box of soil from his native land,
I'd in the event of necessity he :
'uld put the box in position, ard,
anding upon it, assume that he :
as on his native heath for the
ne being. That, we believe, is no
nger in practice. As to the Of
ials representing the Government
the United States in foreign
untries, they are in no way su-
riOr tn other American c;t;~on.