The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-12-01
THE USE OF PASSPORTS.
DOCUMENTS WHOSE VALUE AND
PURPOSE ARE LITTLE UNDER
STOOD.
How the Government Issues Them
and What They Obtain-SOme Luz
dicrOus Mistakes-A Bit of History.

dierOus Mistakes-A Bit of History.
From the New York Tribune.
Washington, Nov. H.-According to the
number and character of the letters re-
ceived by the passport clerk at the state
department, it would seem that the gem
eraI public of the United States knows
little of the value or general uses of the
passport in foreign countries. There are
those who in foreign travel subject them
selves, especially in Germany, to much
useless trouble and worry, which could be
avoided by the simple act of taking out
a passport from their own government.
Although not of great importance i'm
minor cases, this is a guarantee by the
government of the United States that the
person bearing it is who he claims to be,
and bearing such evidence, is entitled to
the consideration of the officers of the
government he is visiting. Ordinarily
speaking, as every one knows who has
taken a short European trip, the possess
sion of a passport on a brief journey
through England or France, is not of any
particular value. for in nine cases out of
ten it is not called into requisitiOn. But
persons who want to go into Alsace-Lor-
raiuc from France are often put TO great
inconvenience and delay if they do not
have passports which are Vised by the
German embassy at Paris, for the rules
in parts of Germany in regard to the
identity of persons are most rigid.
So long as people are travelling through
Europe their movements may be unQueS-
toned; but If they give an appearance
OF intending to live or soJourn at place,
they are frequently called upon for their
passports and forced to give an account
of themselves and their object in stay
ing. This is particularly the case in Ger
many, where people in the smaller towns
have frequently been questioned abruptly
by the civil authorities within snort
time after their arrival Passports are
certainly necessary for the Turkish do
miniOns including Egypt and Palestine,
and should be certified by a Turkish con-
sular officer before entering within the
limits of Turkish jurisdiction.
The word passport seems TO bear some
mystical significance among the lower
classes Of the people. The passport clerk
of the state department, W. II. Trouland,
has received any number of curious COM
municatiOnS from persons Of lower or
der of intelligence asking questions which
excite no little amusement on the part of
the recipients. The vagueness OF the ideas
of these people in regard to the passport
and its uses is shown by two amusing cases
a short time ago. An old colored woman
somewhere down south, with five or six
children, wrote to the secretary of state
for a passport. She said she had heard
that he was great and good man, and
that she thought he would take pity on
poor lone woman with six children, who
wanted to get from her place of residence
in the south to some other part of the
country, a distance of several hundred
miles. She threw herself, with all manner
of urgent appeals to his goodness and char
ity, metaphorically at his feet, and prayed
for a passport for herself and six children
that she might reach her destination with
out payment of the railroad fare, which
expenditure she could not afford. 1t is
presumed that she has not taken her rail-
road journey, and that her pickaninnieS
viii grow up and die in their present place
on another occasion on old German came
HHnF he asff
one for himself and five friends. a pass
port was eventually given him, and he left
highly pleased. A short time after this the
passport clerk received letter from the
Pullman agent, stating that six Germans
had got on one of his trains and were
highly indignant when they were asked
for their tickets. They said that the sec
rotary of state had given them a passport
that he was fine fellow, and that they
We're going wherever they pleased. It
seems it was their confident belief that, if
necessary, they could go to the ends of the
earth on the slip of paper from the state
department.
such stupidity is hardly comprehensive
in persons having the reasoning power,
but from the character of many of the let
tiers received at the passport division such
lheldents are not OF rare occurrence. In
order to comply with the conditions of the
state department, number Of questions
In regard to the applicant are asked by
lhe passport clerk, and description must
also be put in the face of the passport.
MS description sometimes occasions q
81 eat uedl OF distress on the part OF the
FEMININE portion of the applicants, who
resort 10 subterfuges to conceal their cor
rect age from the questioner. In reply TO
the question, many of them say that they
have no age, and that they don't think
such questions should be asked. On being
told that the regulations in regard to pass
ports require it, after laundering about
4or while and turning many colors,
they finally decide to tell it, afterward
looking as mad as hornets. The men do
not care. In the description of the ap-
q
quesuoner to fill out the different blanks
Ior the forehead, eyes, nose, mouth, chin,
halr, complexion and face without the
lue assistance of the applicant, who often
assists him. A clerk of the department
once made an unfortunate error in filing
out THIS description. The forehead was de-
straight" the nose was curved" the
mouth was ''recedng," the chin was
req, the hair was pale" and the COM
pleXiOn was round" The sad error of
ms wonderful description was due to the
Jerk putting the description of the eyes
m the blank intended for the forehead |
me nose in that intended for the eyes, and |
so on in all the other blanks. Such a pass
iort could not fail to excite a degree of |
WAT heavy local officials in some of the |
mai German towns In assisting the |
passport clerk to Nil out the description, |
e-g woman described mouth as Just |
--isAt. Another called it a ''Cupid's bow"
teIe nave been various descriptions CT |
Ledi9res hazarded by their owners which |
t3t,' Tor the reason that there might be |
ISN'T differences of opinion. This might |
s especially applicable to the case of an |
Eltemely ugly man who answered most |
g lne questions put to him by the word !
.ahdsome and the list of such incl |
cents is long
lhe law says that passport to be good |
.asl be signed by the secretary of the I
.4ted States. In the past this signing |
a7 been done in different ways There |
ere Arst written by hand and signed by |
~ secretary himself Hamilton Fish |
iied the passports with pen himself |
"54 continued the custom throughout his /
toie term of Office The labor was con
able, but not nearly so great as ID |
.iid pe now. Evarts, while secretary OF |
-lt used rubber stamp. and his ex-
tpe was followed by Mr.. Blaine I'm both /
ms. frelinshuysen used a pen AT first /
toward the end of his term abandon
PC because Of the great amount of la /
ana used a stamp instead. Bayard |
me pen Tor passports All passports |
4ea during his administration bore his !
le signed with pen. but 10 was his uri- /
secretary who did the signing. Gen.
adhered TO the use OF the stamp.
~ passports in the desk OF the pass
clerk, before hling ON have q litho-