The daily morning journal and courier., 1904-12-07


 of good character. so that we can rest assured that their children and grand children will be worthy felIow-citizens of our children and grandchildren, then we should welcome them with cordial hospitality.
 But the citizenship of this country should not be debased. It is vital that we should keep high the standard of well-being among our wage-workers, and therefore we should not admit masses of men whose standards of liY- ing and whose personal customs and habits are such that they tend to lower the level of the American wage-work- CT: and above all we should not admit any man of an unworthy type, any man concerning whom we can say that he will himsels be a bad citizen, ,or that his children and grandchildren will de- tract from instead of adding to the sum of the good citizenship of the country. Similarly we should take the greatest care about naturalization. Fraudulent naturalization, the naturalization of improper persons. is a curse to our gov ernment; and it is the affair of every honest voter, wherever born. to see that no fraudulent voting is allowed, that no fraud in connection with natu ralization is permitted.
 In the past year the cases os false, fraudulent and improper naturalization of aliens coming to the attention of the executive branches of the government have increased to an alarming degree. Extensive sales of forged certificates of naturalization have been discovered. as well as many cases of naturalization secured by perjury and fraud; and in addition, instances have accumulated showing that many courts issue certifl- cates of naturalization carelessly and upon insufficient evidence.
 Under the Constitution it is in the power of the congress ito establish a uniform rule of naturalization" and numerous laws have from time to time been enacted for that purpose. which have been supplemented in few states by state laws having special applica- tion. The Federal statutes permit nat uralization by any court of record in the United States having eommon-law Jurisdiction and seal and clerk. ex- cept the police court of the District of Columbia, and nearly all these courts exercise this important function. It results that where so many courts of such varying grades have Jurisdiction, there is lack of uniformity in ths rules lapplied in comforting naturalization
 Some courts are strict and others lax. An alien who may secure naturaliza- tion in one place might be denied it in another, and the intent of the eonstitu-
 tional provision is in fact defeated.
 Furthermore, the certificates of natu- Iralization issued by the courts differ widely in wording and appearance, and when they are brought into use in for eign countries are frequently subject to suspicion.
 Naturalization Laws Should be Re-
 vised.
 There should be comprehensive re- vision of the naturalization laws. The courts having power to naturalize should be definitely named by national authority; the testimony upon which naturalization may be conferred should be definitely prescribed; publication of Impending naturalization applications
 should be required in advance of their hearing in court; the form and wording of all certificates issued should be uni form throughout the country, and the Ecurts should be required to make re- turns to the Secretary of State at stated periods of all naturalizations conferred.
 Laws Concerning Citizenship. Not only are the laws relating to nat Iuralization now defective, but those re lating to citizenship of the United States ought to be made the subject of scientific inquiry with a view to proba-
 ble further legislation. By what acts repatriation may be assumed to have been accomplished, how long an Amer- ican citizen may reside abroad and re- ceiye the protection of our passport, whether any degree of protectin should (Continued on Eleventh Pags.)