Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-01-04

METHODS AT VARIANCE
NATURALIZATION PROCEEDINGS
LACK UNIFORMITY.
Recommendations Of Secretary Hay
Laid Before Congress for Appro-
pirate Legislation.

Secretary Hays report and recommended
tons on the naturalization of aliens laid
before Congress today show that during the
calendar year of 1903 the State Department
issued 1911 passports, of which 7,444, OF
46.1 per cent, were to naturalized cltlzens,
and that American diplomatic and consular
officers abroad issued 4,2S1 passports, OF
which 2,1OS, or 1912 per cent, were to nat
uralized citizens, and that as the State De-
partment must afford natura1ized citizens
who go abroad the same protection as ma
tive citizens the matter of NATURALIZATION
Is of deep concern to that department.
While proof of citizenship is required De-
fore passports are issued, no means can De
evolved by which the State Department can
properly or satisfactorily review the actlon
of the courts, which, under the law, alone
have power to naturaliZe aliens.
Gases of False Naturalization.
Many cases of false fraudulent and i'm
proper naturalization says Secretary Hay,
have come to the State Departments
knowledge, and it is a thankless task when
persons for whose protection abroad the
government intervenes are discovered not
to be entitled to the naturalization certln-
Gates they hold
The report states that about 5000 sepa-
rate and distinct courts now exercise inc
power of naturalizing aliens, and that the
rules they apply vary SO widely that the
intention of the Constitution that theIe
shall be a uniform rule OF naturanzatlon 10
effectually defeated, some courts requiring
more testimony than others, some belng
strict and others naturallZlng freeiy ana
upon insufficient inquiry. The certlncates
OF naturalization vary SO widely IN WORD
ing and appearance that when they are
presented to the officials of foreign gov
ernments they are often not accepted as
proof of American citizenship until they
have been supported by addltionai proof.
An appendix to the report gives copies OF
ten certificates of naturalization selected
at random from those coming before the
State Department, showing that some GER
tificates contain a bare recital OF the nat
uraization and cover only a snort page
while some are three pages long.
Secretary Hays Recommendations.
The recommendations are that the law
should restrict naturalization to certain
courts definitely named, and forbid all other
courts from entertaining naturalization pro-
ceedings; that the nature of the testimony
upon which naturalization may be con-
ferred should be more particularly pre-
scribed by law than it now is; that the Ian
guage and form of certificates should be
prescribed; that they should be printed
upon a particular paper made for the pur-
pose, so as to prevent the extensive coun-
terfeiting which now prevails, and that all
courts having power to naturalize should
be required to make returns OF naturaliza-
rlons to the general government.
The report shows that the naturalization
laws have not kept pace with changing con-
ditions being now based upon law passed
in 1902. An appendix to the report is
statutory history of naturalization in TIE
United States from the Declare ton of In
dependence to the present day. Another
appendix gives all the state laws on the
subject of naturalization, and the report
says that in some places 1t is easier for an
alien to become naturalized by a federal
court than a state court.