Waterbury evening Democrat., 1906-08-01
TO BE 4 GOOD CTTIZEN
New Law k More Strict, and Requires
 Moro From Aliens.

After September 26 1t will not bs as easy as 1t has been to become . citizen of this glorious land of trusts and monopolies. The last congress enacted most stringent laws regard-
 ing the admission of aliens to citi- zenship and hundreds of Waterbury men alone, who have been voters for years, would not have a ghost of Q show of becoming citizens under the new laws.
 In New Haven, where the court of common pleas has been deprived of the Jurisdiction of issuing naturali- zation papers after September 26 men who can at all read the language or the country are hustling to the court to be made citizens, and in con- sequence the court Is working over time and oftentimes as late as mid night. Those who are rushing to take advantage of the few weeks that are left them are doing so because they are aware that if they waited they would have no chance of passing the examination. The hue and cry has been given out by the politicians and every man who is at all eligible Is being hustled to court.
 In almost every particular the new laws differ from the old ones, or rath- CT that which will be old on and af- ter September 26. In the first place it is necessary for the candidate for citi- zenship to be able to read the lan- guage of the country; not to limp through few words as is all that is necessary at present, but to read in- telligibly and intalligently. This is probably the strictest feature in the new law. His papers will also cost him a good deal more. At present first papers cost only half a dollar and final papers y2. After September 26 he shall pay $1 for his papers and $o for his second. Before being given his second papers, however, he shall first file an application for citizen- ship with the court of the town in which he lives and with it he shall deposit $2. When he is being admit ted to citizenship he shall pay $3. And if he fails to pass the examina- tion his $2 shall be forfeited.
 Another very important feature is this: If the naturalized citizen came to the country on or before 1901, and he shall take up residence in any foreign country for five years or thereaboutsi 1t shall be taken as an intention on his part to forswear his allegiance to the United States, and in case he returns here again he shall be considered an alien and it will be necessary for him to go over the old routine again to become re-naural- ized.
 An alien must also give the his- tory of his family upon making ap- plication for citizenship. He must not only tell all about himself and his wife, whether or not they are opposed to organized government, if they are anarchists. nihilists, or other we'll es- tablished disturbers of orderly civic organizations, but he must give the day and date and place and age and sex of all of his children, the color of their eyes, their hair and so forth.
 Under the present law an alien may take out his first papers after leaving Ellis Island and fifty years later he can take out his final papers. But he cannot do so under the new law. If he fails to take out his second papers five years after he has taken out the first. he shall not be eligible for, citizenship and he must begin all over again: take out first papers and wait for five years to pass over his head before he can take out second papers,.
 There is paragraph or two of considerable importance to the clerks of courts issuing such papers. All citizenship blanks will hereafter come from the bureau of registration and naturalization in Washington and for every blank the clerk fails to account for he is liable to fine of $25. At present If he spells a paper he merely throws 1t into the waste basket and that is the end of 1t. The governments idea in having clerks of courts make true account of all papers is to see that none of them cross the water where they can be doctored up and fraudulent citlzen- ship. perhaps, acquired. Above all, a strict account of them must be kept for the government officials and above all again, aliens must have an intelligent conversational acquaint- ance with the English language be- fore they can be made citizens of the United States.