The Brookings register. [volume] (Brookings, Brookings County, S.D.) 1903-1971, 1912-07-18
NOTES
AT WASHINGTON
MATTERS CONCERNING THE LAW
MAKERS AT THE NATIONAL
CAPITAL.
ANOTHER MAN WITHOUT A COUNTRY
Congress Passes Special Act to Confer
Citizenship Upon Eugene Prince-A
New American Flag on the 4th.
(From Our Washington Correspondent.)

The story of The Man Without a
Country written by Doctor Edward
Everett Hale, is classed as n of the
most famous short stories ever writ
ten. Doctor Hale dealt in fiction, but
congress has just solved another case,
and the circumstances surrounding
this individual are decidedly extra
ordinary. Senator Lodge in telling the
senate of the necessity for special
legislation to grant American citizen
ship to Eugene Prince, remarked that
1T is a very strange case. | never
heard of one like it," 1t appears that
the Prince family settled in Massa-
chusetts in 1643 and most Of the fam
ily still reside in the old Bay State.
Many years ago, the grandfather OF
Eugene Prince went to Russia as the
representative of a Boston institution
and established himself there. To his
household John Henry Prince was
DOl IL, anu an Wv
zen, and has resided in Russia all his
life. His son, Eugene Prince, was also
born in Russia. Under the laws of the
United States all children whose
fathers were, at the time Of their
birth, citizens of the United States
and who are born out of the limits OF
this country, are declared to be citi-
zens of the United States, but the
rights of citizenship shall not descend
TO children whose fathers never resid-
ed in the United States. This last
clause of the law fitted the case of
Eugene Prince, who likewise under
the laws of Russia, where he has re-
sided for the twenty-five years of his
lifetime, was not a Russian subject.
Young Prince desired to return to the
United States, and it was found that
no passports could be issued in his
favor because he was a citizen of no
country. The easy way would have
been for Eugene Prince to have sworn
allegience to the Car, but this he
refused to do, declaring that for him
to take this measure to leave Russia,
and then proceed at once to the Unit
ed States for the purpose of renounc-
ing that very allegiance, would not be
consistent or honorable. Young
Prince determined that he would be
recognized as a citizen of the United
States, and the American Ambassador
finally secured for him a letter from
the Russian government allowing him
to leave the country. Upon his ar
rival in the United States it was
found that there was no law by which
he could become an American citizen.
The mar without a country appealed
to congress with the result that a
special act OF this greatest legislative
body in the world has been passed in
order to restore to him the rights OF
American citizenship, which his fam
ily enjoyed for over 800 years.
Although Arizona and New Mexico
have been in the sisterhood of states
for some months, they did not take
their place upon the national flag
until July 4th. From a beginning OF
thirteen states established with our
independent government in 1875,
every foot of American soil is now in
cluded in statehood, and after 1876
years the simple flag, modelled by u
forefathers, has been perfected and
completed.
The subject Of farm loans is COM
handing a good deal OF attention in
congress, and Representative Norris
Of Nebraska, who has been one of the
prime movers in pressing the subject
is insistent upon a cooperative credit
commission to give to farm loans the
same wide cope OF investigation as
has been given to commercial loans
by the Monetary Commission. Mr..
Norris has thrown a great deal OF
light upon the system in vogue In
Germany. where the Raifeisen system
worked out upon the line Of co-opera-
tive credit associations among the
farmers, has been eminently success
full. The first Of these associations,
which bears the name Of Herr Raif-
feisen. was created in 1890, and there
are now 6,777 of them doing business
CONTINUED on age ~