Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-03-16

QoSlTc aIta1ueQ. ana at the
Land OF end hangs, not the pot of
no.;. gold, but a giant caldron
with a huge spout. This
country has been called a melting pot,
and here at the end of this rainbow of
desire attained it hangs. And close be-
side it, sleeves rolled up, testing tube
in hand, stands a chemist. Carefully
he determines the exact reagents which
go into the melting pot"-mental. moral
and physical soundness, with a dash of
ambition, seasoned with loyalty. These
ingredients he throws in. And now and
then he tips the caldron to allow a
great streams of properly mixed ma
terials to run out This chemist is the
immigration service, the caldron the
bureau of naturalization, and the in
gradients are the hundreds upon hum
dreds Of aliens who come to this land
of desire each year, eager for freedom,
and the attainment Of that desire they
spelled out in the colors of the rain
bow.
OF all the government bureaus which
seem SO prosaic and occupied with
routine work perhaps none has the
undercurrent Of throbbing.. pulsing
this bureau. From the shores Of
Europe sail parties of aliens, poor to a
degree hardly appreciable by most
Americans, stalking their all upon being
allowed to enter this land of the Free"
here to reap a harvest of all their long
ings and ambitions. Once here, If they
pass the tests of the immigration
service. they are fairly well started on
their road of accomplishment. But. after
a period Of residence here. there yet
remains the bureau of naturalization to
be passed before they can lay claim to
being American citizens, before they
can grasp the fulillment Of that il
lusive message in the rainbow.
Although the immigration service it
self was created in 1891, it was not
until the middle Of 1906
Bureaus that an act of Congress
c, provided for the estao-
separated. ishment Of the "di-
vision Of naturalization" And just be-
fore the close Of the last session OF
Congress. in connection with the crea-
ton of the Department of Labor, the
bureau of immigration and naturallza-
ton was divided into two distinct
bodies, which now form bureaus OF the
newly made department, under the con-
troll of Secretary Of Labor Wilson. The
chief of the bureau is Richard K. Camp
bell.
The work Of the new bureau here is
purely administrative Scattered over
the United States is force OF neio ex.
aminers, chief examiners being stationed
in the large cities. These men fnvesti-
gate the cases which come up Tor near
ing in the various courts all over the
country. there being almost 5000 courts
having Jurisdiction in regard to naturai1-
cation matters.
Laws relating to the naturalization OF
aliens provide for a five-year residence
in this country before citizenship can
be applied for. But before man can
become citizen he must deciare ms III
tention, and this must be filed two years
prior to the date his petition or last paper
is fled The law also provides that while
FIVE years residence is necessary II neea
not be in one place, as long as the perloo
of residence in any state or territory 1s
not less than one year. In fling declara-
ton of intention no witnesses are reQulr-
ed, the paper being merely form IN
which applicant declares his desire 70
become a United States citizen ana ms
intention of abandoning his loyalty to MS
former sovereignty.
*
If this declaration is fled within three
years of coming here. the petition may
tken be filed at the end OF
Filing the the five-year period, but
no matter what length OF
1et1tAoA. time a man has been In
this country two years must elapse be-
tween the fling of the declaration OF In
tention and the petition. Two creditable
witnesses, who are American citizens, must
be brought at the time OF fling the petit
ton. and swear that they have personally
known the applicant during the entire
period of residence as stated In his petit
ton, also to his moral qualifications. In
the event Of man moving to another
state or territory before five years have
elapsed, he can use dispositions in lieu Of
oral witnesses in proving his term OF resi-
dence. A fee of 81 is required when filing
the declaration OF intention, and - when
filing the petition. of which amount half
goes to the court where the papers are
filed, the other half being forwarded to
the division of naturalization. and from
there to the Treasury Department. where
it is placed in the miscellaneous fund.
All papers in naturalization cases are
made out in duplicate or trfpltcate, one
COPY being forwarded to the bureau here.
The declaration Of intention is filed for
reference when the petition is filed. Nine
ty days must elarse from the filing OF q
petition before the hearing OF case.
Every court having naturalization 1uris-
ulCLlOH nuSI TcpOIt " LILO oui Cou OuSC
a month. sending at that time copies OF
all papers filed with it. Consequently, at
least sixty days remain between the time
the bureau here receives a petition and
the date of the hearing, that time allow
ing for an investigation by the bureau
and by the field examiners to ascertain
the merits of the case.
X
These examiners act in much the same
capacity as referees When the case
comes up, after the appli-
Examiners cant has been heard, the
W., examiner makes his report,
"oAA' substantiating or contra
dieting his claims to citizenship It is
then for the court to grant or deny a
certificate Of citizenship. In cases where
it is the opinion of the examiner that the
court has erred in its decision, the mat
ter is further investigated by the bureau,
and if it is still convinced that the action
was illegal, an affidavit is made out as
the basis for cancellation proceedings
through the Department Of Justice.
l. With the threads of the bureaus work
running out to nearly 5000 courts scat
tered all over this country, the task of
| keeping the machinery working smoothly
is not an easy one. Clerks of the courts
are supposed to report monthly. but the
Office here does not leave the matter en-
tirely with them. Applications from
aliens are made out on blank forms, is