The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-08-15
PASSPORT ABSOLUTE NECESSITY ABROAD Travellers Find Themselves
 in Jail Without Them GREAT PRECAUTIONS Getting Passport Is Not So Easy as It Once Was-Must Have a
 French Passport When Travelling in France

London, August 1.-(Special)-No Amer ican can enter Great Britain or leave it today without a passport. So if. disre- garding the new perils of the deep. you are thinking of coming over here, you will save yourself lot of trouble and delay, If nothing worse, by providing yourself with Uncle Sans guarantee be- fore you set forth. The supposition Is. in fact, that no American is allowed to sail for Europe without a passport, but n few are doing so so the writer was told at the American embassy yesterday. The result Is that, when they arrive at Liver rool which, like practically every other British coast town, is prohibited area to any but natives they are allowed to so no farther, and have to appeal to the embassy to provide them with the necessary credentials. This, in some cases may take week or even longer, especially if the traveller is a naturalized and not native born American, and if he has no one here to vouch for him or any proofs as to his nationality about him. In such cases the embassy, after being communicated with, has to cable to Washington, and Washington has to investigate the trvelers bona fides and cable back all of which takes time Mean while, moreover the unhappy traveller will be virtually prisoner.
 On the other hand, some of the return ing Americans, unaware of the regula- tions, go blithely up to Liverpool, un- provided with passports, just in time to catch their steamer, only to find that they may not do so At best they are delayed week, the days when a ship left this side for the United States every other day or so being now only roseate mem ory of the remote past. The embassy of ficials. accordingly (who. though they do not mention that are hard enough worked already now that they are looking after the interests of Germans and Aus trians as well as Americans). are anxious to have it impressed upon our travelling countrymen that a passport Is an impera- tive necessity.
 Not So Easy Now
 One cannot get g passport, either, as easily as one buys postage stamp To begin with it will cost you g. or eight shlllinss and fourpence in Eng fish money, if you get 1t here instead of in the United States. Supposlng the lat ter case. if you are unknown to the em- bassy, you will have to bring letters from two responsible persons clearly establish ing your nationality. You also must fur nish three photographs of yourself, or, ic you are husband and father, and want passport to cover your whole family. three photographs of each per- son named in the passport over the age Of 14. These things having been com rlied with, the embassy will issue you at once an Emergency passport" good for two months. Meanwhile it will forward your application to Washington. which will iS4lla a mi nd qan6 1t to London. This will be good for six months, and will be renewable for two further periods of six months. thus mak- ing it good for IS months In all This Is why three photographs are required. One Is for the emergency passport, one to be filed at Washington and one to go on the permanent passport.
 If one Is an American residing in Great Britain. 1t is a good thing to have a passport on principle, since no one knows what may happen. If you contemplate leaving the country, or even going to the seaside or to any other prohibited area. '' such as the neighborhood of any big mu- nitions center, like Woolwich or Alder shot, you must have one. The writer, for example, who occasionally visits Margate. on the east coast, was told that he requires a passport in order to do so henceforth. On arrival at this, or any other coast town, it seems. one must go forthwith to the police station and there produce his passport. This is neces- sary, because, on going to a hotel you will be required to fill up form stat ing.. among other things, your national ity, and as this form goes at once to the police. they would otherwise be down upon you to know why and wherefore you had failed to report yourself as an
 allen" These are war times. remem- Der, and more than one pseudo-Amercan has been proved to be an enemy spy.
 Must Have French Passport
 Moreover, if one wishes to enter France, he must have French passport as well as his American one Which means. among other things three more photo graphs. Every other continental coun- try except France. 1t seems, contents 1t self with the wise of its London consul late affixed to ones American passport, but the French government Is adamant in requiring separate guarantee from It's own consulate.
 Since the beginning of the war. I was