The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1916-01-22
SECRETARY WILSON
DEFINES. HIS STAND. d.
Answers Criticism of German Ed
itor Relative to Admission
of Foreign Soldiers
NATIVE-BORN RETURN -.
FROM BATTLEFIELDS
Trials Will Determine Whether
Foreign Army Service Will
Make Them Aliens.

The department of labor believes
that George Sylvester Viereck, editor
of the Fatherland, had a mistaken
notion of its jurisdiction when he
complained to the house committee
on foreign affairs that Secretary of
Labor Wilson had ruled that Ameri-
cans, may enlist in the armies of the
belligerents in this war, take the oath
Of allegiance to a foreign govern
ment, and then return to- this coun.7
try and be admitted without ques-
ton.
What the secretary did was to ~in-
struct immigration agents on the Ca
madam border that they are not to
bar out Americans returning homo
soley on the ground that they took
the oath Of allegiance when enlisting
in Canadian forces. The secretary
| has jurisdiction over the bureau of
| immigration, but he does not have,
| Jurisdiction to- determine whether a
man born in this country is an
American citizen or not, and SO he
| prefers to allow the man to enter
and let the courts pass on his status.
The Saswell Case.
The secretary's ruling, which was
made Oct. 9, 1915, was in response
to the following case, and should be
interpreted in the light of it:
Frank Caswell, native born
| American citizen, who happened to
be in Canada when the war broke
| out, enlisted in the Canadian army.
He took the customary military oath
| NJ o01oDionoo tn 1i1
| his American citizenship. He did
not thereby acquire a Canadian cih-
! zenship. It would take a special act
of parliament to- give him that.
! Whether Caswe1l went to the Euro
pean front or not the department
does not know. But it happened that
| some time ago he was offered a job
in Detroit, and he accepted it in
i:Canada,5 and came home to take it.
! He was stopped ata the border..ss $50 Z
Contract Labor Law. r.
Our immigration laws provide that
alien contract labor is to be forbid
den entry to the United States. If
Caswell had actually lost his Ameri-
can citizenship he would not be en-
titled to enter this country again be-
| C1OS0 lAC "OulO SOA1c LII DIS d COuII dCL
| laborer. But, of course, the prohi-
bition could not be raised against
him if he were still an American
citizen.
When his appeal came to the de-
! partment of labor, Secretary Wilson
J simply ruled that he would not un-
dertake to say whether by taking the
qualified oath of allegiance to the
king of England, Caswell had for
| feited his American citizenship. So
he directed that Caswell be permitted
to enter and then gave the instruc-
| ton complained of, for such cases
| were constantly rising. Editor Vie
! reck Of The Fatherland printed, how
ever, only half Of the order. He did
not print the first half, which indi-
Gated that it was called forth es-
pecially by the Caswell case.
May Make Test Case.
There will be plenty of time in
] which a test case can be made. Cas-,
! well may be arrested at any time
within three years and made to show
his right to be in this country, on
pain Of being deported If he fails.
Secretary Wilson is willing that any
! one swear out warrant for his arr
rest, so that the case may be brought
| before the court. @-
| On the broad question Of the case.
Prof. A. s. Hershey, in his work on
! International Law, has this to say:
Contrary to the practice in some
countries, foreign military or naval
service. or the acceptance of a public
office in foreign country do not In
themselves affect expatriation in. the
view Of the United States"