The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1916-02-18
DOUBT HAS ARISEN
ON GUARD STATUS
Legal Opinions Falling Thick and
Fast On Filipinos' Right To
Enlist

The announcement of the unofficial
opinion expressed by Attorney General
stanback Tuesday afternoon, that
there is nothing in the law to prevent
the Filipinos living in the Hawaiian
islands from becoming na,uralized citi
zens of the United States. brought out
many legal opinions yesterday. Judge
Clemens said that he had admitted Fill
limos to citizenship, acting under the
opinion handed down by former Unit
ed States Attorney General Bonaparte,
while Horace w. Vaughan, United
states district attorney, declared that
IN his opinion the "Little Brown
Brothers" are not entitled TO the right
to vote or TO become naturalized
A. A. Wilder also tossed his hat into
the ring with letter gently ehiding
Mr.. Stainback for his failure to quote
IN the first interview, the decision on
the case handed down by a federal
court of Pennsylvania. Mr.. Wilder
takes the position that the law forbds
any save "free whites and Africans
or persons Of African nativity" from
becoming American citizens. His let
ter. is printed in fun below.
Law In Case Specific
The law in the case, as quoted by
Mr.. Stainback and printed in The Ad
Nertiser yesterday morning, is most
specific and Ineligible, even for a lay
man. II is section thirty of the Act
Of June 20, 1906, and its preamble
gives the purpose of the section as
clearly as legal verbiage permits.
1t says, chat the section Is an Act
intended to provide for the natural
zation of persons owing allegiance t.
the United States, who are not citi
zens. y Continuing it says that the
applicable provisions of the United
States naturalization laws shall be aP.
plicable to such persons. Still q
little farther along it declares that he
section shall be held to authorize ad
mis- sion to citizenship of all pei sons no
citizens who owe permanent alegienc,
to the United States, and who may be
come residents of any State or organ
lied Territory of the United States.
1t then provides for the course to be
followed by such persons before they
can be naturalized.
Higher Courts Have Not Decided
1T is true that none of the higher
courts have passed upon this question,
said Mr.. Stainback yesterday after.
noon, land that a federal district
court in Pennsylvania has decided
against the admission of FilipinOs t.
citizenship. This is cOunterbalanced
by the action of the local federal court
which has admitted them, and of the
supreme court of the District of Colum
bia, which also has admitted Filipinos
to full citizenship rights"
The finding of the Pennsylvania court
which Mr.. Stainback refers to above il
the ease of the petition of Eugene
AlvcrtO, for naturalization, which was
denied him. The court says:
"Section of the Act provides thai
an alien may be admitted to become
a citizen of the United States in the
following mannerfa and not otherwise
"The naturalization act of 1905 ex
pressly repealed many of the then ex
listing provisions of the law in rela
tions to naturalization. Section 216!
| (forbidding any but free white per
sons or persons of African nativity
from becoming citizens) was not re
pealed, and if congress had not intend
ed its provisions to apply to section 81
of the act of 1906, such intention woulC
naturally appear in the Act. As 1t ha
not been excepted section 80 Of the Ae
from the provisions of section 216a
Revised Statutes, the latter section mus
be held applicable to the naturalization
laws. 1 am therefore of the opinion
hat congress did not intend to extenC
the privilege of citizenship to thOs
who had become citizens of the Philip
pines under the act of 1902, unless the!