Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1918-09-01
ERRONEOUS DRAFT
LAW WEWSHELD
Bjorkman Points Out Unjust
Criticism of U. S. Made
/. in Sweden.
NO HARDSHIP ON ALIENS
BIZ EDWIN BJORkMAN.

Reports that neutral subjects are
being forced to serve in the Ameri-
can Army have caused considerable
excitement abroad, and especially in
Sweden. Some of this excitement has
been based on transformation. Mostly
it has sprung from a complete misun-
Outstanding of the situation over
here.
When somewhat more than a year
ago this country began its prepara-
tions for meeting German militarism
on it's own grounds by the congress
sioRal enactment of a draft law" all
men of military age twenty-one
to thirty-one) were required to
register, regardless of whether they
were American citizens or not.
Such a provision is clearly within
the rights of any nation, and
must not be construed as an attempt
eigners. In Sweden, for instance.
every person, whether a citizen or a
foreigner. has register.
Separate Class for Neutral Aliens.
AS the registration was followed by
the actual drafting of eligible men into
the Army, neutral aliens of military age
were placed apart in class by them
selves. leaving them outside the work
ings of the law. In this connection.
however, there arose difference OF
opinion as to the proper distinction be-
tween foreign subjects and American
citizens. In other words, we had, and
have, among US class of men standing
half way between those who owe no
allegiance whatsoever to this country
and those who have completely trans
ferred their original allegiance to the
United States. These are the men who
have taken their first papers," but
who have not yet obtained their sec
ond' or final documents of naturaliza-
ton.
Roughly speaking. our laws provide
that to become an American citizen
the former subject of a foreign power
must first of all file declaration of
Intention which, after a certain num-
Der of years and the fulfillment of GER
tain conditions. entities him to obtain a
final decree of naturalization.
The binding character of the initial
declaration is not generally understood.
1t constitutes, in fact, an oath of allie
glance which, in itself, should suffice to
change the legal status of the man TAX
ing it
Right of Suffrage Given Aliens.
In most of our states all the rights
OF ClllZenSnlp except lHdL Oh NOllHS
at public elections have been bestow-
ed on every man subscribing to the
declaration of Intentions" Until
quite recently, most of the western
states gave him even the right to
vote on the same simple condition.
There are still six states where a
man having only his first papers" is
as much a citizen as one fully natu-
rallied, as long as he stays within the
state. States like Minnesota, which
have only recently changed their
suffrage laws. are full of men who
have lived there a lifetime and en-
joyed every right of citizenship with
out having become fully naturalized.:
Regarded as Matter of Justice.
Under such circumstances it seemed
only just to those who framed our
original measures of military pre-
paredness that men who had readily
forsworn foreign allegiance in order
to obtain the principal rights of citi-
zenship mssSt also be expected to ac-
cept the duties incumbent on every
one h>vi~g become an integral part
of the patton. In other words, men
having obtained their first papers"
were made subject to military service
under the draft law.
Here and there a voice of protest
, has been raised among the naturaliZ-
ed Swedes of the United States. It
does not represent the feelings of the
, overwhelming majority of the race in
| America