Evening star., 1924-09-14
BY@BEN MckELwAY.
\ HE worthy and ambitious Fill
pino, whose status in the past
has caused silver hairs to ap-
pear among the golden locks

/" HE worthy and ambitious Fill
pfno, whose status in the past
l. has caused silver hairs to ap-
L pear among the golden locks
of more than one harassed of
ficial of the United States Bureau of
naturalization. is on trial, and a
Washington judge is expected to hand
down decision within month tell
ing him what he is, what he isn't;
if SO. why, and if not, why not.
The Bureau of Naturalization which
has been awaiting just such an op-
portunity for some time, received one
last week when a Washington Fill
pino stated, after due thought and in
accordance with all the formalities
expected on such occasions, that he
desired to become a free and equal
citizen of these free and queal United
States. The bureau, which has no
objection, unofficially speaking, to
| this Filipino becoming a citizen and
bringing all his brothers and sisters
| with him, officially had to oppose the
Fflipino's request. Its opposition was
| based on the grounds that while long,
patient, diligent and painstaking
search has been made of all the laws
and regulations covering the subject.
| no law or regulation has been found
which would shed light on whether
Congress desired the Filipino as a
citizen. If such was the desire of
Congress, it hadn't said so in Ian
guage plain enough to understand.
Independence 4 Barrier.
Strangely enough, the bureaus OBJ
lection is based on the fact that the
Filipino hopes to obtain his indie
pendence one of these days and that
Congress has promised him that il
he's a good boy and minds his Ps and
Qs, Uncle Sam will give him that
freedom of which one hears SO much
and release the bands which have
held him in bondage since he ceased
to be a subject of the King of Spain
and nearly became a citizen of the
United States.
Buried in the neatly printed little
booklet dealing with the naturaliza-
tion laws and regula tions gotten out
by Mr.. George Carter and his friends
at the Government Printing Office,
is Section 80.
Section 80 states that "all the
applicable provisions of the natural
ization laws of the United States
shall apply to and be held to author
ize the admission to citizenship of
all persons not citizens who owe
permanent allegiance to the United
States, and who may become resi-
| dents of any State or organized terri
| tory of the United States, with the
| following notifications: The appli-
J nounce allegiance to any foreign
sovereignty; he shall make his
declaration of intention to become d
! citizen of the United States at leas,
| two pears prior to his admissions; anC
I residence .Efshin the jurisdiction OF
the United States. owing such perma
nent allegiance, shall be regarded as
/ residence within the United State:
| within the meaning of the five years
residence clause of the existing laws
Preamble Causes Trouble.
Well and good. If Congress had
| stopped after writing that paragraph
! everything might have been beautiful
and the Filipino, affectionately known
as our little brown brother, might
| have been taken more closely into the
! family circle of citizenship without
any yells of protest from the direc-
! ton of the 100 block of G street
| wherein is located the Department OF
| Labor and the Bureau of Natural
| iZation.
| But Congress, in generous mo-
ment, wrote a little preamble to the
Jones resolution, or the organic act
for the Philippine Islands, which
stated in effect that the United States
had no intention of forever keeping
the Philippine Islands under its SOW
ereignty, and that when the Filipinos
learned to govern themselves pop
erly, they would have their inde-
pendence.
| Therefore, states the Bureau OF
Naturalization, if the Filipino is to
be Independent one of these days, how
| can he declare his permanent alle-