Evening star., 1924-12-03
In TODAY'S SPOTLIGHT
BY PAUL y. COLLINS.

be absent from his native land 10
years he loses his citizenship there.
Yet if such a man return on a visit
to his native land. he is liable to ar
rest there and to compulsory en-
listment In the army. even of the
country Of which he is no longer a
citizen. And his adopted citizenship
in the United States does not help
him out of that service. No law that
we might pass would have any effect
! upon his military obligations under
| the circumstances. His only safety is
| to remain out of the jurisdiction of
| the government with which he would
sever connection.
The Scandinavian countries have
| such laws, canceling the citizenship
of natives who absent themselves 10
| years, though they make II easy for
| such to regain citizenship by only
six months residence and a declara-
| tion that they desire repatriation.
Germany had such a law, but repealed
it by the Delbruck law of 1914, just
prior to the outbreak OF the World
War, when she desired to recall as many
citizens as possible. Holland and
Belgium have such laws, not even re-
| quiring 10 years foreign residence,
but merely a residence abroad under
circumstances indicating an intention
| to make it permanent. Italy and
France are punctilious in requiring z
military duty, regardless of the for
feiture of the rights of citizenship
by foreign residence. Hence 1t is
very easy to become "a man without
country" by forfeiting citizen ship
in the native land, without acquir-
ing it in the land of adoption.
X X u "
There is many a tragedy in con-
WIT
may have come here 10 or Is years
ago and entered without the formal
ity of inspection-he may have cut
corners by slipping by the inspec-
tor, or may have gotten over the
Canadian or Mexican border unob-
served. He has lived here and been
a useful and law-abiding resident,
working industriously, married an
American woman, anr reared a fam
lily of American-born children.
Then there comes time when he
wants to be naturalized, perhaps for
the sake of his family. He max es
application for his first papers, and
at once the law officers discover that
the applicant has no record OF law
full admittance; he Is an alien, unlaw-
fully here. All his Is years or more
of residence go for naught; he must
be deported. But his American fam
ican-born citizens There are no
funds to deport them. The law will
tear the husband and father from
his family and send him back to his
native land-providing that land will
receive him Perhaps he had come
away evading his military duty; he
will now be fined and imprisoned for
| that violation of law. He has for
feited his citizenship in his native
| land, so that he has no rights his
native government is bound to re-
spect, and no claim for protection
| upon America, whose government
has torn him from wife and children
and deported him as an undesirable
alien. Under the existing law, this
case would be eased by the statute of
1imstations--f1ve years from arrival
but the present bill proposes to
abolish the limitations, and enable
the Government to deport whenever
the original violation is discovered
The law has not hesitated to sepa-
rate families at the ports of immi-
grafton; 1t now would also sepa-
rate them at the ports of exile.
Copyright, 1924, by Paul V. Collins.l