The Wilmington morning star., 1946-10-24
As Pegler Sees 1t
Bv WEsTBROOK PEGLER

Copyright, By King Features Syndicate inc'
NEW YORK, Oct. %. The American pro-
test to the government against the ehsldVe-
ment of American citizens calls attention again
to the carelessness Of the country in grant
ing the precious gift of citizenship and the
American passport to parasites from foreign
countries who have no devotion to the United
States. This is an old problem to the State
Department and to consuls in foreign posts.
1t is noteworthy that the American protest to
the Jugoslav foreign Office speaks of persons
having a valid claim under the laws OF the
United States to be considered American cltl-
zens,'' and to individuals claiming the ma
tionality' OF this friendly power which contri-
buted 10 Jugoslavia's liberation and economic
reconstruction. 1t does rot speak specifically
OF native Americans.
Legally, from our point of view, we have a
good case but, in the past, when we stood on
the same legal ground, other states were, or
claimed to be, equally correct, as Tito gov
eminent does now. There is much disagree
ment with our claim that any person who has
become a raturalized citizen OF the United
States ceases to be a subject Or citizen OF MS
native country. Not only the Nazl government
of Germany. but other European governments
long before Hitler, refused to recognize Ane~'-
can naturalization, to the extent that they still
REGARDED their natives as thei1 subjects.
There are authentic cases in which Euro
pean Young men fled briefly to the United
States, acquired citizenship and returned nome
intending to stay there permanently, -or no
other purpose than to escape their military
obligations as peacetirne conscripts. During
one period students from central American
republics caused a serious nuisance by lmprov-
ing the time they spent at North American
universities to acquire citizenship and all the
fights and protection expressed and implied
- ~. ,-corc;o ~ thew a M rlc n9SSnOrtS
which they then Haunted as writs of immunity
from the laws of their native republics when
thew had gone back home to fon1ent reVolu-
lions. They protested against impressment and
the United States was placed in the position o.
protecting men who WERE, in a plain word,
draft dodgers Or slackers, and deserved no
consideration at all from this government, but
on the contrary, deserved our resentment.
During Killers reign there were a number
of exasoerating cases in which American con-
suits had to take formal action in the interests
of Germans who had acquired American cltl-
zenship ard returned home as traders and
business agents, still Germans nevertheless.
and unable to resist the temptation to NEEDLE
in the violent political developments of their
native country. There was a temptation to
them to show of before other Germans and
not onlv shout their opinions but join organiza-
tons which were political in character ii social
in name. Unlike the genuine American who
goes abroad on legitimate missions whether
to study, travel for pleasure or engage in
business. these naturalized repatriates took lib
critics which got them into trouble, and then
yelled for the American consuls to protect
them.
Every war in Europe churns UP among the
supplicants clamoring at American embas-
sizes and consulates strange creatures. 1ndls-
tin guishable from other natives, who present
old American papers and suddenly are cons
cious Of thei1 intense devotion to the United
States. There are, in fact, some actual native
Americans scattered about the world who let
the United States as children, lost all contact
with this country. bore none Of the obligations
of citizenship and became in the truest, 2rac-
teal sense, expatriates. 'Americans" have ap-
peared, demanding the rights of American CT
tizenship, who could not even speak the Ian
guage of the United States.
The British have been more fastidious in
their selection of subjects for naturalization.
British citizenship is regarded by them as a
precious privilege, not the right OF any alien
who can land in the British Isles for a limited
soiourn. with the intention TO ACQUIRE a Fri
fish passport and use it strictly for business
purposes in his native country o as = cover
for nefarious political activities there. The Ma
turalized Briton is not ordinarily permitted to
reside outside the British Empire under the
protection of his citizenship and passport.
During the late, or present, war, two Euro
peans who have been content to live abroad
all their lives and had visited the United
States only briefly and strictly as visitors, sud
denly became conscious of the great convent
ence Of American citizenship and the passport
in their work as journalists. They came to
the United States, complied somehow with the
minimum requirements, got their passports
and went back to Europe, Americans now.
Our laws dc not distinguish between natural
lied and native Americans. This may be the
reason why the protest to Tito speaks only of
American citizens" The J~ugoslav govern
ment, on the other hand, may have legal
ground for claiming that naturalized Amerl-
can natives of European countries. particular
ly of Jugoslavia, are not Americans. Even the
British up 70 the time of the first World War,
claimed that a native American. son of par
ents who had ben born in the British Empire
but were paturalized Americans, was neverthe-
less a British subject, though not a British
citizen, and subject to their military draft
They waived when the issue was made, but
that decision was dictated by tact and con-
sideration fol the much greater return in
American good will. In a legal contest they
undoubtedly could have proved that their law
was just as respectable as ours and they had
physical custody of the subject.