Speech #500010067

Oppenheinmwent to hii and told him that this was a. crisis in his affairs and said to hin. "Look for your papers. A poblication of a damaging character will be made denying your citizenship. look for your papers and find them. Isita facitihat you are naturalized? Readitheirtestimony carefully. gentlemen. a.d you will see that 11e never intimated to those gentleman. his confidential friends and advisers. that he bad been naturalized in 1865. What lie said was. "I have my papers or I did have thema. they may be lost like my discharge or my marriage certificate. I may not be able to produce tile now." Then. after he had made search for them and they could not b found. when he had exhausted every means of finding his alleged papers. he appears before the people of Fort Wayne and says. "I have my naturalization papers. I have them here in my pocket." Ir. Speaker. I feel an extreme delicacy in pressing my conviction upon this point. because it conflicts with the statement of the contestee himself. a gentleman for whom I have none but the kindliest feeling. I say. sir. I feel great reluctance and delicacy in pressing any conviction upon this point. but I do feel assured that. if we are to rely upon mortal testimony. he was not naturalized in 1865. And outside of tbat fact I feel assuredfor I have found no authority to the contrary. though I have made diligent searchI feel certain. I say. that a person can not prove his naturalization by parol proof in the absence of all record. I have not found any case. in any authority. where the oath of itself confers naturalization. On the other hand. the authorities are numerous to the effect that it is the judgment of the court that confers naturalization. I will go further. and say tlhat if the contestee could produce a certificate of naturalization. while it is not a record and does not confer naturalizationthe judgment of the court being the only thing that does thatif he could produce a certificate. I say. I would receive it as evidence of naturalization. not as conclusive. but asprima facie evidence.