Speech #590077812

I introduced the original bill for which this bill was introduced by the committee as a substitute. The bill that I originally introduced has reference to the matters referred to in section 2 of this bill. It developed two or three years ago that in the city of Chicago the criminal court of Cook County had issued between 20.000 and 30.000 certificates of naturalization. The law on the subject of naturalization provides that naturalization papers may be issued in a court of commonlaw jurisdiction. The criminal court of Cook County Is a court of criminal jurisdiction. presided over by judges assigned to it frotp other courts of commonlaw jurisdiction. Whether it is technically a court of commonlaw jurisdiction has never been definitely settled by any authority. and doubt arose as to whether that court was a court of commonlaw jurisdiction. Hence they ceased issuing naturalization certificates. I have been informed that the same condition of affairs occurred in St. Louis. It certainly exists in some of the other large cities of the country. So there were in our own county between 20.000 and 30.000 certificates of naturalization issued by a court which purported to have full jurisdiction. papers accepted by people who assumed that they were citizens. who still consider themselves citizens. many of whom are still voting as citizens. Probably not one of them has ever been informed that there is any doubt about the legality of his certificate of naturalization. They complied with all the provisions of the law. The criminal court is a court of equal jurisdiction. so far as its standing is concerned. with any of the other courts which could issue certificates of naturalization. and the second section of this bill is simply to provide that as to the question of jurisdiction a court which has acted in this matter shall be considered to have had jurisdiction. It has been asked here. can not these persons go Into court and each one of them have it corrected? That would involve new applications for citizenship in each case. and that of itself would be an acknowledgment that the party was not a citizen before. and would render him liable to prosecution for illegal voting. or possibly for perjury. and the only fair method by which this can be corrected. both as to these people and as to their heirs in case the question of citizenship comes up hereafter in descent of real estate. is by the passage of a corrective act such as this.