Speech #640217951

I think the Senator is mistaken in his construction of this bill. The decision which he referred to a while ago was dealing with the right of a woman to vote under a State law. I presume that a State may provide that a woman who marries a foreigner expatriates herself to the extent of preventing her from exercising the right to vote where she otherwise might have. that right. but nothlng that the Supreme Court can write in the miay of an opinion and nothing that any State legislatire can enact in the way of a statute is going to alter the effect of this language. which is not dealing with naturalizatioi except as it uses the term "naturalized" in order to classify certain people who are attempting to obtain admission to this country. The first section of this bill provides that nativeborn citizens shall not be classed as aliens. Now. a woman may marry a foreigner and may thus lose her right to exercise the franchise in this country. but by no possible construction of this language can any such decision as that in any way affect her rights when she presents herself. in the capacity of a nativeborn American woman. and demands that she be admitted into the ports of the United States. -.