They did not ask for the pay or subsistence of an American soldier. but were willing to go at their own expense. The Secretary of War. however. refused to let them go. because they were not citizens of this country. and if captured would be punished as traitors. They then appeared before the Immigration Committee. of which I am a member. and Congress. in response to this request. passed the necessary legislation permitting them to become citizens upon entering the Army. Under this law the Bureau of Naturalization has admitted to citizenship over 00.000 true and loyal soldiers now at the front and on their way to France. Are they cowards or is the Britten bill an insult to every American of German and Austrian origin? Or does it indicate a spirit in the land which. if fostered. would destroy us as a Nation? The gentleman from Illinois evidently did not know that every immigrant from Germany and Austria took an oath of allegiance before he became a citizen of this country. and In that oath he so took he not only renounced all allegiance to Germany and Austria but declared he would support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States against all enemies. foreign and domestic. and bear true faith and allegiance to the same. My grandfather took that oath. and I would not now be worthy of him if I were not true to the oath he took. Did this resolution intend to invite perjury on the part of these people or Intend to convey that the oath was a mere matter of form and convenience?
Keywords matched
Naturalization Immigration immigrant