On April 12. 1918. the Senator from Georgia. Mr. Hardwick. reported from the Committee on Immigration a bill for the purpose of facilitating or hastening the naturalization of aliens who had enlisted in the Army of the United States. There was a brief debate. During the debate he said: It Is impossible. or at least it Is unfair. to send these soldiers to the battle line in Europe until they have been naturalized and made citizens of this country. so that they will not be subjected to charges of treason against the Governments and princes of whom they were formerly subjects. The War Department is not willing to subject thoie men to that sort of danger. It is not fair to them and it is not jat to the country.. They are scattered practically through every commalld in the Army. or in the new draft Army. and it can not be moved a# it ought to be moved until these soldiers can be put In a position where this difficulty will be eliminated. The bill finally passed and was approved the following month. May 9. 1918. and the object for which it was presented has been subservedthat in every Army camp there were bureaus for the naturalization of these alien soldiers who were going to the front. Now. a rather extraordinary thing occurred. Certain orientals in the Hawaiian Territory under this act applied for citizenship. and Judge Vaughan. of the Federal court there. nobody objecting. granted. I am told. no less than 800 applications. In certain other jurisdictions applications for naturalization have been granted to orientals who. under existing law. being neither free white persons nor persons of African descent. are ineligible for citizenship. so that what was merely intended by Congress as a means to facilitate the naturalizqtion of aliens who were going to war to fight for this country has been turned by this easy process into an amplification or expansion of our naturalization laws so as to include those who are ineligible.
Keywords matched
naturalization Immigration naturalized