No. 1153.

CASE OF SAMUEL SCHWARZ.

MESSAGE

FROM THE

PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES,

TRANSMITTING

A SUMMARY OF THE CORRESPONDENCE ON FILE IN THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE RELATING TO THE CASE OF SAMUEL SCHWARZ.

MAY 22, 1916.-Message and accompanying papers referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs and ordered to be printed.

To the House of Representatives:

In response to the resolution of the House of Representatives dated May 13, 1916, and reading as follows:

Resolved, That the President of the United States be, and he is hereby, requested, if not incompatible with the public interests, to furnish the House of Representatives with a statement of what he has done under the provisions of section two thousand and one of the Revised Statutes to secure the release of Samuel Schwarz, an American citizen, alleged to be unjustly deprived of his liberty by or under the authority of the Government of Great BritainI transmit herewith a report from the Acting Secretary of State furnishing a summary of the correspondence on file in the Department of State relating to the case of Samuel Schwarz.

THE WHITE HOUSE,

Washington, May 22, 1916.

WOODROW WILSON.

DEPARTMENT OF STATE,

Washington, May 18, 1916.

The PRESIDENT:

The undersigned, the Acting Secretary of State, to whom was submitted by the President the resolution of the House of Representatives, dated May 13, 1916, reading as follows:

Resolved, That the President of the United States be, and he is hereby, requested, if not incompatible with the public interests, to furnish the House of Representatives with a statement of what he has done under the provisions H D-64-1-vol 145- -22

of section two thousand and one of the Revised Statutes to secure the release of Samuel Schwarz, an American citizen alleged to be unjustly deprived of his liberty by or under the authority of the Government of Great Britain.

has the honor to report the following summary of the correspondence on file in the Department of State relating to the case of Samuel Schwarz:

In the early part of the year 1915 the department had considerable correspondence with a woman in New York who called herself Rosa Schwarz and posed as the wife of Samuel Schwarz. It appears from subsequent correspondence that this woman is Rosa Goldman and that she is probably not the lawful wife of Samuel Schwarz. This woman applied to the department to obtain the release of her alleged husband, and in an instruction, No. 937, of April 29, 1915, the department directed the embassy in London to investigate the arrest of Samuel Schwarz.

The embassy at London replied in dispatch No. 1507, of May 28, 1915, inclosing a copy of a note from the British foreign office saying that Samuel Schwarz could not be found and asking for his address. It developed later that the reason he could not be found was that when he was arrested he passed under the name of "Simon Stern."

In a telegram, No. 1699, of June 14, 1915, from the department to the embassy at London, the department made the following statement:

Samuel Schwarz, naturalized, New York City November 25, 1901. Known in London as Simon Stern and arrested in that name. Wife in this country destitute. States husband born in Hungary and took up residence in London three years ago. Investigate. Report. Urgent.

In a telegram of June 26, 1915, the embassy at London reported that Schwarz, alias Stern, had been sentenced in October, 1914, to six months' imprisonment for failure to register as an alien enemy, being unable to prove his American citizenship; that the police stated he was an audacious swindler who was wanted in Austria-Hungary for obtaining large sums of money by fraud; and that his marriage in America was probably bigamous, since he admitted that his real wife was in Austria-Hungary. The ambassador added that Schwarz, or Stern, was being detained pending execution of a deportation order, and asked whether he should press for Schwarz's deportation to the United States as an American citizen.

In a telegram, No. 1787, of June 29, 1915, the department asked the embassy when the British Government proposed to deport Schwarz.

In a telegram, No. 2377, of June 30, 1915, the ambassador at London referred to his previous telegram and said that he could not ascertain when or whether Schwarz would be deported until the question as to where he was to be sent was settled.

In a telegram of July 8, 1915, the department informed the embassy that, as Schwarz appeared to be an American citizen, the American Government could not object to his deportation to this country.

In a dispatch, No. 600, of July 14, 1915, the consul general at London informed the department that Schwarz was defendant in proceedings under the name of Simon Stern; that Schwarz claimed a woman in London named Blum as his wife; that his solicitor said that the American naturalization certificate of Schwarz was in the possession of his wife Bertha in Budapest, Hungary; that an

officer of the late Austro-Hungarian consulate general stated that Schwarz was a fugitive from justice in Hungary, and that there were other charges against Schwarz besides those relating to the war.

In a dispatch, No. 1618, of July 23, 1915, the consul general at London expressed his opinion that Schwarz had forfeited his claim to American citizenship. The consul general inclosed a copy of the International Criminal Police Gazette, the original of which contained pictures of Schwarz and Rosa Goldman. In the Gazette it is stated that Schwarz was born in Budapest July 5, 1851, which tallies precisely with his recent passport application. In view of this statement and the photograph there can be no question whatsoever as to the identity of this man. The consul general also inclosed a copy of a paper from the files of the former Austro-Hungarian consulate general in London concerning a request of October 21, 1911, for the arrest of Samuel Schwarz and a woman, Rosa Goldman, alias Goenerz, posing as his wife. It appeared from this paper that Schwarz had recently escaped from jail in Graz, Hungary, where he had been imprisoned for obtaining by fraud money amounting to 170,000 kronen, and that Schwarz had been aided in his escape by Rosa Goldman. Scotland Yard had reported, November 21, 1911, that Schwarz could not be found.

In a dispatch, No. 844, of November 16, 1915, the consul general at London reported that the central office of criminal records at Budapest had a record of other crimes committed by Samuel Louis Schwarz, who was born in Budapest about 64 years ago, and was evidently the person imprisoned in London.

In an undated letter received by the department November 26, 1915, Representative Bennet again brought the case of Schwarz to the department's attention.

In a letter of December 1, 1915, to Representative Bennet, marked "Confidential," the department stated that it had had considerable correspondence concerning this case with persons in the United States as well as with the American ambassador and consul general in London. The department added:

For your confidential information, I may say that the reports received by the department indicate that Schwarz, or Stern, is a notorious forger, and that doubt is expressed whether he married the woman in this country who poses as his wife, since it has been ascertained that he has a wife living at Budapest, Hungary. You will realize that this is not a case which warrants the intervention of this Government.

In a telegram, No. 2749, of January 19, 1916, to the embassy in London the department said: "What is status of Samuel Schwartz case? Facilitate departure for this country." In a telegram, No. 3646, of January 25, 1916, the embassy at London referred to the consul general's dispatch, No. 844, of November 16, 1915, and said that there appeared to be no doubt that the Schwarz in London was identical with the Schwartz wanted in Hungary. The ambassador added: "He is therefore an undesirable alien. Authorities here willing to keep him indefinitely." In a telegram, No. 2812, of February 1, 1916, to the embassy in London the department said: "Have Consul General interview Schwarz and get passport application and statement concerning residence. He was naturalized in 1901."

In a letter of January 29, 1916, to Representative Bennet the department informed him of the recent telegraphic correspondence with the embassy at London and mentioned the embassy's belief that the naturalization of Schwarz had been fraudulently obtained and that he might be denied admission to the United States as an undesirable alien. The department also informed Representative Bennet that the ambassador had been instructed to obtain a statement from Schwarz concerning his emigration to this country, residence, and naturalization, and added that upon receiving this statement the department might be able to determine whether or not the naturalization was valid.

With a letter of February 17, 1916, to the Attorney General the department inclosed dispatches Nos. 600 and 844 of July 14 and 16, 1915, from the consul general at London, and the department asked the Attorney General whether, upon the ground of Schwarz's conviction of crime before his naturalization, proceedings might be instituted to cancel his naturalization as having been illegally pro

cured.

In a letter of February 17, 1916, to Representative Bennet, the department informed him of its reference of the Schwarz case to the Department of Justice.

With a dispatch, No. 3174, of March 3, 1916, the ambassador at London inclosed a copy of a letter of March 3 from the consul general, in which the consul general reviewed the criminal record of Schwarz and expressed his opinion that as Schwarz had returned to his native land for permanent residence within five years after his naturalization on November 25, 1901, as shown by the issuance of a passport to him by the department, July 19, 1902, his naturalization was presumably fraudulent. (In making this statement the consul general had in view the provision of the second paragraph of section 15 of the naturalization act of June 29, 1906, to the effect that the establishment of a permanent residence on the part of a naturalized citizen of the United States in his native land or any other foreign country within five years after his naturalization raises the presumption that such naturalization was fraudulently procured without a true intention of residing in the United States and performing the duties of citizenship.) The ambassador also inclosed a statement made by Schwarz before a member of the consulate general concerning his naturalization and residence. This statement is meager and evasive and proves little except that Schwarz is the man who escaped from jail in Graz in 1911, and that the woman in New York who has written to the department as Rosa Schwarz is the woman, Rosa Goldman, who aided in his escape from jail. The consul general also inclosed a copy of an article from the Grazer Tagblatt of October 9, 1911, giving an account of the extraordinary criminal record of Schwarz, who was known as the Duke of Suben.

With a letter of March 21, 1916, to the Attorney General, the department inclosed copies of the dispatch last mentioned and its accompaniments.

In a letter of March 24, 1916, to the department, the Attorney General stated that proceedings to cancel the naturalization of Schwarz for fraud because of previous convictions of crime could