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CHAPTER VII.

ATTITUDE OF FOREIGN GOVERNMENTS TOWARD THEIR CITIZENS WHO HAVE BECOME NATURALIZED IN UNITED STATES.

Information relative to rules and regulations of foreign countries, compiled by Department of State.

Austria-Hungary.

Belgium.

Denmark.

France.

Germany.

Greece.

Italy.

The Netherlands.

Norway.

Persia.

Portugal.

Roumania.

Russia.

Servia.

Sweden.

Switzerland.

Turkey.

Information Relative to Rules and Regulations of Foreign Countries, Compiled by Department of State.*

The following information relative to the laws and regulations of various foreign countries has been carefully compiled by the Department of State, and is furnished to American citizens, formerly subjects of those countries, who contemplate returning to the country of their origin:

Austria-Hungary.

All male subjects of Austria-Hungary are liable to the performance of military service between the ages of nineteen and forty-two years.

Under the terms of the treaty between the United

* The information given is believed to be correct, yet it is not to be considered as official, as it relates to the laws and regulations of foreign countries. Note by Department of State.

States and Austria-Hungary a former subject of that country, now a naturalized citizen of the United States, is treated, upon his return, as a citizen of the United States. If he violated any of the criminal laws of AustriaHungary before the date of emigration he remains liable to trial and punishment, unless the right to punish has been lost by lapse of time as provided by law. A naturalized American citizen, formerly a subject of Austria-Hungary, may be arrested and punished under the military laws only in the following cases: (1) If he was accepted and enrolled as a recruit in the army before the date of emigration, although he had not been put in service; (2) if he was a soldier when he emigrated, either in active service or on leave of absence; (3) if he was summoned by notice, or by proclamation, before his emigration, to serve in the reserve or militia, and failed to obey the call; (4) if he emigrated after war had broken out.

A naturalized American citizen of Austro-Hungarian origin on arriving in that country should at once show his passport to the proper authorities; and if, on inquiry, it is found that his name is on the military rolls, he should request that it be struck off, calling attention to the treaty of September 20, 1870 (17 Stat. at L. 833), between this country and Austria-Hungary.

The laws of Austria-Hungary require every stranger to produce a passport on entering. This provision is not usually enforced, but may be at any time. Travelers are usually called upon to establish their identity, and are advised to provide themselves with passports. They do not ordinarily require to be visaed.

Belgium.

Every male Belgian must register during the calendar year in which he reaches the age of nineteen years to take part in the drawing of lots for the raising of the necessary military contingent.

Anyone who has drawn a number which designates him for military service, or, in case of his absence, has had a number drawn for him by the proper authority, is punishable if he does not answer the call for service.

Under the terms of the convention between the United States and Belgium, a Belgian, naturalized as a citizen of the United States, is considered by Belgium as a citizen of the United States, but upon return to Belgium he may be prosecuted for crime or misdemeanor committed before naturalization, saving such limitations as are established by the laws of Belgium.

A naturalized American, formerly a Belgian, who has resided five years in this country, can not be held to military service in Belgium, or to incidental obligation resulting therefrom, in the event of his return, except in cases of desertion from organized or embodied military or naval service.

Passports are not usually required in Belgium, but people who contemplate sojourning in that country are recommended to carry them in order to establish their identity. They do not require to be visaed or indorsed. Denmark.

Military service becomes compulsory to a subject of Denmark during the calendar year in which he reaches the age of twenty-two years.

In November or December of the year in which he becomes seventeen years old, he is expected to report for enrollment on the conscription lists. If he neglects to do so, he may be fined from 2 to 40 kroner; but if his neglect arises from a design to evade service he may be imprisoned.

In case he fails to appear when the law requires that he be assigned to military duty, he is liable to imprisonment.

When one whose name has been, or should have been,

entered on the conscription lists emigrates without reporting his intended departure to the local authorities he is liable to a fine of from 25 to 100 kroner.

A person above the age of twenty-two years, entered for military service, must obtain a permit from the minister of justice to emigrate. Noncompliance with this regulation is punishable by a fine of from 20 to 200 kroner.

The treaty of naturalization between the United States and Denmark provides that a former subject of Denmark, naturalized in the United States, shall, upon his return to Denmark, be treated as a citizen of the United States; but he is not thereby exempted from penalties for offenses committed against Danish law before his emigration. If he renews his residence in Denmark with intent to remain, he is held to have renounced his American citizenship.

A naturalized American, formerly a Danish subject, is not liable to perform military service on his return to Denmark, unless at the time of emigration he was in the army and deserted, or, being twenty-two years old at least, had been enrolled for duty and notified to report, and failed to do so. He is not liable for service which he was not actually called upon to perform.

Passports are not required to secure admission to Denmark, but they are useful or necessary as means of identification, or in proof of citizenship. They should be exhibited whenever evidence of citizenship is required.

France.

All Frenchmen who are not declared unfit or excused may be called upon for military duty between the ages of 20 and 45 years. They are obliged to serve three years in the active army, ten in the reserve of the active army, six in the territorial army, and six in the reserve of the territorial army.

If released from all military obligations in France, or if the authorization of the French government was obtained beforehand, naturalization of a former French citizen in the United States is accepted by the French government; but a Frenchman naturalized abroad without the consent of his government, and who at the time of his naturalization was still subject to military service in the active army, or in the reserve of the active army, is held to be amenable to the French military laws. Not having responded to the notice calling him to accomplish his military service, he is placed on the list of those charged with noncompliance with the military laws, and, if he returns to France, he is liable to arrest, trial, and, upon conviction, is turned over to the army, active, reserve, or territorial, according to his age. Long absence from France and old age do not prevent this action.

A Frenchman naturalized abroad, after having passed the age of service in the active army and the reserve, nevertheless continues on the military list until he has had his name struck from the rolls, which may usually be done by his sending his naturalization certificate through the United States embassy to the proper French. authorities.

The French government rarely gives consent to a Frenchman of military age to throw off his allegiance. Application on the subject may, however, be addressed to the minister of justice at Paris, accompanied by a full statement of the particulars and a fee of 675 francs. If the request is granted the name of the person concerned is erased from the military list, and he may return to France safely.

There is no treaty between the United States and France defining the status of former French citizens who have become naturalized American citizens.

Passports are not necessary to enter France, but are

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