No. 298.
Mr. Kasson to Mr.
Bayard.
Legation of
the United States,
Berlin, May 16, 1885.
(Received June 1.)
No. 261.]
Sir: In order to preserve the history of the
application of the German rules of December 31, 1884 (see my No. 189), to
American naturalized citizens returning to Germany to reside, I transmit
herewith the correspondence in the case of Constant A. Golly.
I have, &c.,
[Inclosure 1 in No. 261.]
Mr. Kasson to Count
Hatzfeldt.
Legation of the United States,
Berlin, April 6,
1885.
The undersigned, envoy, &c., of the United States of America, begs
the early attention of his excellency, Count Hatzfeldt, imperial
secretary of state for foreign affairs, &c., to the case of Constant
A. Golly, as hereinafter stated by him.
The complainant, having been duly naturalized in the United States prior
to 1880, and having a passport issued by the Department of State at
Washington, on the 1st of April of that year made a temporary visit to
his aged father at Feller in gen, near Wesserling, in Alsace. He again
returned for a visit in January, 1884, finding his mother in poor
health. His father was dead, and his own assistance required by his
mother, he being an only child. He has continued since that date to aid
the little business on which the family was dependent for support. He
has all the while continued in his intention to return to the United
States, and was only detained here by the business referred to, and by
the earnest desire of his sickly mother, whom he thought it unfilial to
leave under such circumstances. He was advised that no objection could
properly be made to his stay, at least for two years. But now he has
received a notice, under date of March 31, from the local authorities in
Kreis Thaun, ordering him to leave the country in seven days on pain of
expulsion. There is no statement of any disorderly conduct.
Under these circumstances the undersigned hopes that his excellency will
be pleased to cause orders to be sent to suspend the execution of this
order until due inquiry can be made into the facts. It is hardly
necessary to call the attention of his excellency to the great hardships
of such an order applied to a citizen who has embarked in business in
aid of an aged parent, on faith of his rights under the treaty while he
continues to comply with the laws of the country of his residence.
In requesting such prompt action and ultimate order as justice and right
shall require, the undersigned takes, &c.
[Inclosure 2 in No.
261.—Translation.]
Count Hatzfeldt to
Mr. Coleman.
Foreign
Offices, Berlin,
May 12, 1885.
Referring to the note of the envoy of the 6th ultimo (foreign office No.
49), concerning the complaint of Constant Golly, of Felleringen, in
Alsace-Lorraine, the undersigned has the honor to impart to Mr. Chapman
Coleman, chargé d’affaires of the United States of America, the
following information received from the imperial stadtholder at
Strasburg.
Constant Golly, born December 19, 1858, emigrated, holding a discharge
from allegiance, dated January 5, 1875, and before the completion of his
seventeenth year, from Alsace-Lorraine to the United States of America.
On the 1st of January, 1884, he returned to Felleringen to his widowed
mother, of whom he is the only child, and has remained there
uninterruptedly since then. Widow Golly is sickly and aged; she
possesses a not inconsiderable fortune and carries on a grocery business
at Felleringen, the management of which she has for some time past
intrusted almost exclusively to her son.
[Page 416]
Under these circumstances, and in view of the fact that Golly himself did
not deny to the German authorities that he returned to Alsace-Lorraine
to reside there permanently, the rules obtaining in Alsace-Lorraine with
respect to persons who have emigrated from there in order to evade
military duty were applied to his case, and he was expelled from the
territory of Alsace-Lorraine by an order of the district president at
Colmar, dated March 19, 1885. The execution of the measure was postponed
by the district president until the 7th instant, because Golly, after
receiving the order of expulsion, made the declaration that he would
probably make application to have Alsace-Lorraine allegiance bestowed
upon him again. In case he should not apply for renaturalization, the
expulsion cannot be dispensed with, since it must be assumed, in
accordance with the state of the case, that Golly only emigrated in
order to avoid the fulfillment of the military duty.
The undersigned avails, &c.
